Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue
Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT)
· 9 Palestinians, including 2 children, were killed by IOF in
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
· 4 of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF.
· 18 civilians were wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip.
· 13 of these civilians, including a journalist, 4 women and
4 international human rights defenders, were wounded when IOF used force to disperse
a peaceful demonstration against the construction of the Annexation Wall in
Bal’ein village near Ramallah.
· 2 children were wounded as a result of the explosion of a
mysterious object of the remainders of IOF.
· IOF conducted 30 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.
· IOF arrested 44 Palestinian civilians, including 8 children
and a girl.
· IOF transformed a Palestinian house into a military site.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.
· IOF positioned at various checkpoints and border crossings in
the West Bank arrested 6 Palestinian civilians.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank.
· IOF demolished a house in occupied Jerusalem.
· IOF demolished 7 houses to the south of Hebron, rendering
48 Palestinians homeless.
· Israeli settlers moved back to the evacuated “Homseh”
settlement near Nablus.
· Israeli settlers have continued to occupy a house in Hebron
for the 5th consecutive week.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (19 – 25 April 2007):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF
killed 9 Palestinians, including 2 children, in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip. They also wounded 18 civilians, including: 2 children; a journalist; 4
women; and 4 international human rights activists.
In the West Bank, IOF
killed 8 Palestinians, including 2 children. On 21 April 2007, IOF killed a
Palestinian who stepped up to the roof of his house to look at IOF when they
were besieging a number of houses in Kufor Dan village near Jenin. On the same
day, an IOF undercover unit extra-judicially executed 3 Palestinians in Jenin.
Also on the same day, IOF shot dead a Palestinian child as they besieged her
family home to arrest her brother. On 22 April 2007, IOF killed two members of
the Palestinian resistance in the old town of Nablus. On the same day, IOF shot
dead a Palestinian child in Deir Abu Mash’al village, northwest of Ramallah.
During the reporting
period, 14 Palestinian civilians were wounded by the IOF gunfire in the West
Bank. Thirteen of those civilians, including a journalist, 4 women and 4
international human rights defenders, were wounded when IOF used force to
disperse a peaceful demonstration against the construction of the Wall in
Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah. Three journalists and an Irish Noble Prize
winner also suffered from tear gas inhalation. In addition, 2 Palestinian
children were wounded as a result of the explosion of a mysterious object of
the remainders of IOF.
In the Gaza Strip, on 21
April 2007, IOF extra-judicially executed a Palestinian civilian to the east of
Jabalya town. According to information available to PCHR, the victim was not
involved in any resistance activity. During
the reporting period, IOF positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and
Israel wounded 2 Palestinian civilians.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 30 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 44 Palestinian civilians,
including 8 children and a girl. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by
IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 1,007. IOF
also transformed a house in Saffa village, northwest of Ramallah, into a
military site.
Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT
and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. On Sunday
morning, 22 April 2007, IOF imposed a total closure on the OPT for the
so-called independence day.
Gaza Strip
IOF
have imposed a strict siege on the Gaza Strip. They have closed its border
crossings as a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.
IOF have
closed Rafah International Crossing Point since 25 June 2006, even though they
do not directly control it. During the reporting period, the crossing point was
reopened only for one day. IOF have partially reopened
commercial crossings, especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing, but many goods and
medical supplies have been lacked in markets in the Gaza Strip. The crossing
was closed on 23 and 24 April 2007. IOF have also continued to close Erez
crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip
have been prevented from traveling through this crossing. IOF have allowed
international workers to pass through the crossing. With this closure, only
few Palestinian patients have been able to travel to hospitals in Israel and
the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF
completely closed the crossing for 3 days. In addition, IOF have continued to
prevent Palestinian fishermen from fishing for more than 10 months.
West Bank
IOF have tightened the
siege imposed on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. They have
isolated Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. Contrary to Israeli claims, IOF
positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank have continued to impose
severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF also erected
more checkpoints on the main roads and intersections in the West Bank. During
the reporting period, IOF soldiers positioned at various checkpoints and border
crossings in the West Bank arrested at least 5 Palestinian civilians. IOF also detained
4 staff members of the Palestinian Customs Bureau, 2 journalists and a PCHR
field worker near Hebron for several hours.
Settlement
Activities: Israeli
settlers living in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law have
continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. On 19 April 2007, IOF demolished 7 houses in
Mnaizal and Qwaiwis villages, south of Hebron, rendering 48 Palestinians
homeless. On the same day, IOF razed 4.5 donums[1] of
land in al-Twana village, south of Hebron. On 25 April 2007, IOF demolished a
house in East Jerusalem, claiming that it was built without a license. On
Tuesday morning, 24 April 2007, dozens of Israeli settlers from “Shavi Shomron”
settlement, northwest of Nablus, marched towards a site of that was known in
the past as “Homesh” settlement at Nablus – Jenin road and set up tents. On the
same day, dozens of Israeli settlers, escorted by IOF, closed Ya’bad – Jenin
road, south of Jenin, and prevented the passage of Palestinian civilians. The
closure of the road continued for several hours. During the reporting period, Israeli
settlers who had continued to occupy a house belonging to the al-Rujbi family
in Wad al-Husain neighborhood near “Kiryat Arba” settlement, southeast of
Hebron, for the fifth consecutive week, attacked Palestinian civilians using
empty bottles and stones. IOF were present in the area, but did not intervene
to stop those attacks.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (19 – 25 April 2007)
The
full report is available PDF format.
