Beit Ummar, Hebron – Paramedics offer
first medical aid to a Palestinian suffering from tear gas inhalation

 

 

 

Israeli
Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian
Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

 

 

IOF
continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank.

A
Palestinian civilian was wounded.

IOF
arrested 8 Palestinian demonstrators.

 

IOF
conducted 24 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and a limited
one into the Gaza Strip.  

IOF arrested 9 Palestinian
civilians, including two children.

 

Israel
has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza
Strip from the outside world.

IOF arrested 3 Palestinian
civilians at military checkpoints in the West Bank.

IOF harassed 5
Palestinian children in Hebron.

 

IOF
resumed the construction of the annexation wall inside the West Bank territory.

IOF razed large
areas of Palestinian agricultural land in Bethlehem and uprooted at least 22
pine and olive trees.

 

IOF
have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have
continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

 

 

 

Summary

 

Israeli
violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued
during the reporting period (21 – 27 July 2011):

 

Shooting:

 

During the reporting period, IOF
used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest
to Israeli settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall in
the West Bank. As a result, a
Palestinian civilian was wounded and dozens of Palestinian civilians and
international human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation.  IOF also arrested 8 Palestinian civilians.  

 

Incursions:

 

During
the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 24 military incursions into
Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 9 Palestinian
civilians, including two children. 

 

In
the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted one limited incursion into the southern Gaza
Strip, during which they leveled areas of Palestinian land. 

 

Restrictions
on Movement:

 

Israel
had 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.

 

Gaza
Strip

 

Israel has continuously closed all
border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over three years. The illegal
Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since
June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic
situation in the Gaza Strip. 

 

IOF have tightened the closure of the Gaza Strip and practically
made Karm Abu Salem crossing as the sole commercial crossing of the Gaza Strip
although it is not proper for commercial purposes in terms of its distance and
operational capacity.

 

IOF have continued to apply their policy aimed at tightening the
strangulation of the commercial movement in the Gaza Strip, including imposing
total control over the flow of imports and exports.

 

The total closure of al-Mentar “Karni” crossing on 02
March 2011 has created a bitter situation that has seriously affected the Gaza
Strip. Following this closure, all the
economic and commercial establishments in Gaza Commercial Zone were shut
off. It should be noted that al-Mentar
crossing is the biggest crossing in the Gaza Strip in terms of its operational
capacity to absorb the flow of imports and exports. The decision of al-Mentar crossing was the
culmination of a series of decisions to totally close Soafa crossing, east of
the Gaza Strip, in the beginning of 2009, and Nahal Oz crossing, east of Gaza
City, which was dedicated for the delivery of fuel and cooking gas to the Gaza
Strip, in the beginning of 2010.

 

These statistics which were made available to PCHR by the Border
and Crossings Department indicate a continued drop in the number of truckloads
of Gaza imports and exports.

 

IOF have continued to impose total ban on the delivery of raw
materials to the Gaza Stri, except for very limited items and quantities. The limited quantities of raw materials
allowed into Gaza do not meet the minimal needs of the civilian population in
the Gaza Strip.

 

The cooking gas crisis which has erupted last November has
continued to affect the Gaza Strip. This
crisis was created when the Israeli occupation authorities totally closed, on
04 January 2010, Nahal Oz crossing, which used to be dedicated for the delivery
of fuel and cooking gas supplies to Gaza, and shifted fuel and cooking gas
supplies to Karm Abu Salem crossing which is not technically equipped to
receive Gaza’s needs of fuel.  Karm Abu Salem crossing, with its maximum
absorptive capacity, can receive only 200 tons of cooking gas per day.

 

Approximately 80% of Gaza civilians have continued to depend on
alimentary aid provided by UNRWA and other relief agencies, rates of families
who are living below poverty line have continued to be on the rise and
approximately 40% of Gaza’s manpower has continued to suffer from permanent
unemployment as a result of shutting down the majority of Gaza’s economic
establishments.

 

IOF have continued to impose a total ban on the exportation of
Gaza’s products, especially industrial products, leading to undermining any
real chances to rerun economic establishments. The situation has been aggravated especially after making Karm Abu Salem
crossing as Gaza sole commercial crossing and the repeated closure of this
crossing which negatively affected the quantity of Gazan products which were
allowed to be exported during last April.

 

IOF have continued to prolong the implementation of their decision
to allow 60 cars into Gaza weekly although more than 11 months have passed
since they announced this decision after three years of ban imposed on the
delivery of cars to Gaza. As a result,
the prices of cars in Gaza have been on the rise and local markets experience
serious shortage in spare parts.

 

For approximately four consecutive years, IOF have continued to ban
the delivery of construction materials to Gaza. During the reporting period,
IOF approved the delivery of limited quantities of construction materials for a
number of international organizations.

 

Israel has continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing for
Palestinian civilians from the Gaza Strip. IOF only allow the movement of limited groups amidst severe
restrictions, including long hours of waiting in the majority of cases. IOF have also continued to adopt a policy
aimed at reducing the number of Palestinian patients allowed to move via Beit
Hanoun crossing to receive medical treatment in hospitals in Israel or in the
West Bank and Jerusalem. IOF denied new
categories of Gazan patient permission to have access to hospitals via the
crossing.

 

Israel has imposed additional access restrictions on international
diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza
Strip.

 

For approximately 47 months, IOF have continued to deny
approximately 710 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza detained in Israeli jails
their visitation rights without providing any justification to this measure,
which violates the rules of the international humanitarian law.

 

West
Bank

 

IOF have continued to impose severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank,
including occupied East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.

 

IOF have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely
restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently prevented
from praying in the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

 

There are approximately 585 permanent roadblocks, and manned and
unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank.

 

When complete, the illegal annexation wall will stretch for 724 kilometers
around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population. 350 kilometers of
the wall have already been constructed. Approximately 99% of the wall has been
constructed inside the West Bank itself, confiscating more Palestinian land.

 

At least 65% of the main roads that lead to 18 Palestinian
communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF.

 

There are approximately 500 kilometers of
restricted roads across the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of
the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to
Palestinians without permits issued by IOF. Such permits are extremely
difficult to obtain.

 

IOF continue to harass and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful
protests against the construction of the annexation wall.

 

Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by IOF in Jerusalem,
and across the West Bank, including being regularly stopped and searched in the
streets by IOF.

 

Construction of
the Annexation Wall

 

On
26 July 2011, IOF started razing large areas of Palestinian agricultural land
in al-Walaja village, northwest of Bethlehem, for the purpose of the construction
of a section of the annexation wall. They uprooted dozens of pine and olive trees and leveled areas of
land. IOF leveled these areas of land
for the purpose of the construction of a section of the annexation wall. IOF had uprooted at least 20 pine and olive
trees and had razed a 250-square-emter area of land. It is worth noting that this area has been
targeted by intensive Israeli settlement activities.

 

Settlement
Activities:  

 

Israel
has continued its settlement activities in the OPT in violation of
international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack
Palestinian civilians and property. 

 

On 22 July 2011, at least 8 Israeli
settlers from “Esh Kudash” settlement in the southeast of Jaloud village,
southeast of Nablus, attacked a Palestinian child who was grazing animals in
the area between Qasra and Jaloud villages. When the child saw the settlers, he fled. The settler caught a sheep and slaughtered
it. The father and mayor of the village
went to the area, where they found a military jeep had arrived. They submitted a complaint concerning the
attack.

 

On 25 July 2011, a number of armed
Israeli settlers from “Halmish” settlement, northwest of Ramallah, closed the
entrance of the nearby Nabi Saleh village. They attempted to enter the village and threw stones at Palestinian
civilian vehicles. IOF intervened later
and evacuated the settlers.

 

 

Israeli
Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (21 – 27 July 2011)

 

1- Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian
Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

 

Thursday, 21 July 2011

 

At approximately 00:30, IOF moved into Kfiret village, southwest of
Jenin. They raided and searched a house
belonging to the family of Tariq Mahmoud Eghbariya, 32, and arrested him. They released him at approximately 03:00 at
Barta’a checkpoint near the annexation wall, northwest of Jenin.

 

At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Quds Street in the
southeast of Nablus. They raided and
searched a number of houses and arrested Ghanem Mohammed Sawalma, 47.

 

At approximately 03:30, IOF moved into al-Zahiriya village, south
of Hebron. They raided and searched a
house belonging to Mohammed Yousef al-Battat, 42, and arrested him together
with his sons: Majd, 19; and Haitham, 20. At noon, IOF released Haitham, but kept the father and Majd in
custody. According to al-Battat’s wife,
Israeli soldiers threw stones at the house and detonated two sound bombs before
raiding it. During the house search,
they damaged the furniture. 

 

At approximately 09:00, IOF moved into Silwad village, east of
Ramallah. They patrolled in the streets
for some time and withdrew later. No
arrests were reported.

 

At approximately 10:00, IOF moved into al-Zababda village,
southeast of Jenin. They patrolled in
the streets. The stopped and questioned
Tha’er Waleed Sharqawi, 20. They also
summoned him for interrogation in a military post to the north of Jenin.

 

At approximately 10:10, IOF moved into Wadi al-Rasha village, south
of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the
streets for some time and withdrew later. Neither house raids nor arrests were reported.

 

Also at approximately 10:10, IOF moved into Ras Teera village,
south of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the
streets for some time and withdrew later. Neither house raids nor arrests were reported.

 

Also at approximately 10:10, IOF moved into Magharat al-Dab’a
village, south of Qalqilya. They
patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. Neither house raids nor arrests were
reported.

 

At approximately 10:15, IOF moved into Nabi Elias village, east of
Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets
for some time and withdrew later. Neither house raids nor arrests were reported.

 

At approximately 11:00, IOF moved into ‘Aaboud village, northwest
of Ramallah. They patrolled in the
streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.

 

At approximately 11:30, IOF moved into Beit Siera village, west of
Ramallah. They patrolled in the streets
for some time and withdrew later. No
arrests were reported.

 

At approximately 22:15, IOF moved into Nabi Elias village, east of
Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets
for some time and withdrew later. Neither house raids nor arrests were reported.

 

Friday, 22 July 2011

 

At approximately 01:20, IOF moved into Ematin village, northeast of
Qalqilya. They raided and searched a
house belonging to the family of Rafat Sadiq Sawan, 22, and summoned him for
interrogation.

 

At approximately 10:15, IOF moved into Hijja village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some time
and withdrew later. Neither house raids
nor arrests were reported.

 

At approximately 10:30, IOF moved into Deir Dibwan village,
northeast of Ramallah. They patrolled in
the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.

 

At approximately 15:00, IOF moved into Sateh Marhaba neighborhood
in al-Bireh. They patrolled in the
streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.

 

At approximately 18:00, IOF moved into Swaih area in Ras al-‘Aamoud
neighborhood in East Jerusalem. They
stopped near a house belonging to the family of Islam Fu’ad Waleed, 15, and
arrested him. They took him away from
the house and beat and interrogated him. They released him an hour later. 

 

At approximately 21:00, IOF moved into al-Jiftlek village, north of
Jericho. They patrolled in the streets
for some time and withdrew later. No
arrests were reported.

 

Saturday, 23 July 2011

 

At approximately 01:50, IOF moved into Beit Liqya village, west of
Ramallah. They patrolled in the streets
for some time and withdrew later. No
arrests were reported.

 

At approximately 02:20, IOF moved into Kufor Qaddoum village,
northeast of Qalqilya. They patrolled in
the streets and raided a number of houses. They summoned Bader ‘Abdul Latif Jom’a, 20, and Sari Jawad ‘Obaid, 20,
for interrogation.

 

At approximately 20:00, IOF moved into Fassayel village, north of
Jericho. They patrolled in the streets
for some time and withdrew later. No
arrests were reported.

 

At approximately 20:35, IOF moved into Beit Liqya village, west of
Ramallah. A number of Palestinian
children gathered and threw stones at Israeli military vehicles. Immediately, Israeli soldiers fired
rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs at them. A number of Palestinian civilians suffered
from tear gas inhalation.

 

Sunday, 24 July 2011

 

At approximately 10:30, IOF raided a house belonging to the family
of Daoud ‘Eissa al-Qaq, 12, in Wadi Hilwa area in Silwan village to the south
of the old town of Jerusalem, and arrested him. They took him to a detention center, where they beat and interrogated
him. He was released on bail on the
following day.

 

Monday, 25 July 2011

 

At approximately 18:30, IOF moved into Nabi Saleh village,
northwest of Ramallah. A number of
Palestinian children gathered and threw stones at Israeli military
vehicles. Immediately, Israeli soldiers
fired rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs at them. As a result, a number of Palestinian
civilians suffered from tear gas inhalation.  

 

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

 

At approximately 06:00, IOF moved nearly 300 meters into al-Qarara
village, northeast of Khan Yunis. They
leveled areas of Palestinian land along the border between the Gaza Strip and
Israel. They withdrew from the area at
approximately 09:30 and no casualties were reported.

 

Wednesday, 27 July 2011

 

At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Jenin refugee camp. They stopped near a house belonging to ‘Adnan
Ibrahim Naghniya, 43, and threw stones at the house. When Naghniya got out of the house to check
what was going on, they arrested him. His house and a car belonging to his neighbor, Muneeb Yahia al-Sa’di,
were damaged. Later, IOF raided and
searched a house belonging to the family of Bilal Khaled al-Sa’di, 35, and
arrested him.

 

2- Use of Excessive Force against Peaceful Demonstrations
Protesting Settlement Activities and the Construction of the Annexation Wall

 

During
the reporting period, IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized
by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders
in protest to the construction of the Wall and settlement activities in the
West Bank. As a result, a Palestinian civilian
was wounded, dozens of Palestinian civilians and human rights defenders suffered
from tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises. IOF also arrested 8 Palestinian civilians.        

   

At approximately 10:30 on Friday, 22 July 2011, dozens of
Palestinian civilians and a number of international human rights defenders
organized a peaceful demonstration in the center of Beit Ummar town, north of
Hebron. They moved towards the eastern
entrance of the village, where IOF establish a checkpoint. When the demonstrators got close to the
checkpoint, Israeli soldiers attacked them and fired rubber-coated metal
bullets, tear gas canisters and sounds bombs. As a result, a Palestinian civilian was wounded by a rubber-coated metal
bullet to the left foot. Israeli
soldiers also arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including two brothers:

 

1- Mo’tassem Ibrahim Abu Maria, 18;

2- Rami Hassan Abu Hashem, 32;

3- Mohammed Mahmoud Abu ‘Ayash, 17; and

4- Yousef Mahmoud Abu ‘Ayash, 19.

 

Following the Friday Prayer on 22 July 2011, dozens of Palestinian
civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a
peaceful demonstration in Bil’ein village, west of Ramallah, in protest to the
construction of the annexation wall.  Israeli
soldiers stationed in the area fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs
and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation
and others sustained bruises.

 

Also following the Friday Prayer on 22 July 2011, dozens of
Palestinian civilians and international and human rights defenders organized a
peaceful demonstration in Ne’lin village, west of Ramallah, in protest against
the construction of the annexation wall. They clashed with Israeli troops positioned near the annexation wall. Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated metal
bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at demonstrators. As a result, a number of demonstrators
suffered from tear gas inhalation. 

 

Also following the Friday Prayer on 22 July 2011, dozens of
Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders
organized a peaceful demonstration in Nabi Saleh village, northwest of
Ramallah, in protest against land confiscations in the Wad al-Raya area between
the villages of Nabi Saleh and Deir Nizam. When the demonstrators attempted to reach areas of land seized by
Israeli settlers near “Halmish” settlement, Israeli troops fired
rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at them. As a result, a number of demonstrators
suffered from tear gas inhalation.  Additionally, IOF arrested 4 Palestinian
civilians:

 

1- Tariq Bashir Tamimi, 29;

2- Ziad ‘Abdul Razzaq Tamimi, 23;

3- Ahmed ‘Abdul ‘Aal, 19; and

4- Mohammed Abu Samra, 25, a volunteer paramedic.

 

Also following the Friday Prayer on 22 July 2011, dozens of
Palestinian civilians organized a peaceful demonstration in Kufor Qaddoum
village, northeast of Qalqilya, in protest to the continued closure of the
entrance of the village by IOF. Israeli
soldiers prevented the demonstrators from getting close to the entrance and
attacked them. Baker ‘Adnan ‘Ali, 29,
sustained bruises, and a number of Palestinian civilians suffered from tear gas
inhalation.  

 

On Saturday noon, 23 July 2011, dozens of Palestinian civilians
organized a peaceful demonstration in Iraq Bourin village, south of Nablus, in
protest to the confiscation of their lands and attacks by Israeli
settlers. The demonstrators moved
towards the east of the village, where IOF had confiscated areas of land. Immediately, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas
canisters and sound bombs at them. A
number of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation. At approximately 16:00, IOF established a
checkpoint at the entrance of the village and declared it a closed military
zone.    

 

3- Continued Closure of the OPT

 

Israel has continued to impose a tightened closure of the OPT and
imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

 

Gaza
Strip

 

Israel has continuously closed all
border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over three years. The illegal
Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since
June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic
situation in the Gaza Strip. The illegal closure has caused not only a
humanitarian crisis but a crisis of human rights and human dignity for the
population of the Gaza Strip. Measures declared recently to ease the
blockade are vague, purely cosmetic and fail to deal with the root causes of
the crisis, which can only be addressed by an immediate and complete lifting of
the closure, including lifting the travel ban into and out of the Gaza Strip
and the ban on exports. PCHR is concerned that the new Israeli policy is simply
shifting Gaza to another form of illegal blockade, one that may become
internationally accepted and institutionalized. Palestinians in Gaza may no
longer suffer from the same shortage of goods, but they will remain
economically dependent and unable to care for themselves, and socially,
culturally and academically isolated from the rest of the world.

 

Movement
at Border Crossings during the Reporting Period:

 

Movement
at Rafah International Crossing Point

20 –
26 July 2011

 

 

Movement
at Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) Crossing

20 –
26 July 2011

 

Imports:

 

 

Notes:

 

On Wednesday, 20 July 2011, IOF allowed the entry 3,290 tons of
construction aggregate for UNRWA, and of 60 tons of cement for ANERA. They also allowed the entry of 897 tons of
wheat.

 

On Thursday, 21 July 2011, IOF allowed the entry of 160 tons of
cement, 1,890 tons of construction aggregate for UNRWA, and 32 tons of cements
and 40 tons of construction iron for UNDP. They also allowed the entry of 858 tons of wheat and 39 tons of
fodders.  

 

On Sunday, 24 July 2011, IOF allowed the entry of 560 tons of
cement, 153 tons of construction iron and 2,870 tons of construction aggregate
for UNRWA.  They also allowed the entry
of 234 tons of fodders and 1,014 tons of wheat.

 

On Monday, 25 July 2011, IOF allowed the entry of 1,960 tons of
construction aggregate for UNRWA, and 630 tons of construction aggregate for
UNDP. They also allowed the entry of 68
tons of fodders and 920 tons of wheat. 

 

On Tuesday, 26 July 2011, IOF allowed the entry of 476 tons of straws,
1,560 tons of fodders and 156 tons of wheat. 

 

Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing: Israel
has continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing for the movement of
Palestinian civilians. IOF have allowed only diplomats, a number of
international journalists, employees of international agencies and a limited
number of patients who suffer from serious diseases to pass through the
crossing. They have continued to prevent Palestinian civilians from visiting their
relatives who are detained in Israeli jails. The small number of patients
permitted to pass through the crossing is only able to do so under severe
restrictions that include prolonged checking. 

 

Movement
at Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing

20 –
26 July 2011

 

 

The West Bank

 

Israel has imposed a tightened closure on the West Bank. During the
reporting period, IOF imposed additional restrictions on the movement of
Palestinian civilians.

 

Jerusalem: IOF
have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians to and from the city. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been denied access to the city. IOF have
established many checkpoints around and inside the city.  Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian
civilians often escalate on Fridays, preventing Muslim Palestinians from
praying at al-Aqsa Mosque.    

 

Ramallah: IOF
have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of the Palestinian
civilians in Ramallah.  At approximately
11:00 on Thursday, 21 July 2011, IOF established a checkpoint on Bet ‘Aur
al-Tahta – Beit ‘Aur al-Fouqa road, west of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian
civilian vehicles. At approximately 17:30
on the same day, IOF re-established their presence at ‘Attara checkpoint, north
of Ramallah. They stopped and searched
Palestinian civilian vehicles. At
approximately 08:00 on Friday, 15 July 2011, IOF established a checkpoint near
the entrance of Nabi Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah. At approximately 09:00 on the same day, IOF
established a checkpoint on Nabi Saleh – Kufor ‘Ein road, northwest of
Ramallah. They stopped and searched
Palestinian civilian vehicles.  At
approximately 10:30 on Saturday, 23 July 2011, IOF re-established their
presence at ‘Attara checkpoint, north of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian
civilian vehicles.        

 

Qalqilya: IOF have continued to impose severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.  At approximately 08:55 on Thursday, 14 July 2011,
IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of ‘Azzoun village, east of
Qalqilya. They stopped and searched
Palestinian civilian vehicles. On
Friday, 15 July 2011, IOF established 4 checkpoints around Qalqilya. On Saturday, 16 July 2011, IOF established 3
checkpoints around the town. At
approximately 09:45 on Sunday, 17 July 2011, IOF established a checkpoint at
Jeet intersection, northeast of Qalqilya. On Monday, 18 July 2011, IOF established 3 checkpoints around the town      

 

Salfit: IOF have continued to impose severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 15:00 on Sunday, 24 July
2011, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of Kufel Hares village,
north of Salfit. At approximately 21:35,
IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of Yassouf village, east of
Salfit. They stopped and searched Palestinian
civilian vehicles. At approximately
12:00 on Monday, 25 July 2011, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of
Deir Estia village, northwest of Salfit. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.  

 

Tulkarm: IOF
have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians. At approximately 14:30 on
Friday, 22 July 2011, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of Qiffin
village, north of Tulkarm. They stopped
and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 11:30 on Sunday, 24 July 2011, IOF established a
checkpoint near the entrance of Qiffin village, north of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian
civilian vehicles. At the same time, IOF
established a checkpoint near the entrance of Deir al-Ghossoun village, north
of Tulkarm. At approximately 10:00 on Monday,
25 July 2011, IOF established a checkpoint at Far’oun intersection, south of
Tulkarm. They stopped and searched
Palestinian civilian vehicles.  At
approximately 23:55 on Wednesday, 27 July 2011, IOF established a checkpoint at
Far’oun intersection, south of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.    

 

Jericho: IOF
have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians. At approximately 17:30 on
Saturday, 23 July 2011, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of al-Jiftlek
village, north of Jericho. They stopped
and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. 

 

Arrests at Military Checkpoints

 

At approximately 11:00 on Friday, 22 July 2011, Israeli soldiers
positioned in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque, south of Hebron, arrested
Hamza Majed Hijazi, 20, claiming that he attempted to attack a soldier.

 

At approximately 17:00 on Saturday, 23 July 2011, Israeli soldiers
positioned in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque, south of Hebron, arrested
‘Abdul ‘Aziz Mahmoud Wazwaz, 23, claiming that he was carrying a sharp tool.

 

At approximately 14:00 on Sunday, 24 July 2011, IOF arrested
Mohammed Maher ‘Amarna, 21, from al-Duhaisha refugee camp south of Bethlehem,
after summoning him for interrogation in Kfar Etzion military post, southwest
of Bethlehem.

 

 

 

Harassments at Military Checkpoints

 

At approximately 08:30 – 09:20, Israeli soldiers positioned at an
observation post established in a house belonging to al-Rajabi family, which
was seized by IOF, at al-Ras intersection in the southeast of Hebron held 5
Palestinian children aged 14-15. They
checked, interrogated and beat these children before releasing them at
approximately 23:00. Two of the children
sustained bruises. It is worth noting that Israeli soldiers permanently
positioned in the south and east of Hebron often stop and harass Palestinian
civilians. 

 

4- Construction of the Annexation Wall

 

On
Tuesday morning, 26 July 2011, IOF started razing large areas of Palestinian
agricultural land in al-Walaja village, northwest of Bethlehem, for the purpose
of the construction of a section of the annexation wall. 

 

According
to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 08:30 on Tuesday, IOF,
accompanied by an Israeli constructor, two bulldozers and a digging machine,
moved into ‘Ein Jwaiza area in the southwest of al-Walaja village, northwest of
Bethlehem. They uprooted dozens of pine
and olive trees and leveled areas of land belonging to the al-Atrash and Rabah
families. IOF leveled these areas of
land for the purpose of the construction of a section of the annexation
wall. Between 09:20 and 10:00, a number
of members of the families of al-Atrash and Rabah gathered in the area and
attempted to stop the leveling of their lands. IOF surrounded them and declared the area a closed military zone. They also prevented journalists from having
access to the area. At noon, IOF forced
owners of the lands and a number of International solidarity activists out of
the area. By 13:00, IOF had uprooted at
least 20 pine and olive trees and had razed a 250-square-emter area of
land. It is worth noting that this area
has been targeted by intensive Israeli settlement activities.

 

4- Settlement Activities and Attacks by Settlers against Palestinian
Civilians and Property

 

Israel
has continued its settlement activities in the OPT in violation of
international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack
Palestinian civilians and property.

 

At approximately 17:00 on Friday, 22
July 2011, at least 8 Israeli settlers from “Esh Kudash” settlement in the
southeast of Jaloud village, southeast of Nablus, attacked Fayez Ibrahim
Hassan, 15, who was grazing animals in the area between Qasra and Jaloud
villages. When the child saw the settlers,
he fled. The settler caught a sheep and
slaughtered it. The father and mayor of
the village went to the area, where they found a military jeep had arrived. They submitted a complaint concerning the
attack.

 

At approximately 18:30 on Monday, 25
July 2011, a number of armed Israeli settlers from “Halmish” settlement,
northwest of Ramallah, closed the entrance of the nearby Nabi Saleh
village. They attempted to enter the
village and threw stones at Palestinian civilian vehicles. IOF intervened later and evacuated the
settlers.

 

Recommendations to the International
Community

 

 

1- PCHR calls upon the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their legal and
moral obligations under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure Israel’s respect
for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR believes that the conspiracy of silence
practiced by the international community has encouraged Israel to act as if it
is above the law and encourages Israel continue to violate international human
rights and humanitarian law.

 

2-PCHR calls upon the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to convene a conference to
take effective steps to ensure Israel’s respect of the Convention in the OPT
and to provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians.

 

3- PCHR calls upon the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to comply with their legal
obligations detailed in Article 146 of the Convention to search for and
prosecute those responsible for grave breaches, namely war crimes.

 

4- PCHR calls for the immediate
implementation of the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of
Justice, which considers the construction of the Annexation Wall inside the
West Bank illegal.

 

5- PCHR recommends that international
civil society organizations, including human rights organizations, bar
associations and NGOs, participate in the process of exposing those accused of
grave breaches of international law and urge their governments to bring the
perpetrators to justice.

 

6- PCHR calls upon the European
Union to activate Article 2 of the Euro-Israel Association Agreement, which
provides that Israel must respect human rights as a precondition for economic
cooperation between the EU states and Israel. PCHR further calls upon the EU states to prohibit import of goods
produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the OPT.

 

7- PCHR calls on the international
community to recognize the Gaza disengagement plan, which was implemented in
September 2005, for what it is – not an end to occupation but a compounding of
the occupation and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. 

 

8- In recognition of ICRC as the
guardian of the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR calls upon the ICRC to increase
its staff and activities in the OPT, including the facilitation of family
visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

 

9- PCHR appreciates the efforts of
international civil society, including human rights organizations, bar
associations, unions and NGOs, and urges them to continue their role in pressuring
their governments to secure Israel’s respect for human rights in the OPT and to
demand Israel end its attacks on Palestinian civilians.

 

10- PCHR calls upon the
international community to pressure Israel to lift the severe restrictions
imposed by the Israeli government and its occupation forces on access for
international organizations to the OPT.

 

11- PCHR reiterates that any
political settlement not based on international human rights law and
humanitarian law cannot lead to a peaceful and just solution of the Palestinian
question. Rather, such an arrangement
can only lead to further suffering and instability in the region. Any peace process or agreement must be based
on respect for international law, including international human rights and
humanitarian law.

 

 

 

…………………………………………………………

 

Public Document

For further information please visit
our website (www.pchrgaza.org) or contact
PCHR’s office in Gaza City, Gaza Strip by email (pchr@pchrgaza.org) or telephone (+972 (0)8
282 4776 – 282 5893).