Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue
Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory
· IOF killed an old Palestinian in al-Yamoun village near
Jenin in the northern West Bank.
· Four Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, were
wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
· IOF conducted 35 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.
· IOF arrested 26 Palestinian civilians, including five children.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and
have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside
the West Bank.
· IOF razed areas of land in al-‘Amra natural reserve near
Jenin, isolating a Palestinian residential compound.
· IOF have continued to prevent Palestinian farmers from
reaching their land to harvest olives.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
· IOF stopped a land mining project in Hebron.
· Israeli settlers continued their attacks against Palestinian
civilians and property in Hebron.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (23 – 29 October 2008):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF
killed an elderly Palestinian man in al-Yamoun village, west of Jenin, and
wounded another four civilians, including 2 children, in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip.
On 29 October, IOF shot
and killed an elderly Palestinian in al-Yamoun village, west of Jenin. IOF
troops targeted the man when he came out of his house carrying a hunting rifle,
to check on a corral of sheep near his house, as he thought there may be thieves
in the area. IOF could have used less force or even arrest him.
On 25 October, two
Palestinian civilians were injured in al-Far’a refugee camp, south of Tubas,
when IOF troops fired at Palestinians who threw stones at military vehicles
that had moved into the camp.
During the reporting
period, a Palestinian child was injured when IOF used force against a peaceful
demonstration organized in protest at the continuing construction of the
Annexation Wall in Ne’lin village, west of Ramallah.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 35 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 26 Palestinian civilians,
including 5 children and a girl. The number of Palestinian civilians arrested
by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of the year stands at 2,098.
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. During the
reporting period, IOF imposed a comprehensive closure on the OPT for the Jewish
Sukkot festival.
Gaza Strip
IOF have continued to close all
border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The IOF siege of
Gaza, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact
on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.
· 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights,
including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living
conditions, work, health and education.
· The Egypt-brokered ‘Tahdiya’
or truce between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel began on 19 June;
however, there have been no major changes regarding the movements of civilians
and goods through the six Gaza Strip border crossings.
· Rafah International Crossing Point, the only border crossing
from the Gaza Strip to the outside world via a country other than Israel,
remains closed.
· Health services continue to be severely affected by the
siege, with healthcare facilities also registering a 25% drop in clients due to
continuing chronic fuel shortages. Critically ill patients are still being
denied permits to access vital health services in the West Bank, Israel and
abroad. .
· Water facilities, including access to clean drinking water,
and the treatment of raw sewage continue to be severely disrupted by fuel
shortages. 50-60 million liters of untreated and partially treated sewage are
being dumped into the Gaza Strip Mediterranean Sea daily, posing a public
health risk.
· Hundreds of Gazan students are currently unable to resume
their university studies abroad as they cannot exit the Gaza Strip. In
addition, up to 1,200 school leavers are in the process of applying to study at
foreign universities, and are dependent on being issued exit permits by the
IOF.
· There are at least 900 Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in
jails in Israel who have been denied all visitation rights since 6 June 2007.
· Continuing chronic shortages of construction materials,
including cement, aggregate and iron, have led to the collapse of the Gaza
construction industry. Thousands of construction workers have been laid off,
and vital infrastructure projects have been forcibly suspended.
· IOF have repeatedly closed border crossings of the Gaza
Strip claiming that home-made rockets were being launched at Israeli towns.
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 at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
· There are approximately permanent 630 roadblocks, manned and
unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank. In addition, there are some 60-80
‘flying’ or temporary checkpoints erected across the West Bank by IOF every
week.
· 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 has already been constructed. Approximately 99% of
the Wall has been constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating
Palestinian land.
· At least 65% of the main roads leading to 18 Palestinian
communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF.
· There are around 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 a permit
issued by the IOF. These 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.
Annexation Wall: During the reporting period, IOF
started to raze areas of land in al-‘Amra natural reserve, which has been
isolated by the Wall, southwest of Jenin. According to eyewitnesses, IOF razed
areas of land in the vicinity of a residential compound where 27 Palestinians from
five families live, in order to establishing a fence that would surround, and
isolate, the compound. IOF informed the families that they would have a fence
built around their homes. Al-‘Amra is the largest natural reserve in the West
Bank, and has already been isolated by the Wall. Control over the area was
supposed to have been handed over to the Palestinian National Authority:
however, the IOF have retained control over the area. In addition, IOF have continued
to prevent Palestinian farmers whose land is on the other side of the Wall from
reaching their olive groves in order to harvest their olives, although the
farmers have valid permits to access their own land.
Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement
activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT have, in violation of
international humanitarian law, continued to attack Palestinian civilians and
property. During the reporting period, IOF stopped work at a land inning
project that was being carried out by the Union of Agricultural Work Committees
in al-Baq’a area, east of Hebron. IOF also confiscated machines from the
workers. This project is one of several projects being funded by the European
Commission in Hebron and Bethlehem.
On 26 October, a number of Israeli settlers from
“Kiryat Arba” settlement, southeast of Hebron, stormed al-Ras Islamic cemetery
opposite to the settlement. They destroyed the headstones of local Palestinian graves.
They then attacked Palestinian cars that were parked in front of local houses,
breaking windows and slashing the tires of at least 25 cars.
Israeli Violations Documented during
the Reporting Period (23 – 29 October 2008)
The full report is available PDF format.
