Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Continue to Impose a Total Closure on
the Gaza Strip
· A Palestinian civilian died of a previously sustained wound,
inflicted by IOF in Hebron.
· 6 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded by
IOF and settlers’ gunfire in the West Bank.
· IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized in
protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall in the West Bank.
· IOF conducted 24 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and 3 ones into the Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 30 Palestinian civilians, including a child and
a woman, in the West Bank, and 3 children in the Gaza Strip.
· Israeli naval troops continued to attack Palestinian fishers
and boats in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF have continued to impose a total closure on the OPT and
have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
· IOF troops positioned at military checkpoints and border
crossings in the West Bank arrested 5 Palestinian civilians, including a child.
· IOF have continued measures aimed at establishing a Jewish
majority in occupied east Jerusalem.
· New excavations in Silwan village were disclosed.
· IOF continued to target activities by Palestinian cultural
associations in Jerusalem.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and
property.
· Israeli settlers re-established a settlement outpost to the
south of Yatta village, south of Hebron.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting
period (10 – 16 September 2009):
Shooting: During the reporting period, a
Palestinian civilian died of a previous wound he had sustained by IOF in
Hebron. Additionally, 6 Palestinian
civilians, including a child, were wounded by IOF and settlers in the West
Bank.
On 13 September 2009, medical
sources at an Israeli hospital declared that ‘Obaida Maher al-Dwaik, 25, from
Hebron, died of wounds inflicted by IOF. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 11:00 on
Wednesday, 26 August 2009, Israeli troops positioned at al-Shuhada checkpoint
near Tal Rumaida neighborhood in the center of Hebron fired at al-Dwaik from a
range of less than 20 meters. He was
wounded by several gunshots to the abdomen and the legs. IOF did not allow Palestinian ambulances to
attend him. They evacuated him to an
Israeli hospital. They claimed that he
attempted to attack an Israeli soldiers using a knife.
On 11 September 2009, a Palestinian
civilian was wounded in Qalandya refugee camp, south of Ramallah, when IOF
troops fired at Palestinian boys who threw stones at military vehicles.
On the same day, an Israeli settler opened fire at a number
of Palestinian civilians in Silwan village to the south of the old town of
Jerusalem, wounding two of them. The two
civilians were evacuated to the hospital in a civilian car, which was stopped by
IOF several times.
On 15 September 2009, a Palestinian
civilian was wounded by an Israeli settler in ‘Ainabous village, south of
Nablus.
IOF also used force against peaceful
demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli
human rights defenders in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall in
the West Bank. As a result, two
Palestinian civilians were wounded.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 24 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. IOF arrested 30 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a woman.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 3 limited
incursions into Palestinian communities, during which they leveled areas of
Palestinian land they had already razed. They also arrested 3 Palestinians.
Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a tightened closure 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
IOF have continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza
Strip for more than two years. The IOF 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.
· 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 main concern of
1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs of
food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.
· IOF have continued to
prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for more
than two years.
· IOF have not allowed
fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas,
since 10 December 2008.
· The Rafah
International Crossing Point has been opened for a few days for a number of
patients who received medical treatment abroad and needed to return home to the
Gaza Strip.
· IOF have continued to
close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to
the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.
· Poverty and
unemployment rates stand at approximately 80% and 60% respectively in the Gaza
Strip.
· IOF have continued to
prevent the entry of spare parts form water networks and sewage systems. Losses
incurred to this sector are estimated at US$ 6 million.
· IOF have imposed
additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and
humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip. They have prevented
representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from
entering the Gaza Strip.
· Living conditions of
the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of
poverty and unemployment have sharply mounted.
· At least 900
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been denied family visitation rights
for more than two years.
· IOF have continued to
attack Palestinian fishers along the Gaza Strip coast.
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, and 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 that leads to 18 Palestinian
communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF (47 out of
72 roads).
· 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: 10 September 2009, the Israeli High Court ordered IOF
to dismantle sections of the Annexation Wall in Kherbat Jebara and Jayous
villages, north Qalqilya, in response to a petition submitted by the Citizens’
Rights Association in 2003 on behalf of several Palestinian villages near
Tulkarm and Qalqilya. The petition
demanded dismantlement of the Wall in these villages and cancellation of the
seizure of at least 6,000 donums of land. According to the Municipality of Jayous, 2,488 donums of land and a well
would be spared seizure. However, the
decision has not been fully implemented.
Efforts intended to
establish Jewish majority in occupied east Jerusalem: IOF have escalated arbitrary
measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem to force them to leave
the city. On 10 September 2009, al-Aqsa
association for the Waqf and heritage disclosed that Israeli occupation
authorities have been digging a new tunnel under Silwan village. Israeli authorities and the “El’ad”
settlement association underake efforts to complete this tunnel as soon
as possible so that it can be linked with other tunnels under Silwan village
near the al-Aqsa mosque. The al-Aqsa
association stressed that it has photographs of works in the tunnel. During the reporting period, IOF prevented
Rouaq Band from conducting a show in the Palestinian National Theater (al-Hakawati). IOF stormed the theater before the beginning
of the show and expelled the band and a Swedish delegation, claiming that this
activity was being organized under the auspices of the Palestinian National
Authority.
Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement
activities in violation of international humanitarian law and Israeli
settlers living in the OPT have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and
property. On 10 September 2009, Israeli settlers living
in “Sousia” settlement to the south of Yatta village, south of
Hebron, re-established a settlement outpost that had been dismantled on the
preceding day. The outpost controls at least
300 donums of agricultural land. Israeli
settlers set up 3 tents and brought electricity generators. IOF were present in the area to protect the
settlers. On 12 September 2009, a number
of Israeli settlers closed the main entrance of Ras Karkar village, northwest
of Ramallah. They threw stones and empty
bottles at Palestinian civilians. They
then violently beat Mohammed Rafeeq Salhiya, 22. He sustained bruises throughout the body. During the reporting period, 3 Palestinian
civilians, including a child, were wounded by Israeli settlers’ gunfire.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (10 – 16 September 2009)
The full report is available PDF format.
