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

· An elderly Palestinian woman was killed by IOF in the Gaza
Strip.

· A Palestinian civilian died from previous injuries.

· 12 Palestinians,
including 8 civilians, were wounded by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

· IOF conducted 33
incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 5 ones into the
Gaza Strip.

· IOF razed 295 donums[1]
of agricultural in the northern and southern Gaza Strip.  

· IOF completely demolished one house, and partially
demolished five others in the southern Gaza Strip.

· IOF arrested 43 Palestinian
civilians, including 2 children, in the West Bank, and detained 11 others in
the Gaza Strip.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.

· IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

· 2 Palestinian civilians were arrested by IOF at military
checkpoints in the West Bank.

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

· Ehud Olmert gave a green line for the construction of 884
housing units for settlers in Occupied East Jerusalem.

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT, especially in the
Gaza Strip, during the reporting period (29 May – 4 June 2008):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF
killed an elderly Palestinian woman, and another civilian died of a previous injury
in the Gaza Strip. In addition, 11 Palestinians, including 8 civilians, were injured
by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In the Gaza Strip, on
29 May, IOF killed an elderly Palestinian woman during an incursion into
Khuza’a village, east of Khan Yunis. On the same day, Palestinian medical
sources declared that a Palestinian civilian died of injuries sustained by IOF
on the previous day.

On 30 May, 4
Palestinian civilians were injured when IOF used force against a demonstration
organized by Palestinian civilians near Sofa crossing, northeast of Rafah, in
protest at the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.

On 1 June, IOF wounded
3 activists of the Palestinian resistance during an incursion into Bani Suhiala
village, east of Khan Yunis.

On 3 June, a
Palestinian civilian was injured by IOF gunfire during an incursion into
al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis.

In the West Bank, 3
Palestinian civilians were injured when IOF used force against peaceful
demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli
human rights defenders on 30 May. They were protesting against the continuing construction
of the Annexation Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramalllah, and al-Ma’sara
village, south of Bethlehem.  

On 31 May, a Palestinian
child was injured when IOF fired ammunition at a number of children who
gathered and threw stones at IOF vehicles in Sarra village, southwest of
Nablus.   

Incursions: During
the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 34 military incursions into
Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 43 Palestinian civilians,
including 2 children. Since the beginning of this year, 1,267 Palestinian
civilians have been arrested by IOF in the West Bank.   

In the Gaza Strip, IOF
conducted 4 incursions into Palestinian communities. During these incursions,
IOF razed at least 195 donums of agricultural land, completely demolished one
house, and partially demolished five others, and also detained 11 Palestinian
civilians.  

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.

Gaza Strip

IOF have continued to close all border
crossings to the Gaza Strip for almost two years. The IOF siege of Gaza, which
has tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian
situation in the Gaza Strip, and has violated the human, economic and social
rights of the approximately 1.5 million Palestinian civilian population,
particularly their rights to appropriate living conditions, health and
education. The siege has also paralyzed the Gazan economy. In addition, the
siege has severely impacted the flow of food, medical supplies and other
necessities such as fuel, construction materials and raw materials for various
economic sectors. IOF have continued to prevent the entry of raw materials into
the Gaza Strip, and many factories have been forced to close. Severe restrictions
have been imposed on the movement of the entire Palestinian civilian
population. Regarding civilian movements, IOF permit very few Palestinian
civilians to pass through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in order to travel to the
West Bank or Israel. Rafah International Crossing Point in the southern Gaza
Strip is the sole outlet for the Gaza Strip to the outside world via a country
other than Israel. IOF have closed Rafah International Crossing Point, even
though they do not directly control it. They have prevented European observers
working at the crossing point from reaching it. IOF also imposes restrictions
on the access of fishermen to sea, using force to impose severe restrictions on
their rights to fish on their own coastline.

West Bank

Contrary to Israeli
claims of easing restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians, IOF
have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians
throughout the West Bank. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip have been denied access to Jerusalem. IOF have established
many checkpoints around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of
Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays to prevent them from praying at
the al-Aqsa Mosque. IOF often violently assault Palestinian civilians who
attempt to bypass checkpoints and enter the city. IOF have also tightened the
siege imposed on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. 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 troops positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank
arrested 2 Palestinian civilians.

Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement
activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT have, in violation of
international human rights and humanitarian law, continued to attack
Palestinian civilians and property. During the reporting period, the Israeli
Minister of Housing declared that his ministry would invite bids to construct
120 housing unit on Abu Ghunaim Mount, south of East Jerusalem, and 700 others
in “Pisgat Ze’ev” settlement neighborhood in Jerusalem. In a statement to
Israel Radio, Boim said the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave a green
line to start the construction of 884 housing units in Occupied East Jerusalem
before flying to the United States.

On 1 June, IOF prevented vehicles belonging to the
local council of Kufor Qaddoum village, northeast of Qalqilya, from leveling
land in the east of the village in preparation for supplying the village with
electricity.

Israeli Violations Documented during
the Reporting Period (29 May – 4 June 2008)

The full report is available PDF format.