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

· 6 activists of the Palestinian resistance were killed by IOF
in the Gaza Strip.

· A Palestinian civilian was killed by an Israeli settler in
the West Bank.

· 16 Palestinian, including 4 children, a farmer and a
journalist, were wounded by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  

· IOF conducted 41 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank, and 9 ones into the Gaza Strip.

· IOF arrested 33 Palestinian civilians, including 7 children
and a girl, in the West Bank and 23 others, including 2 children, in the Gaza
Strip.

· IOF razed at least 160 donums[1]
of agricultural land and destroyed 200 beehives 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.

· 8 Palestinian civilian 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.

· A woman and an old man were injured by Israeli settlers.

· A new plan to construct 1,900 new housing unit throughout
the West Bank was proposed.

· A plan to construct 600 housing units in “Pisgat Ze’ev”
settlement was approved.

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law seriously escalated in the OPT,
especially in the Gaza Strip, during the reporting period (27 March – 2 April 2008):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF
killed 6 activists of the Palestinian resistance and wounded another 6
Palestinians, including a farmer, in the Gaza Strip. They also wounded 10
Palestinian civilians, including 4 children and a journalist, in the West Bank.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF
killed 6 activists of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 5 others in 4
separate attacks in al-Qarara village in the south, Beit Lahia and Jabalya town
in the north, and Deir al-Balah town in the center. Additionally, IOF wounded a
Palestinian farmer in Khuza’a village, east of Khan Yunis, on 29 March 2008.

In the West Bank, IOF
wounded 10 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children and a journalist. Dozens
of Palestinian civilians also suffered from tear gas inhalation used by IOF. On
28 March 2008, 8 Palestinian civilians, including a journalist and 3 children,
were wounded when IOF used force to disperse a peaceful demonstration organized
in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah, in protest to the construction of the
Annexation Wall. Additionally, 6 journalists suffered from tear gas inhalation
used by IOF. On 30 March 2008, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when IOF
troop fired at hundreds of Palestinian civilians who organized a peaceful
demonstration in Deir Qiddis village on the Land Day. On 2 April 2008, a
Palestinian child was wounded by IOF troops in Jenin town.

Incursions: During
the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 41 military incursions into
Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 33 Palestinian civilians,
including 7 children and a girl. Thus, the number of Palestinian civilians
arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of 2008 has mounted to 810.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 9 limited incursions into Palestinian
communities. During these incursions, IOF arrested 23, including 2 children,
razed at least 160 donums of agricultural land and destroyed 200 beehives.   

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 of the Gaza Strip for more than one year and a half. The total
siege imposed by IOF on the Gaza Strip has left disastrous impacts on the
humanitarian situation and has violated the economic and social rights of the
nearly 1.5 million Palestinian civilian population, particularly the rights to
appropriate living conditions, health and education. It has also paralyzed most
economic sectors. Furthermore, severe restrictions have been imposed on the
movement of the Palestinian civilian population. The siege imposed on the Gaza
Strip 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 further tightened the siege imposed on the Gaza
Strip since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip, and the living and economic
conditions of Palestinian civilians have further deteriorated. In September
2007, the Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip as “a hostile entity,”
which implies imposing more restrictions and measures of collective punishment
against the Palestinian civilian population. Since then, IOF have sharply
decreased food and fuel supplies allowed into the Gaza Strip. IOF have continued to prevent the entry of
raw materials into the Gaza Strip, and subsequently many factories have stopped
their industrial activities. Concerning the movement of persons, IOF allow a
few Palestinian civilians to pass through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to travel
to the West Bank. Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border is the
sole outlet for the Gaza Strip to the outside world. 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 form reaching
it. 

The closure of border crossings deprives the
Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip of their right to freedom of
movement, education and health. IOF have continued to impose severe
restrictions on fishing in the Gaza Strip. Fishermen have been subjected to
intensive monitoring by IOF, which use helicopter gunships and gunboats to
monitor the fishermen. The Oslo Accords allow Palestinian fishermen to go
fishing up to 20 nautical miles away from the Gaza seashore.

West Bank

IOF have continued to
impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. 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 beat 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 8 Palestinian
civilians.

Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement
activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of
international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians
and property. 31 March 2008, the Local Committee of Planning and Construction
at the Municipality of West Jerusalem approved a plan to construct 600 housing
units in “Pisgat Ze’ev” settlement neighborhood in the context of a
comprehensive plan of mayor Uri Lupolianski, which
includes the construction of 40,000 housing units in Jerusalem under the
pretext of the shortage in apartments for young couples and the high prices of
available apartments. In the same context, on 2 April 2008, the Israeli
daily Yediot Aharanot reported that the Israeli Ministry of Housing presented a
plan to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, which includes the construction of 1,900
housing units throughout the West Bank in 2008. Israeli settlers have also
continued their attacks against Palestinian civilians and property. On 31 March
2008, an Israeli settler shot dead a Palestinian civilian, when he got close to
2 Israeli settlers who were waiting at a bus stop near the entrance of “Shilu”
settlement north of Ramallah. Israeli sources claimed that the victim attempted
to attack one of the settlers using a knife.

Israeli Violations Documented during
the Reporting Period (27 March – 2 April 2008)

The full report is available PDF format.