Israeli Forces 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 child was wounded when Israeli forces fired at
fishing boats in Rafah.
· Israeli forces used force against peaceful demonstrations
organized in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall in the West
Bank.
· Israeli forces conducted 26 incursions into Palestinian
communities in the West Bank.
· Israeli forces arrested 28 Palestinian civilians, including
3 children and one woman, in the West Bank, and two fishers in the Gaza Strip.
· Israeli forces demolished 3 car maintenance workshops.
· The State of Israel has continued to impose a total closure
on the OPT and have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
· Israeli troops positioned at military checkpoints in the
West Bank arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including two children and two
women.
· Israel has continued measures aimed at establishing a Jewish
majority in occupied east Jerusalem.
· Israeli settlers seized a Palestinian house in Silwan
village.
· Israeli forces attacked religious sites in Jerusalem.
· Israeli forces have continued settlement activities in the
West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians
and property.
· 116 donums[1]
of land in Ya’bad village, southwest of Jenin, were confiscated by Israeli
forces.
· Israeli forces ordered the demolition of 9 houses in Slem
village, east of Nablus.
· An international human rights defender was injured and 4
others were arrested by Israeli forces during protests against Israeli
settlement activities.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting
period (13 – 19 August 2009):
Shooting: On 14 August 2009, Israeli gunboats
opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats opposite to Rafah beach. As a result, a 12-year-old Palestinian child,
who was at the beach, was seriously wounded by a gunshot to the head.
During the reporting period, Israeli
forces used force against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian
civilians in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall in the West
Bank. A number of demonstrators also suffered from the inhalation of an unknown
substance used by Israeli forces in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes
bombarded the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt allegedly to destroy
smuggling tunnels.
Incursions: During the reporting period, Israeli
forces conducted at least 26 military incursions into Palestinian communities
in the West Bank. Israeli forces arrested 28 Palestinian civilians, including 3
children and one woman. Israeli forces also
demolished 5 workshops in Qalqilya.
On 18 August 2009, Israeli forces arrested
two Palestinian fishers opposite to Rafah seashore. They interrogated the two fishers for several
hours and released them later.
Gaza Strip
Israeli forces have continued to close all border crossings
to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The 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.
· 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.
· Israel has continued to prevent the entry of raw
construction materials into the Gaza Strip for more than two years.
· Israel has 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.
· Israel has 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.
· Israel has 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.
· Israel has 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.
· Israeli forces continued to attack Palestinian fishers along
the Gaza Strip coast.
West Bank
Israeli forces 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.
· Israeli forces 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 Israeli
forces 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 Israeli forces (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 Israeli forces. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.
· Israeli forces continue to harass, and assault demonstrators
who hold peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.
· Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by Israeli
forces in Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, including being regularly
stopped and searched in the streets by Israeli forces.
· During the reporting period, Israeli troops positioned at
military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 8 Palestinian civilians,
including two children and two women.
Efforts intended to establish a Jewish majority in
occupied east Jerusalem: Israeli forces have continued arbitrary measures against Palestinian
civilians in East Jerusalem to force them to leave the city. On 15 August 2009, Palestinian institutions in
Jerusalem organized a peaceful march in solidarity with Palestinians living in the
Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem, whose houses are under threat of
confiscation. The Israeli police
prevented the march form moving towards the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. On 16
August 2009, dozens of Israeli settlers stormed and seized a 100-square-meter
house belonging to ‘Imad Daoud Siam in ‘Ein Hilwa area in Silwan village to the
south of the old town of Jerusalem. The
settlers claimed that they have documents proving their ownership of the house.
On 17 August 2009, a
number of Israeli police officers attacked al-Nazer Gate, one of the gates of
the al-Aqsa Mosque, and removed its locks. They replaced the locks with new ones. Soon after, the Palestinian Islamic Endowments Department removed the
new lock and put the old ones back. When
the police were asked about the incidents, they claimed it happened by
mistake. On the same day, Israeli forces
conducted a military training to climb fences of the al-Aqsa Mosque using
ladders. The training lasted for one
hour. Also on the same day, at least 30
Israeli settlers attacked the Hanoun and al-Ghawi families, whose houses in
Sheikh Jarrah are under threat of confiscation. When the families and other civilians in the area attempted to stop the
attack, Israeli troops attacked them.
Settlement
Activities: Israeli
forces 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 15 August 2009, dozens of Palestinian civilians and
Israeli and international human rights defenders gathered in the north of Safa
Village, adjacent to Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron. They moved towards lands under threat of
confiscation in the Abu al-Rish area in order to plough the lands and to pick
plums and grapes. Israeli troops used
force against the protesters and assaulted some of them. An international human rights defender was
injured and two others were arrested by Israeli forces. In Halhoul town, north
of Hebron, land owners, the Public Committee Against the Wall and Settlements,
and international human rights defenders organized a protest and a voluntary
workday on the lands of Kherbet al-Hajj, northwest of Hebron, which are under
threat of confiscation. The protesters
arrived at the lands adjacent to “Kermi Tsur” settlement, and began to reclaim
the lands that were damaged by the Israeli settlers during their latest
attacks. Israeli troops chased the protestors and tried to force them to leave
the location. They also arrested two
international human rights defenders. On
10 August 2009, Israeli forces moved into Salem village, east of Nablus. They handed written notices to the owners of
9 Palestinian houses to refer to “Beit Eil Court” on 10 September
2009; otherwise, the houses would be demolished. On the same day, the
Municipality of Ya’bad village, southwest of Jenin, received a fax from the
Palestinian civil liaison, which included a copy of a military order issued by Israeli
forces confiscating 116 donums of land in the village allegedly for security
necessities. These areas of land are
planted with olives and belong to a number of Palestinian villagers.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (13 – 19 August July 2009)
The full report is available PDF format.
