July 29, 2009
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Continue to Impose a Total Siege on
the Gaza Strip

 

· 7 Palestinian civilians, including one child and one woman,
were wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank.

 

· IOF conducted 21 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank, and one into the Gaza Strip.

 

· IOF arrested 14 Palestinian civilians, including two children,
in the West Bank.

 

· IOF arrested 200 Palestinian workers from Barta’a village,
which is isolated by the Annexation Wall.

 

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and
have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

 

· IOF troops positioned at military checkpoints in the West
Bank arrested one Palestinian civilian.

 

· IOF have continued measures aimed at the Judaization of east
Jerusalem.

 

· Israeli settlers seized a Palestinian house in Sheikh Jarrah
neighborhood.

 

· Scores of Israeli settlers broke into the yards of al-Aqsa Mosque.

 

· IOF ordered two families in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in
two weeks.

 

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

 

· The number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, excluding
Jerusalem and random settlement outposts, mounted to more than 300,000.

 

· IOF ordered stopping construction works in a number of
Palestinian houses.

 

· Israeli settlers launched a series of attacks against
Palestinian civilians and their property.

 

 

 

 

Summary

 

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting
period (23 – 29 July 2009):

 

Shooting: During the reporting period, 7
Palestinians civilians, including one child and one woman, were wounded by the
IOF gunfire in the West Bank. 

 

On 24 July 2009, 3 Palestinian
civilians were wounded when IOF used force against a peaceful demonstration
organized by Palestinian civilians in protest to the construction of the
Annexation Wall in Ne’lin village, west of Ramallah. A number of demonstrators
also suffered from the inhalation of a substance that had a disgusting smell
used by IOF. IOF had used the same substance for the first time on 08 August
2008.

 

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 21 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. IOF arrested 14 Palestinian civilians, including two children.  On 28 July 2009, IOF arrested 200 Palestinian
workers from Barta’a village, west of Jenin.

 

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 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 few 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 in the face of Palestinian civilians wishing to
travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social
visits.

 

· Poverty had mounted to
approximately 80% and unemployment has mounted to 60% 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 is estimated at US$ 6 million.

 

· IOF have imposed
additional restrictions on access of international diplomats, journalists and
humanitarian workers to 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 deprived for family visitation
for more than two years. 

 

· IOF have continued to
attack Palestinian fishermen 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, 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.

 

· During the reporting period, IOF troops positioned at
military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested one Palestinian civilian.

 

Judaization of Jerusalem: IOF have escalated arbitrary
measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem to force them to leave
the city. On 26 July 2009, Israeli settlers seized a house in Sheikh
Jarrah neighborhood. On 27 July 2009,
Israeli settlers stormed a house in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and attacked
neighboring houses from it. On 28 July 2009, IOF ordered two Palestinian families
to vacate their houses in two weeks. On 29 July 2009, scores of Israeli
settlers broke into the yards of al-Aqsa Mosque and conducted Jewish
ceremonies.

 

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.  On
27 July 2009, IOF moved into Kufol Hares village, northwest of Salfit. They handed noticed to 8 Palestinian civilian
civilians ordering them to stop construction works in their houses. On 23 July 2009, a number of Israeli settlers
from “Yits’har” settlement, south of Nablus, attacked Palestinian
houses in the east of Southern ‘Assira village, south of the city. On 24 July 2009, dozens of Israeli settlers,
escorted by IOF, started to establish an iron fence around a 40-donum[1] area
of land in Bourin village, south of Nablus, to establish a new settlement
outpost. According to the biannual report issued by the Israeli “Civil
Administration,” by the end of June 2009, the number of Israeli settlers
in the West Bank had been 304,569. This
figure does not include settlers living inside and around Jerusalem and in
settlement outposts not registered by the “Civil Administration.” The
number of Israeli settlers who are not under the administration of local
councils increased by 4.4%. Settlements
of an ideological nature witnessed the highest increase of population.

 



Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (23 – 29 July 2009)

 

The full report is available PDF format.

 



[1] One donum is equal tom 1,000 square meters.