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
· A Palestinian civilian died of wounds he had sustained
during the latest IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip.
· The body of a Palestinian shepherd who had been missing for
about 50 days was found in the northeast of the Gaza Strip.
· IOF conducted 26 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.
· IOF arrested 11 Palestinian civilians, including one child,
in the West Bank.
· IOF have continued to attack Palestinian fishers in the Gaza
Strip; they detained two fishers for several hours after confiscating their
boat.
· 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 have continued
to harass Palestinian civilians.
· IOF have continued measures aimed at establishing a Jewish
majority in occupied east Jerusalem.
· IOF forced two Palestinian civilians to demolish their
homes.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and
property.
· 5 Palestinian civilians were injured by Israeli settlers.
· Israeli settlers set fire to areas of Palestinian agricultural
land in the northern Gaza Strip.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (11 – 17 June 2009):
Shooting: During the reporting period, one
Palestinian was killed by IOF in the West Bank. Additionally, IOF wounded 13
Palestinian civilians, including 4 children and a paramedic, in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip.
On 14 June 2009, medical sources at
an Egyptian hospital declared that Yasser ‘Arafat Sbair, 27, from Jabalya
refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, died of wounds he had stained during
the recent IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip. An IOF drone fired a missile at him on 12 January 2009 when he was near
his house. He was a member of the
Palestinian resistance.
On the same day, the body of Ahmed Salama Abu Hasheesh, 19, a shepherd
from the northern Gaza Strip, was found nearly 50 meters away from the border
with Israel. Abu Hasheesh had been
missing for nearly two months.
In the West Bank, dozens of Palestinian
civilians suffered from tear gas inhalation, when IOF used force against
peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians in protest to the
construction of the Annexation Wall in Bal’ein and Ne;lin villages, west of
Ramallah.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 26 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. IOF arrested 11 Palestinian civilians, including a child.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF naval troops
continued to chase and fire at Palestinian fishermen. During the reporting period, they detained
two fishermen for several hours.
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 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 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 are 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 17 months.
· 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.
Establishing a
Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem: IOF have escalated arbitrary measures against
Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem to force them to leave the city. During
the reporting period, IOF forced two Palestinians to demolish structures added
to their houses in the old town of Jerusalem, allegedly because they were
unlicensed.
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 11 June 2009, IOF moved
into Kufor Hares village, north of Salfit. They patrolled in the streets in order to allow at least 1,000 Israeli
settlers to enter the village to conduct religious ceremonies. In the evening, IOF imposed a curfew on the
village and allowed the settlers to enter the village. They stayed in the village until the
following day morning, during which time they damaged a number of cars and
windows of houses. They also wrote some slogans on walls of houses. On 14 June 2009, a number of Israeli settlers
attacked 10-year-old ‘Eissa Ahmed Qara’in near his house in Silwan village,
east of Jerusalem. When the family
intervened to protect the child, at least 30 guards of Israeli settlements in
the area and attacked members of the family. Members of the family called the police, which arrived an hour and a
half later. Ambulances also arrived at
the area two hours later. As a result of
the attack by settlers, 5 Palestinian civilians, including a child and two old
people, were injured. On 15 June 2009,
fire broke out in wheat field in Eastern al-Lubban village, southeast of
Nablus. According to eyewitnesses, 3
Israeli settlers from “Elli” settlement, which stands on the eastern
lands of the village set fire to the fields, while IOF troops were present in
the area. Palestinian villagers hurried to extinguish fire and asked IOF troops
to call fire engines from nearby settlements, but they refused. The mayor
called the Palestinian civil defense in the nearby Bourin village. Fire fighter
were able to extinguish fire after it had destroyed 20-25 donums[1] of
land planted with wheat. On 17 June
2009, IOF moved into al-Hilwa area to the east of Tubas town in the northern
Jordan Valley. They demolished 15
barnyards and 3 tents. About 40 days ago, IOF handed notices to Palestinian
civilians living in the area ordering them to evacuate it claiming that it is a
closed military zone.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (11 – 17 June 2009)
The full report is available PDF format.
