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
· 11 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children and one woman,
were wounded by the IOF gunfire in the West Bank.
· A Palestinian resistance activist and a farmer were wounded
by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
· 3 Palestinians were missed when IOF warplanes bombarded a
tunnels in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip.
· IOF conducted 15 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and bombarded civilian facilities in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 7 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and two
fishermen in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF destroyed a workshop in the Gaza Strip.
· 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.
· IOF forced a Palestinian civilian to demolish his houses.
· The Israeli judiciary ordered the evacuation of a number of
Palestinian houses, which would render at least 70 civilians homeless.
· IOF razed large areas of Palestinian land near the Container
checkpoint.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and
property.
· The Israeli government approved the expansion of
“Masikot” settlement in the northern Jordan Valley.
· IOF established an iron fence near Beit Ummar village, north
of Hebron. .
· Israeli settlers and IOF attacked Palestinian farmers and
expelled them from their lands.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting
period (14 – 20 May 2009):
Shooting: During the reporting period, 11
Palestinian civilians, including 5 children, were wounded by IOF in the West
Bank, and a resistance activist and a farmer were wounded by IOF in the Gaza
Strip.
In the West Bank, 9 Palestinian
civilians, including 5 children, were wounded when IOF used force against a peaceful
demonstration organized in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall
in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.
On 18 May 2009, two Palestinian
workers were wounded when IOF troops positioned at a checkpoint near Hebron
opened fire at a number of workers.
In the Gaza Strip, on 19 May 2009, a
Palestinian resistance activist was wounded when IOF warplanes targeted him and
other activists in Gaza City. On the same day, IOF warplanes bombarded
residential areas located near the Egyptian border, south of Rafah, allegedly
to destroy tunnels. As a result, 3 Palestinians were missed in a tunnel that
had been attacked.
On 20 May 2009, a Palestinian farmer
was wounded when IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and
Israel opened fire at farmers in Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 13 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. IOF arrested 7 Palestinian civilians, including the mother of an
allegedly wanted person. In the Gaza Strip, IOF naval troops arrested two
Palestinian fishermen in Rafah.
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 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.
· 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 16 May 2009, IOF forced ‘Abdul Nasser
‘Aadel Hamdallah to demolish his house in al-Sal’a quarter in al-Mukabber
village expired. The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem had already ordered
Hamdallah to demolish his 55-square-meter house, claiming that it was built
without a license. On 17 May 2009, the
Israeli District Court in Jerusalem issued a decision ordering the evacuation
of houses belonging to the al-Hannoun and al-Ghawi families in Sheikh Jarrah
neighborhood by 19 July 2009, otherwise, heavy fines would be imposed on the
two families. It is worth noting that at least 70 Palestinian civilians live in
these houses. During the reporting period, IOF heavy bulldozers started to
clear areas of Palestinian land in the villages of Abu Dees, al-Sawahra and
al-‘Eizariya, southeast of Jerusalem, apparently to esxapnd the Container
checkpoint, which separates between the north and south of the West Bank.
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 14 May 2009, a number of Israeli
settlers from “Yits’har” settlement, south of Nablus, closed the
bypass road located to the south of the city and prevented Palestinian civilian
vehicles from traveling on the road. On 18 May 2009, the Israeli government
published an invitation for bids in Hebrew newspapers for the construction of
20 new housing units in “Maskiot” settlement in the northern Jordan
Valley. The Israeli military radio reported that the invitation for bids were
published after the Israeli defense ministry had approved the expansion of the
aforementioned settlement. It is worth noting that “Maskiot”
settlement was built in 2006 in the place of an Israeli military post to absorb
Israeli settlers who were evacuated from “Gush Qatif” settlement bloc
in the Gaza Strip in summer 2005. On the same day, IOF started to establish an
iron fence between the east and southeast of Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron,
and the Jerusalem – Hebron road, allegedly to secure the movement of Israeli
vehicles from stone throwing. On 17 and
18 May 2009, IOF prevented at least 50 Palestinian farmers from Beit Uammar and
Safa village, north of Hebron, accompanied by a number of international and
Israeli human rights defenders, from reaching agricultural area located in Wadi
Abu al-Reesh area to the north of the two villages. IOF besieged them and
forced them to leave the area. On 19 May 2009, dozens of Israeli settlers,
escorted by IOF, attacked a number of Palestinian farmers who were working on
their lands in Jeet village, northeast of Qalqilya. They violently beat a
number of farmers and forced them to leave their lands. Soon after, the
settlers brought tractors and tilled the lands.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (14 – 20 May 2009)
The full report is available PDF
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