Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Launch
More Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT)
· 18 Palestinians, including 5 children, were killed by IOF.
· 9 of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in the
northern Gaza Strip.
· 58 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children, were wounded
by IOF.
· IOF launched 21 aerial attacks on civilian targets in the
Gaza Strip.
· IOF conducted 63 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.
· Houses were raided and 108 Palestinian civilians, including 10
children, were arrested by IOF.
· 17 houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; they have
closed all border crossings of the Gaza Strip; they expanded Za’tara checkpoint
to separate the north of the West Bank from other areas; and they arrested 16 Palestinian
civilians, including two children, at various checkpoints in the West Bank.
· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the
West Bank.
· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian
civilians and property in the OPT; 5 Palestinian civilians, including 3
children, were injured; and 8 houses were damaged.
Summary
Israeli
violations of international law continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(OPT) during the reporting period (27 October – 9 November 2005):[1]
Killings: During the reported period, IOF
killed 17 Palestinians, including 5 children, in the West Bank. An 18th Palestinian died from a
wound he sustained last September. In
addition, 58 Palestinian civilians, including 21 children, were wounded by the
Israeli gunfire.
In the
Gaza Strip, IOF killed 11 Palestinians. Nine of the victims, including 5 civilian bystanders, 3 of whom were
children, were extra-judicially executed by IOF. A Palestinian gunman was killed in the
northern Gaza Strip when IOF fired an artillery shell at him. A Palestinian civilian died from a wound he sustained
by IOF last September. These
extra-judicial executions followed a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon that he gave the Israeli military a green light to launch a wide
scale operation against what he called “Palestinian Terrorism,” and a focused offensive, including extra-judicial executions,
against the Islamic Jihad. The Israeli
military Chief of Staff Dan Halutz admitted committing extra-judicial
executions against Palestinian in the context of a policy rather than as a
response to bombings carried out by Palestinians. Halutz stated at a meeting of the Committee
of Foreign and Defence Affairs at the Israeli Knesset on Tuesday, 8 November
2005, that executing activists of Islamic Jihad “would continue as a
policy adopted by the army rather than in response to attacks only.” Extra-judicial executions involve executing a
person without trial and without allowing him/her to defend him/herself and as
such constitute a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949. This policy also
violates international human rights law, including the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights of 1966.
In the
West Bank, IOF killed 7 Palestinians, including 2 children, in 5 separate
attacks in Qabatya village near Jenin; Jenin refugee camp; Nablus; and
al-‘Eisawiya village near occupied East Jerusalem.
Shelling:
During the reported
period, IOF carried out 21 aerial attacks on Palestinian civilian targets in
the Gaza Strip. They also carried out a
series of mock air raids throughout the Gaza Strip, which terrified Palestinian
civilians and damaged property. IOF
positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel fired artillery
shells at Palestinian areas twice.
Incursions: IOF
conducted 63 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses
and arrested 108 Palestinian civilians, including 10 children. IOF employed undercover units and trained
dogs in these incursions. IOF also
transformed 17 houses into military sites.
Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a
comprehensive siege on the OPT, in violation of civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights of Palestinian civilians.
IOF have continued to impose a
tightened siege on the Gaza Strip, transforming it into a large prison. Rafah International Crossing Point
on the Egyptian border, the sole outlet for the Gaza Strip to the outside
world, has remained closed for nearly two months. During the reported
period, there were reports concerning a deal to be reached shortly regarding
the operation of the crossing point. According to media reports, the crossing point will be operated by the
Egyptians and Palestinians with the presence of a European force as a third
party, whose responsibilities have not been determined. Goods and foreigners will not pass through
the crossing point, rather they will pass through Kerem Shalom crossing point
to the southeast of Rafah. Israel
insists on having some authority at Rafah International Crossing Point,
including fixing cameras to monitor the movement at the crossing point and
handing lists of those who are banned from travelling due security claims to
the Europeans to ensure their ban. In
the past weeks, IOF allowed Palestinians to operate the crossing point for
several hours to solve the problem of those who had been blocked on both sides
of the crossing point. The continued
closure of the crossing point has deprived hundreds of Palestinian civilians of
their rights to education, health, work and social communication. In the meantime, IOF have continued to close Beit
Hanoun (Erez) crossing for Palestinian workers and patients for several
weeks. Only a few patients who suffer from serious diseases are allowed
to travel to Israeli hospitals through the crossing. IOF have continued to impose severe
restrictions at commercial border crossings and have also imposed severe
restrictions on fishing in the Gaza Strip.
In the
West Bank, IOF have imposed more restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians. These restrictions have
deprived Palestinian civilians of praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in
Jerusalem. In the context of
restrictions on movement, IOF have started to establish a huge checkpoint near
Za’tara crossroads, south of Nablus, to separate the north and middle of the
West Bank. According to Israeli sources,
the checkpoint will include 10 routes; 8 will lead to the south while the other
two will go to the north. Two of the
routes leading to the south will be designated for the movement of settlers and
humanitarian agencies. Palestinian
civilians will be banned from crossing the checkpoint on foot, including the
prohibition of the movement of private cars on roads, and limiting
transportation to taxis only. IOF have
also erected dozens of military checkpoints on the main roads. IOF re-erected checkpoints that had previously
been dismantled and installed dozens of new ones. In the last 10 days of Ramadan, IOF
imposed severe restriction on the travel of Palestinian pilgrims to Saudi
Arabia. During the reported period, IOF
positioned at various checkpoints arrested 16 Palestinian civilians, including two
children.
Annexation
Wall: IOF have
continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. During the reported period, IOF issued a
military order seizing 292 dunums[2] of
Palestinian land in the villages of Dura, al-Zahiriya and Arab al-Ramadin near
Hebron for the purpose of the construction of a section of the Wall in the
area. IOF also surveyed areas of
Palestinian land in Kufor Thuluth village, southeast of Qalqilya, for the same
purpose. In addition, they imposed
severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians on both sides of
the Wall. They prevented Palestinian
farmers from reaching their agricultural land.
Illegal
Settler Activities:
Israeli settlers in breach of international humanitarian law continue to reside
in the OPT and have launched a series of attacks against Palestinian civilians
and property. During the reported
period, Israeli settlers launched 7 attacks against Palestinian civilians and
property in Hebron and Nablus. Five
Palestinian civilians, including 3 children and an old man, were injured. Israeli settlers also burnt an office of a
lawyer, damaged 8 houses and uprooted 40 trees.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (27 October – 9 November 2005)
The full report is available PDF format.
