Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Launch
More Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT)
· One Palestinians was extra-judicially killed by IOF.
· 3 children were wounded by IOF.
· IOF conducted 20 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.
· Houses were raided and 40 Palestinian civilians were
arrested by IOF.
· Two houses were seized and transformed into military sites
by IOF.
· Undercover units and dogs were employed in these incursions.
· IOF have continued to construct a border fence between the
Gaza Strip and Israel to the north of Beit Hanoun.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have
continued to close Rafah International Crossing Point and Beit Hanoun
(Erez) crossing; a woman was run down by an Israeli military jeep; and IOF
arrested 11Palestinian civilians, including a girl, a lawyer and a lecturer.
· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the
West Bank; the Israeli High Court approved the construction of the Wall around
al-Ram village and Dahiat al-Barid area in Jerusalem; IOF razed areas of land
in al-Sawahra al-Sahrqiya village; IOF razed 24 dunums[1]
of agricultural land and uprooted at least 150 olive trees in ‘Azzoun ‘Atma
village; and 3 Palestinian civilians were injured and 4 solidarity activists were
arrested by IOF during a peaceful demonstration organized in protest to the
construction of the Wall.
· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian
civilians and property in the OPT; Israeli settlers attacked two houses in Beit
Fourik village; and IOF razed areas of Palestinian land and confiscated 700 dunums
of land in the northern Jordan Valley for the purpose of settlement expansion.
Summary
Israeli
violations of international law continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(OPT) during the reporting period (13-19 October 2005):
Extra-Judicial
Killing: On Sunday,
16 October 2005, IOF extra-judicially killed Nihad Khaled Abu Ghanem, 33, from
Bourqin village west of Jenin. This attack
came one week following a the publication of information that that IOF would
decrease attempts to arrest most wanted Palestinians in the West Bank to avoid
their resistance to arrest, which indicates that IOF may escalate the policy of
extra-judicial killing officially adopted by the Israeli political and security
establishments against Palestinian activists.
Incursions: IOF
conducted at least 20 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During these incursions, IOF
raided houses and arrested 40 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children. They also seized two houses and transformed
them into military sites. IOF employed undercover units and trained dogs during
these incursions. In addition, a
Palestinian woman was seriously injured when she was run down by an Israeli
military jeep, and 3 children were wounded by the Israeli gunfire in Tarqoumia and
Beit ‘Awa villages near Hebron. Recently,
IOF have conducted wide scale arrest campaigns in the West Bank, mainly targeting
members of Hamas. Since the end of last September,
IOF have arrested at least 500 Palestinians. PCHR is concerned that these arrests may constitute an indirect
intervention into the Palestinian parliamentary elections that will be held in
January 2006, as the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minster expressed their
opposition to Hamas’ participation in these elections.
Restrictions on Movement: Even though IOF have been redeployed
around the Gaza Strip, they have continued to impose a tightened siege,
transforming the Gaza Strip 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 the fifth consecutive week, as no deal has been
reached concerning transportation across it. IOF insist on maintaining control over the movement of persons and goods
through the crossing point, and have actually moved equipment from the crossing
point to the “Kerem Shalom” area on the Egyptian – Israeli border. In the meantime, IOF have continued to close Beit
Hanoun (Erez) crossing for Palestinian workers and patients for several
weeks. With the closure of Rafah
International Crossing Point and Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, the Gaza
Strip has been transformed into a big prison, as IOF maintain control over the
airspace and other border crossing of the Gaza Strip. IOF have also imposed severe restrictions on
fishing in the Gaza Strip.
In the
West Bank, since Monday morning, 17 October 2005, IOF have imposed more
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. These restrictions included the prohibition
of movement of private cars on roads, and limiting transportation to taxis
only. IOF have also erected dozens of
military checkpoints on the main roads. According to Israeli sources, theses measures were decided by the
Israeli Defense Minster, Shaul Mofaz, on Sunday evening, 16 October 2005,
following two attacks against Israeli targets near “Gush Etzion”
settlement, south of Bethlehem, and “Elli” settlement, south of
Nablus. Mofaz
ordered his troops to surround Palestinian towns in an attempt to create buffer
zones. IOF declared that they would
prevent Palestinian private vehicles from traveling on the main roads in the
West Bank, including road (60) and road (90) which link various areas in the
West Bank. IOF started to implement
these measures on Monday morning, 17 October 2005. According to eyewitnesses, IOF re-erected
checkpoints that had been dismantled and erected dozens of new ones. During the reported period, IOF positioned at
various checkpoints arrested 11 Palestinian civilians, including a girl, a
lawyer and a lecturer.
Annexation
Wall: IOF have
continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. During the reported period, IOF razed areas
of Palestinian land in al-Sawahra al-Sharqiya village near Jerusalem. They also razed 24 dunums of agricultural
land and uprooted at least 150 olive trees in ‘Azzoun ‘Atma village, south of
Qalqilya. In another decision that violates
the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which
considered the construction of the Wall in the West Bank illegal, the Israeli
High Court decided to allow IOF to construct a section of the Wall near Dahiat
al-Barid area and al-Ram village, north of occupied East Jerusalem. The construction of this section of the Wall
will isolate the two areas. IOF attacked
demonstrators who were protesting the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein
village, west of Ramallah. Three
demonstrators sustained injuries and bruises, and IOF arrested 4 international
solidarity activists.
In the Gaza
Strip, IOF have continued to construct a cement wall on the border between the
Gaza Strip and Israel to the north of Beit Hanoun. IOF started to construct this wall on 12
October 2005, 15 meters inside the Gaza Strip territory and with a height of 6
meters. The construction of this wall is
part of a more comprehensive plan to create a buffer zone along the border between
the Gaza Strip and Israel. IOF started
preparations for the construction of a wall along the border even before the
evacuation of Israeli settlements and the IOF redeployment in the Gaza
Strip.
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 attacked
two houses in Beit Fourik village, east of Nablus. IOF razed areas of Palestinian land and
confiscated at least 700 dunums of land in the northern Jordan Valley for the
purpose of settlement expansion.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (13-19 October 2005)
The full report is available PDF format.
