Israeli Occupation Forces Continue
Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT)
· IOF killed 6 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip; a seventh
Palestinian died of previous wounds.
· 3 of the victims, including a child, were killed when
Israeli warplanes bombarded tunnel on the Egyptian border.
· 8 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were wounded
by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
· IOF planes launched 7 air strikes against targets in the
Gaza Strip.
· Two houses were completely destroyed and a third one was
damaged.
· IOF conducted 23 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.
· IOF arrested 16 Palestinian civilians, including 9 children,
in the West Bank.
· IOF naval troops have continued to attack Palestinian
fishermen in the Gaza Strip.
· Israel has 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 9 Palestinian civilians.
· Israeli continued settlement activities in the West Bank and
Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
· IOF forced a Palestinian family to demolish its home in East
Jerusalem.
· IOF demolished 12 houses and 13 animal sheds in Tana area
near Nablus.
· IOF razed 3 donums[1]
of agricultural land to the north of Hebron.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the
reporting period (06 – 13 January 2010):
Shooting: During the reporting period, Israeli
occupation forces killed 6 Palestinians, including a child, in the Gaza Strip.
A seventh Palestinian died of previous wounds. Additionally, two Palestinian civilians were wounded.
On 08 January 2009, 3 Palestinian
civilians, including one child, were killed, and two others were wounded when
Israeli warplanes bombarded a tunnel on the Egyptian border, south of
Rafah. Another 6 civilians working in
tunnels survived the attack as they crossed towards the Egyptian side of the
border.
On 10 January 2010, an Israeli
aircraft fired a missile at 3 Palestinian resistance activists in Wadi al-Salqa
village in the central Gaza Strip, killing them.
On 06 January 2010, a Palestinian
resistance activist died of wounds he had sustained on the preceding day, when
IOF attacked a number of resistance activists.
During the reporting period, Israeli
warplanes launched 7 air strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip. As a result of these strikes, 6 Palestinians
were killed (see above), two houses were completely destroyed and another one
was heavily damaged.
In the West Bank, 6 Palestinian
civilians, including 3 children and a journalist, were wounded when IOF used
force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and
international and Israeli human rights defenders, in protest of the
construction of the Annexation Wall in the West Bank.
Two Palestinian civilians, including
a child, were wounded by Israeli troops stationed at military checkpoints.
On 12 January 2010, two Palestinian
children were wounded when Israeli troops fired at a number of children who
demonstrated against them in Safa village, north of Hebron.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 23 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. IOF arrested 16, including 9
children. One of the detainees was
Ibrahim Mustafa ‘Amira, 43, coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall
in Ne’lin village, west of Ramallah.
Restrictions on Movement: Israel continued to impose a tightened blockade on the OPT
and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
Gaza Strip
Israel has continuously closed all
border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over two and a half years. The illegal Israeli-imposed
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 fulfill their basic needs of
food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.
· Israel has continued
to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for over
two and a half years.
· Israel has 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 to the Gaza
Strip.
· Israel has continued
to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel
to the West Bank and Israel for medical treatment, trade, or social visits.
· Israel has continued
to prevent the entry of spare parts for 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 increased significantly.
· 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’s coast.
West Bank
Israeli occupation forces 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 630 permanent 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 have 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 lead 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.
Settlement Activities: Israel has 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 06 January 2010, a number of
Israeli settlers from “Gilad” settlement, northeast of Qalqiliya,
attacked two Palestinian farmers while they were farming their land located to
the east of Ematin village. The settlers
threw stones at the two farmers and violently beat them using sticks. The two farmers sustained bruises and cuts.
On 09 January 2010, at least 30
Israeli settlers from “Beit ‘Ain” settlement to the north of Beit
Ummar village north of Hebron attacked a number of Palestinian farmers who were
farming their lands in the Abu al-Reesh Valley. The settlers threw stones at the farmers. No injuries were reported.
On 10 January 2010, IOF, accompanied
by a number of bulldozers, moved into the Kherbat Tana area northeast of
Nablus. They demolished the elementary
school, 11 mud brick houses, 10 animal sheds, one greenhouse, and one
tent. At least 120 Palestinian
civilians, mostly children, became homeless.
Also on 10 January 2010, Israeli
occupation authorities forced Khaled Yousef Abu Shousha to demolish his
35-square-meter house in al-Tour village near East Jerusalem. A notice was delivered to him on Thursday, 07
January 2010, ordering him to demolish his house within 24 hours.
On 11 January 2010, Israeli settlers
from “Gilad” settlement, northeast of Qalqiliya, attacked a number of
Palestinian farmers who were farming their lands. Two farmers were injured.
On 13 January 2010, IOF, citing
security reasons, razed a 3-donum area of agricultural land planted with olives
belonging to the Abu Maria family in Safa village, north of Hebron.
Israeli
Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (06 – 13 January 2010)The
full report is available PDF format.
