Occupation Continues – Human Rights
Violations Continue

· A Palestinian civilian was killed and 5 others, including a
child, were wounded by IOF in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis.

· IOF conducted 24 incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank.

· Houses were raided and 19 Palestinian civilians were
arrested by IOF. 

· 4 houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have
closed Rafah International Crossing Point; IOF have imposed a tightened siege
on Palestinian communities located near evacuated Israeli settlements in the
Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank; IOF forced 8 Palestinian civilians to
completely take of their clothes at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank; and
IOF arrested 10 Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints in the West Bank.

· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the
West Bank; IOF completed the construction of the Wall to the north of
Jerusalem; IOF confiscated 43 donums[1]
of Palestinian land in Bethlehem for the purpose of the construction of the
Wall; and 12 Palestinian civilians, including two journalists, suffered from
tear gas inhalation fired by IOF to disperse a peaceful demonstration in
protest to the construction of the Wall.

· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian
civilians and property in the OPT; two children sustained bruises as they were
attacked by settlers in Hebron.  

Summary

Israeli violations of international
law continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) during the reporting
period (1 – 7 September 2005):

Killing:
On 6 September
2005, Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded
3 others, including a child, in Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza
Strip, when these civilians threw stones at a tank positioned near the
evacuated Israeli settlements. On 2
September 2005, IOF opened fire and wounded two Palestinian brothers who were
on their way back home near the evacuated “Qatif” settlement,
northwest of Khan Yunis. 

Incursions:
IOF conducted 24
military incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses
and arrested 19 Palestinian civilians. They
also imposed curfews on a number of communities and transformed 4 houses into
military sites.    

Restrictions on
Movement: IOF have imposed
severe restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinian civilians,
especially in communities located near Israeli settlements. They have continued to close Erez crossing for
the third consecutive week and to impose severe restrictions at other border
crossings of the Gaza Strip. On 7
September 2005, IOF closed Rafah International Crossing Point, thus
transforming the Gaza Strip into a big jail. IOF have also continued to close al-Matahen and Abu Houli checkpoints on
Salah al-Din Street (the main road between the north and south of the Gaza
Strip). In addition, IOF have  continued to close a number of roads since
the beginning of the current Intifada.  In
the West Bank, IOF have continued to close ‘Ennab gate, east of Tulkarm, for
the eighth consecutive week.   Since the declaration of the northern
West Bank as a closed military zone on Monday morning, 15 August 2005, IOF have
imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. They erected a number of checkpoints on the
main roads. They arrested at least 10
Palestinian civilians.   IOF have continued to prevent 700
Palestinian teachers from entering Jerusalem.  IOF positioned on the ‘Arraba crossroads,
southwest of Jenin, stopped a taxi and forced 7 Palestinian civilians to strip completely,
and attempted to force a girl to strip, but she refused. This crime came a few hours following an
order by the Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to his troop “not to
have pity on Palestinians at military checkpoints in the OPT.” Mofaz stated: “Do not have mercy on
anyone even if it creates long lines and causes anger among the
population.” 

Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall
inside the West Bank territory. During
the reported period, IOF completed the construction of a section of the Wall to
the north of occupied Jerusalem. They completely
closed the area surrounding Qalandya checkpoint between Ramallah and
Jerusalem. They closed the checkpoint
with cement block, thus completing the section of the Wall extending from
Bitounia village, west of Ramallah, passing by Qalandya Airport and Jaba’
village and ending at Hazma village, northeast of Jerusalem. As IOF is close to finish the construction of
a section of the Wall in Deir Ballout village, southwest of Nablus, they razed
areas of land near a military checkpoint that stands at the entrance to the
aforementioned village to expand and fortify it. On Friday, 2 September 2005, IOF issued new
military orders confiscating 43 donums of Palestinian land in Bethlehem and
Beit Sahour towns and al-Nu’man village to the north of Bethlehem. The confiscated land is to be used to complete
the construction of a section of the Wall in the area. At the beginning of the
new school year, IOF imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
students and teachers living in communities isolated by the Wall. During the reported period, IOF surrounded
Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah. Then,
they moved into the village and surrounded the mosque before worshippers left.
When the worshippers left the mosque to go to the construction site of the
Wall, they fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at them. Twelve civilians, including
two journalists, suffered from tear gas inhalation and they were treated on the
spot. In addition, IOF arrested 11
international solidarity activists and a Palestinian civilian.

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 seized a tract of land in Wad al-Nasara
neighborhood to the south of “Kiryat Arba” settlement, southeast of
Hebron. They also attacked Palestinian
houses in Hebron and injured two children. In addition, Israeli settlers attacked animal farms in Yatta village,
south of Hebron, and killed a number of sheep. IOF also razed areas of land at the entrance of Beit Wazan village,
southwest of Nablus, to establish a military site in the area.  

Israeli Violations Documented during
the Reporting Period (1 – 7 September 2005)

The full report is available PDF format.