Incursions, Arrests and Attacks
Continue Against Civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

· A number of Palestinian civilians were wounded by IOF and
settlers.

· IOF conducted 35 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

· Houses were raided and 30 Palestinian civilians were
arrested by IOF. 

· 4 houses in the Gaza Strip were transformed by IOF into
military sites.

· IOF razed and leveled areas of land along the eastern border
of the Gaza Strip to create a buffer zone between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF
have imposed a tightened siege on Palestinian communities located near evacuated
Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank; IOF arrested 6
Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints in the West Bank; IOF have
continued to use a special checking device at Rafah International Crossing
Point and have continued to prevent Palestinians aged 16-35 from traveling
abroad.

· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the
West Bank; IOF completed the construction of the Wall near Qalandya Airport,
south of Ramallah.

· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian
civilians and property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  

Summary

Israeli
violations of international law continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(OPT) during the reporting period (18-24 August 2005):

Incursions: IOF
conducted 30 military incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses
and arrested 29 Palestinian civilians. They
also imposed curfews on a number of communities. IOF used a child as a human shield to search
his family home. During 5 incursions
into the Gaza Strip, IOF raided houses and arrested a Palestinian
civilian. They also seized 4 houses and transformed
them into military sites.    

Restrictions
on Movement: Since
IOF started to implement the “Disengagement Plan” in the Gaza Strip,
they have imposed severe restrictions on Palestinian civilians, especially in
communities located near Israeli settlements. They have continued to close the Beit Hanoun Checkpoint (Erez) to impose
severe restrictions at other border crossings of the Gaza Strip. 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
Za’tra checkpoint, south of Nablus, and ‘Ennab gate, east of Tulkarm, for the fifth
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 iron gates on the
main roads. They also erected a number
of checkpoints and arrested at least 6 Palestinian civilians.   In
the West Bank, PCHR field workers documented 5 cases of inhumane treatment by
IOF at military checkpoints.

Annexation
Wall: IOF have
continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank territory,
especially to the northwest of Jerusalem and around “Ariel”
settlement to the southwest of Nablus, to which settlers of the evacuated
“Netzarim” settlement in the Gaza Strip are expected to be evacuated. Israeli sources declared that IOF would soon
start the construction of a section of the Wall between East Jerusalem and
“Maleh Adomim” settlement to the east. IOF would also build at least 3500 housing
units between Jerusalem and “Maleh Adomim” settlement, which will be
unilaterally annexed to Israel. Last
week, IOF issued a number of military orders confiscating 1585 donums[1] of
Palestinian land in al-Tour neighborhood and the villages of al-Sawahra
al-Sharqia, Abu Dis and al-‘Eizariya to complete the construction of the Wall
around occupied East Jerusalem.  In addition, IOF used excessive force to
disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and
international and Israeli solidarity activists in protest to the construction
of the Wall. A number of demonstrators
sustained bruises or suffered from tear gas inhalation, and IOF arrested 6
international solidarity activists. 

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, IOF razed more areas of Palestinian land for the purpose of
settlement expansion. They also razed
areas of Palestinian land near two military checkpoints in the northern West
Bank to expand them.   

Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (25 – 31 August 2005)

The full report is available PDF format.