Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Perpetrate
More Violations of Human Rights against Palestinian Civilians in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT)

· A number of Palestinian civilians, including four children,
were injured by IOF.

· IOF conducted 40 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and opened fire at Palestinian residential areas in the southern Gaza
Strip.

· Houses were raided and 36 Palestinian civilians, including children
and women, were arrested by IOF. 

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF
have imposed severe restrictions on travel through Rafah International Crossing
Point; IOF have imposed more restrictions on movement in East Jerusalem; IOF
have continued to close a number of roads and border crossings in the Gaza
Strip since the beginning of the current Intifada; and IOF arrested 8
Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints in the West Bank.

· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the
West Bank; IOF attacked Palestinian civilians and international solidarity
activists who demonstrated in protest to the construction of the Wall and
arrested a number of them. Nearly 40,000
Palestinian civilians living in Shu’fat refugee camp and al-Salam area will be
isolated from Jerusalem upon the completion of the wall. 

· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian
civilians and property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; a number of
Palestinian civilians were injured; and 428 donums[1]
of land in the north of the West Bank were confiscated for the purpose of
settlement expansion. 

Summary

Israeli
violations of international law continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(OPT) during the reporting period (23 – 29 June 2005):

Incursions
and Shelling: IOF
conducted 40 military incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF fired at
Palestinian civilians and injured two, including a child. They also raided houses and arrested 36
Palestinian civilians, including three girls and three children. IOF also seized 25 houses and transformed
them into military sites.  In the Gaza
Strip, IOF opened fire at Palestinian residential areas in Khan Yunis, wounding
two children. Flash bombs fired by IOF
burnt a room in a house in Khan Yunis. On 29 June 2005, IOF aircrafts fired two missiles at a water-well in
Beit Hanoun, destroying it. 

Restrictions
on Movement: IOF
have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT, including
Jerusalem.  Even though IOF eased the restrictions imposed on the movement
of Palestinian civilians through Abu Houli and al-Matahen checkpoints on the
main road, they have continued to impose severe restrictions at checkpoints
erected at the entrances to Palestinian communities located near Israeli
settlements. IOF have continued to impose
severe restrictions on the travel of Palestinian civilians through Rafah
International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border, in violation of their
economic, social and cultural rights, under security claims. The crossing point remains the only outlet
for Palestinian civilians living in the Gaza Strip to the outside world. IOF often close the crossing point and
prevent young men from traveling. Contrary to recent Israeli claims regarding easing restrictions on
movement at crossing roads, since the beginning of June, IOF have imposed more
restrictions on travel through the crossing point. Thousands of Palestinian civilians have faced
extreme difficulties while traveling back to the Gaza Strip. For instance, on Thursday, 22 June 2005,
approximately 2000 Palestinian civilians, mostly children, were held at the
Egyptian side of the crossing point in an 800-square-meter hall as IOF did not
allow their passage to the Gaza Strip. They spent the night there. Some
civilians, including patients, were forced to spend three or four days under
severe conditions waiting to be allowed to cross towards the Gaza Strip.

In the
West Bank, IOF have imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians. Since Friday evening, 24 June
2005, IOF have imposed a strict siege on Hebron district. They imposed severe restrictions on the
movement of Palestinian civilians and severely beat five of them. IOF positioned at checkpoints arrested eight
Palestinian civilians in the OPT. They
also imposed a curfew on a number of Palestinian communities. 

Annexation
Wall: IOF have
continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank territory. For this purpose, they razed more areas of
Palestinian land, especially in ‘Anata village, northeast of East Jerusalem and
the villages of Munaizel and Arab al-Ramadin, south of Hebron. At least 40,000 Palestinian civilians living
in Shu’fat refugee camp and the neighboring al-Salam area will be isolated from
Jerusalem upon the completion of the construction of a new section of the wall
in the area. In addition, IOF used 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
were injured, and 16 others, including 15 Israeli and international solidarity
activists were arrested. 

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, especially in
Hebron. In one of these attacks, the
settlers threw a hand grenade at a house in Hebron. A Palestinian child was seriously
injured. This week, IOF issued military
orders confiscating 428 donums of land in the north of the West Bank, In the
Gaza Strip, Israeli settlers launched a series of attacks against Palestinian
civilians and property in al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis. Five civilians, including a child, were
injured. IOF also demolished eight
buildings in the area, which were seized by settlers.

Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (09–15 June 2005)

The full report is available PDF format.