Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Intensified
Attacks in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

· Four Palestinians, including a woman, were killed by
IOF. 

· One of the victims was killed by IOF at a military
checkpoint in the West Bank. 

· A number of Palestinian civilians were injured by IOF.

· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the
West Bank; IOF confiscated 1400[1]
donums of Palestinian land near Jerusalem for this purpose.

· IOF conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas.

· Houses were raided and 25 Palestinian civilians were
arrested by IOF in the West Bank. 

· IOF used a Palestinian worker as a human shield while
searching a flour company located to the north of Khan Yunis.

· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians
and property in the West Bank; Israeli settlers razed 30 donums of Palestinian
land in Kufor Qaddoum village near Qalqilya. 

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF positioned
at checkpoints arrested 18 Palestinian civilians, IOF arrested a Palestinian
civilian at Rafah International Crossing Point. Significantly, after sustained local and international pressure the IOF
have stopped using a special checking machine at the Crossing Point.

Introduction

Israeli violations of
international law intensified in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
during the reporting period (12-18 May 2005).  This week, human rights
violations perpetrated by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) included shooting
at and killing Palestinian civilians, incursions into Palestinian areas, house
raids and arbitrary arrests. In
violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, IOF
have also continued to construct the ‘Annexation Wall’ inside the West Bank
territory and to expand settlements, especially in Jerusalem and Hebron.
 They have also continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of
Palestinian civilians.  

Significantly, in the
first attack of its kind since the Sharm al-Skeikh Summit, IOF employed aircrafts
to attack members of the Palestinian resistance.

This week, five
Palestinians, including a woman, were killed by IOF, and a number of civilians
were injured. 

In the West Bank, IOF
killed two Palestinian civilians: a woman and a Palestinian worker:

· On Thursday morning, 12 May 2005, Widad Mohammed Kamal
al-Qa’oud al-Tamimi, 57, from Jerusalem, died from an injury she sustained when
IOF severely beat her when they raided her brother’s house in Hebron. 

· On Monday morning, 16 May 2005, IOF positioned at al-Kafriyat
checkpoint, south of Tulkarm, shot dead a Palestinian worker. They claimed that that he arrived at the
checkpoint, and when Israeli soldiers ordered him to stop, he held a knife and
moved towards them, so they shot him. The IOF further alleged that the soldiers “took necessary warning
measures” but PCHR’s own investigations refute this allegation. 

In the Gaza Strip,
three Palestinians were killed: 

· On Monday, 16 May 2005, a Palestinian civilian from Rafah
died from a wound he had sustained from the IOF two years ago. 

· On Wednesday, 18 May 2005, two members of Hamas were killed
by IOF in two separate incidents in Rafah and Khan Yunis (southern Gaza Strip)
when they attempted to fire at IOF. One
of them was killed by an aerial attack as noted above. 

This week, IOF
conducted at least 20 military incursions into Palestinian areas in the West
Bank:

· During these incursions, IOF injured three Palestinian
civilians, including a child, and arrested 25 others, including four children
and a girl.  

· IOF also attacked a Palestinian civilian in ‘Assira village
near Nablus, threatened to kill him and attempted to bury him alive. 

In the Gaza Strip, the
IOF also continued their military incursions during the reporting period:

· IOF moved into al-Qarara village, north of Khan Yunis, and
raided Palestinian Flour Company. They
used a worker as a human shield while searching the company. 

· On Sunday, 15 May 2005, a Palestinian child was wounded when
IOF opened fire at Khan Yunis refugee camp.

IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside
the West Bank territory:

· According to Israeli media sources, IOF will soon start the
construction of a section of the Wall around “Ma’ale Admomi” east of
Jerusalem. The construction of this
section of the Wall will place the settlement, where 53,000 Israeli settlers
live, in the boundaries of “Jerusalem Municipality.” 

· IOF confiscated 1400 donums of Palestinian land in the
villages of Beit Hanina, al-Jeeb, Beir Nabala and Qalandya, north and northwest
of Jerusalem for the purpose of the construction of the Wall. This section of the Wall will isolate the
four villages. IOF have claimed that
they would establish four gates to allow residents of these villages to reach
their agricultural land which would be isolated on the Israeli side of the
Wall. According to the maps, IOF will
establish a number of roads and tunnels to link these villages with one another
and then with Ramallah, to prevent Palestinian civilians from using settler
roads. 

· On Monday, 16 May 2005, the Israeli High Court issued a
ruling that violates international law and specifically findings of the International
Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the legality of the West Bank Wall (July
2004). The High Court canceled temporary
injunctions issued by the Court stopping the construction of a section of the Wall
around the settlement of “Ariel” and “Emanuel” in the
northern West Bank.  

Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of
international humanitarian law have continued with their campaign of attacks
against Palestinian civilians and property:

· On Thursday, 12 May 2005, four Israeli settlers severely
beat an elderly Palestinian man. He
sustained a fracture to the hand. 

· This week, Israeli settlers living in settlement posts in
Hebron launched more attacks against Palestinian civilians and property.  Israeli settlers also attacked Palestinian
civilians in Yatta village, south of Hebron, injuring four of them, including
three children. 

· On Monday, 16 May 2005, Israeli settlers razed 30 donums of
Palestinian agricultural land in Kufor Qaddoum village near Qalqilya.    

IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the
OPT, including Jerusalem.  On Sunday, 15 May 2005, IOF lifted a
comprehensive closure that had been imposed on the OPT since Tuesday evening,
10 May 2005. Despite this, the IOF maintained
a total siege imposed on the northern West Bank. This week, IOF positioned at
checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 18 Palestinian civilians, including four
children. On Tuesday evening, 17 May
2005, IOF positioned at a checkpoint fired at a Palestinian civilian, wounding
him in the left foot.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF have continued to completely or partially close
all border crossings of the Gaza Strip, and impose severe restrictions on the
internal movement of Palestinian civilians. On Wednesday, 18 May 2005, IOF closed al-Sayafa areas in the northern
Gaza Strip and prohibited movement of Palestinian civilians to and from the
area, excluding schoolchildren. This
week, IOF arrested a Palestinian civilian at Rafah International Crossing
Points and prevented two other civilians from traveling.

The full report is available PDF format.