Israeli Violations Continued in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

· One Palestinian died from a previous wound inflicted by the
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).

· A number of Palestinian civilians were injured by IOF.

· IOF have continued to construct the ‘Annexation Wall in the
West Bank; IOF fired at Palestinian civilians demonstrating in protest to the construction
of the Wall. IOF beat Palestinian
civilians whose land had been confiscated resulting in Palestinian pregnant
woman miscarrying.

· IOF conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas.

· Palestinian houses were raided resulting in the arrest of 20
Palestinian civilians. 

· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian
civilians and property in the West Bank; Israeli settlers seized 18 donums[1]
in al-Mawasi area in the southern Gaza Strip and IOF seized at least 800 donums
of land in Bethlehem and Nablus. 

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF positioned
at checkpoints arrested eight Palestinian civilians and IOF have continued to
use a special checking machine at Rafah International Crossing Point.

Introduction

Israeli violations of international law continued in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) during the reporting period (5-11 May
2005). This week, human rights
violations perpetrated by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) included shooting
at 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.  They have also continued to impose severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.  

In the West Bank,
‘Abdul Fattah Raddad, 25, from Saida village near Tulkarm, died from injuries he
sustained on 2 May 2005. He had been
evacuated to an Israeli hospital after he had been injured and arrested by the
IOF. 

This week, IOF used
force to disperse a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians and
international and Israeli solidarity activists in protest to the construction
of the Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah, injuring six.  They also used force against Palestinian
farmers resulting in a Palestinian women miscarrying and three arrests. The farmers land had been confiscated for the
purpose of the construction of the Wall in Deir al-‘Asal village, southwest of
Hebron. 

Force was also used to
break up another protest on 9 May 2005 in the old town of Jerusalem where 11
people were injured. Palestinian Muslims
were protesting their denial of entry to the al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers. 

This week, IOF razed
areas of Palestinian land in al-Sammou’ village for the purpose of the
construction of the Wall. They also
placed signs to determine the route of the Wall to the south of al-Zahiriya
village, south of Hebron. In addition,
IOF imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilian on both
sides of the Wall.  

Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of
international humanitarian law have launched a series of attacks against
Palestinian civilians and property.  On 8
May 2005, a number of Israeli settlers seized 18 donums of Palestinian land in
al-Mawasi area in the southern Gaza Strip. They also destroyed an electricity tower and severely beat a Palestinian
civilian. In the West Bank on 7 May 2005
an Israeli settler poured an unknown substance into two wells in Kufor Qddoum
village, north of Qlqilya. On 10 May 2005,
IOF issued a number of military orders confiscating at least 800 donums of
Palestinian land in Bethlehem and Nablus. On the same day, a number of Israeli settlers from “Qidoumim”
settlement, northeast of Qalqilya, prevented dozens of Palestinian farmers from
reaching their agricultural land in the neighboring Kufor Qaddoum village. This week, Israeli settlers living in
settlement posts in Hebron launched more attacks against Palestinian civilians
and property.   

This week, IOF
conducted at least 14 military incursions into Palestinian areas in the West
Bank. During these incursions, IOF
injured a number of Palestinian civilians and arrested 17 others, including a
child and six students.  In violation of
Palestinian civil and political rights the IOF closed two offices used by the
Palestinian Central Election Commission to register Palestinian electors in
Jerusalem.

IOF have continued to impose a tightened
siege on the OPT, including Jerusalem: 

On Tuesday, 10 May 2005, IOF instituted
a comprehensive closure on the OPT which has resulted in severe restrictions on
the movement of Palestinian civilians. These closures will continue until Saturday evening, 14 May 2005. The IOF also continued to close a number of
checkpoints in the northern West Bank for the third consecutive week and
erected temporary military checkpoints. At
checkpoints the IOF arrested eight Palestinian civilians, including two
university students. 

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. They have continued to close Erez crossing in
the northern Gaza Strip for the third consecutive week. They have continued to impose severe restriction
at checkpoints on the main road in the Gaza Strip. IOF have continued to use a special checking
machine at Rafah International Crossing Points, despite warnings from the PNA and
human rights organizations of its dangers. 

The full report is available PDF format.