Author
Intifada Al Ard
This is a weekly summary of israeli war crimes committed in Palestine for the week ending 5 July 2006, 2mins, english
PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
No. 26/2006
29 June – 05 July 2006
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), and Isolate the Gaza Strip from the Outside World
· 9 Palestinians were killed by IOF.
· 6 of the victim were killed by the IOF shelling in the Gaza Strip.
· Two of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in the West Bank.
· 91 Palestinians, including 18 children, were wounded by the IOF gunfire.
· IOF warplanes launched a series of air strikes and mock air raids on the Gaza Strip; offices of the Palestinian Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior and a number of civilian facilities were destroyed or damaged.
· IOF conducted 81 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and reoccupied areas in the Gaza Strip.
· 102 Palestinian civilians, including 7 ministers, 24 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, 6 children and two girls, were arrested by IOF.
· 5 houses and hundreds of donums[1] of agricultural land were destroyed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
· 6 houses in the northern Gaza Strip were transformed by IOF into military sites.
· 35 charitable societies in the West Bank were raided and a number of them were closed by IOF.
· The electricity network in Rafah was destroyed, and the town has been living in darkness.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have imposed a tightened siege on the Gaza Strip; dozens of patients are stuck at Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border; and IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 3 Palestinian civilians.
· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF started to establish a fence around “Kermi Tsur” settlement, north of Hebron; and IOF confiscated at least 25 donums of agricultural land in Beit Oula village, west of Hebron.
Summary
As the international community has remained silent, IOF have continued to wage a full scale offensive on the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip. PCHR, monitoring with utmost concern the developments of this offensive, calls upon the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and United Nations Agency, to immediately intervene to force IOF to stop this offensive and allow the passage of foodstuffs, medical supplies and fuels into the Gaza Strip. PCHR warns the international community of the policies of collective punishment and reprisals practiced by IOF against the Palestinian civilian population, especially the destruction of electricity sources and the denial of passage of foodstuffs and fuels into the Gaza Strip, which will lead to a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR believe that the international conspiracy of silence and US official statements that Israel has the right to take all measures that could ensure the release of a captured Israeli soldier, constitute a green light for IOF to wage a full scale offensive and impose a tightened siege on the Gaza Strip.
During the reported period, IOF continued to impose strict siege on the Gaza Strip and attack civilian facilities, using their highly developed arsenal without paying any consideration to proportionality in the use of force. IOF also threatened to extra-judicially execute Palestinian political leaders in the Gaza Strip. In the west Bank, IOF arrested 7 Palestinian ministers and 24 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) representing Hamas. Thus, the number of ministers arrested by IOF has increased to 8.
The outcome of crimes committed by IOF since 25 June 2006:
o 10 Palestinians have been killed by IOF (3 have been extra-judicially executed and 6 have been killed by shelling).
o 79 Palestinian civilians, including 21 children, have been wounded by the IOF gunfire.
o 82 air-to-surface missiles and hundreds of artillery shells have been fired at Palestinian civilians and military targets in the Gaza Strip.
o Two buildings of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister and a number of educational institutions have been destroyed.
o 3 bridges linking Gaza City with the southern Gaza Strip and 3 roads in Khan Yunis and al-Nusairat have been destroyed.
o Hundreds of donums of agricultural land and 5 houses have been destroyed, and 6 other houses have been transformed into military sites.
o The electricity network of Rafah has been destroyed.
o At least 180 Palestinian civilians, including 8 ministers and more than 20 PLC members have been arrested in the West Bank, and 4 Palestinian civilians have been arrested in the Gaza Strip.
o Gaza International Airport in the southern Gaza Strip and parts of the northern Gaza Strip have been occupied by IOF.
Israeli violations of international law continued in the OPT during the reported period (29 June – 5 July 2006):
Killing: During the reported period, IOF killed 9 Palestinians (6 in the Gaza Strip and 3 in the West Bank). In the Gaza Strip, 4 Palestinians were killed by IOF air strikes and the remaining two were killed when IOF gunboats shelled a site of the Palestinian Naval Force in the northern Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, IOF killed one Palestinian when they attacked a number of members of the Palestinian resistance in a cemetery in Nablus. They also extra-judicially executed two Palestinian in two separate attacks in Jenin and Jericho.
In addition, 71 Palestinians, including 18 children, were wounded by the IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF launched a series of air strikes on civilian targets and mock air raids using fighter jets and helicopter gunships. During the reported period, they attacked the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister Isma’il Haniya, the office of the Minister of Interior Sa’id Siam and the building of the Ministry of Interior. During the reported period, IOF fired at least 86 air-to-surface missiles and hundreds of artillery shells at dozens of civilian targets, including educational institutions and electricity facilities in the Gaza Strip.
Incursions: During the reported period. IOF conducted at least 81 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses and arrested 7 ministers, 24 PLC members and 71 other civilians, including 6 children and two women. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF since the beginning of 2006 has increased to 1940. IOF also raided at least 35 civil institutions and closed a number of them. During the reported period, IOF invaded and reoccupied areas in the northern Gaza Strip, while they have continued to occupy Gaza International Airport in the southern Gaza Strip. In addition, IOF conducted a number of limited incursions into Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip, during which they arrested two Palestinians, demolished 5 houses, transformed 6 other houses into military sites and used 6 Palestinian civilians as human shields. IOF also razed large areas of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip. The southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah lack electricity supplies as the electricity network of the town was destroyed, an IOF have denied access of maintenance crews to areas occupied by IOF to repair the network. In these incursions, IOF employed undercover units and trained dogs.
Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a comprehensive siege on the OPT, in violation of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of Palestinian civilians.
Following an attack launched by Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006 near the Israeli-Egyptian border, southeast of Rafah, which left two IOF soldiers and two of the attackers dead and a third IOF soldier missing, IOF have closed all border crossings of the Gaza Strip.
IOF have closed Rafah International Crossing Point, even though they do not directly control it. They have prevented European observers working at the crossing point form reaching it. According to information gathered by PCHR, the number of Palestinians stuck in Egypt is more than 3,000. Most of them have been forced to stay in different cities including Cairo, al-Arish and Egyptian Rafah. These Palestinians had traveled to Egypt or through Egypt to other destinations for the purposes of medical treatment, education, visiting relatives or work. In addition, scores of expatriate Palestinian families living in the Gulf States, who had traveled to Rafah International Crossing Point to spend the summer in Gaza, were forced to return to the Gulf. Furthermore, more than 400 Palestinians, mostly patients, are stuck in the waiting hall at the Egyptian side of Rafah Crossing. They are enduring extremely difficult conditions due to the hot weather and lack of adequate services and facilities, especially for patients. These patients were returning to Gaza after undergoing medical treatment abroad, including surgery. Some of the patients have undergone heart, ophthalmic or orthopedic surgeries. Such patients require special facilities that are not available at the border. Travelers are deprived of services required to meet their basic needs, especially for women, children and the elderly. Furthermore, they are being forcibly separated from their families in the Gaza Strip. During the reported period, IOF refused to allow the transfer of the body of a Palestinian patient who died at an Egyptian hospital into the Gaza Strip. His family was forced to bury him in Egypt.
IOF have closed commercial crossings of the Gaza Strip. As a consequence, the economic situation inside the Gaza Strip has further deteriorated and many goods have been lacked in markets. IOF have prevented the free flow of fuel, food and medical supplies since. The Gaza Strip was suffering from a lack gas and fuel even before the latest tightening of the closure. On Sunday, 2 July 2006, IOF reopened the crossing for 5 hours to allow the importation of some basic foodstuffs and limited amounts of fuel, which do not meet the actual needs of the Gaza Strip. IOF re-closed the crossing contrary to their claims that the crossing would be open for 4 days. According to Palestinian official sources, these amounts meet the needs of the Gaza Strip for a few days only.
IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF have continued to separate the north and south of the West Bank. For this purpose, they have imposed severe restrictions one movement through Za’tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, and re-established their presence at ‘Attara checkpoint, north of Ramallah. They have also erected two new checkpoints near Ramallah. During the reported period, IOF positioned at various checkpoints around Nablus imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. They have also continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement on Palestinian civilians to and from Tulkarm. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank abused a number of Palestinian civilians. During the reported period, IOF at checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 3 Palestinian civilians.
Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. During the reported period, IOF issued a military order seizing at least 25 donums of land in the Beit Oula village, west of Hebron. They also razed areas of land to establish a fence near “Kermi Tsur” settlement, north of Hebron. During the reported period, IOF used forced to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah, and Halhoul and Beit Ummar villages, north of Hebron. IOF fired rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the demonstrators. As a result, 3 demonstrators were wounded.
The full report is available online at:
html format:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2006/06-07-2006.htm
pdf format:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2006/pdf/weekly%20report…
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