Author
Tierra Insurgente / Intifada Al Ard
This is a weekly summary of israeli war crimes committed in Palestine for the week ending 3 May 2006, 2mins, english
PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
No. 17/2006
27 Apr.- 03 May 2006
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
· IOF shot dead a Palestinian woman the West Bank and extra-judicially executed a Palestinian activist in the Gaza Strip.
· Two Palestinians were extra-judicially executed by IOF in Bethlehem.
· 17 Palestinian civilians, including 7 children, were wounded by IOF gunfire.
· IOF continued to shell Palestinian areas in the northern Gaza Strip; two members of the Palestinian National Security Forces were killed and a third was wounded, when they attempted to deactivate an unexploded shell fired by IOF.
· IOF conducted 37 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, particularly Nablus.
· 111 Palestinian civilians, including 14 children and two women, were arrested by IOF.
· Two houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have continued to partially close border crossings of the Gaza Strip, the north of the West Bank has been separated from the center and south; IOF abused a number of Palestinian civilians, including journalists, at checkpoints in Hebron; and IOF arrested the wife and mother of an allegedly wanted Palestinian in the West Bank.
· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF razed more areas of land in Yatta village, south of Hebron; IOF started to construct a fence around Sho’fat refugee camp near Jerusalem; and IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the Wall, wounding 5 demonstrators with rubber-coated metal bullets.
· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT; Israeli settlers launched daily attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property in Hebron.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law continued in the OPT during the reported period (27 April–3 May 2006):
Killing: On Thursday morning, 27 April 2006, IOF extra-judicially executed a member of the Islamic Jihad and wounded another in al-Zawaida village in the central Gaza Strip. On Monday morning, 1 May 2006, IOF shot dead a Palestinian woman in Thinnaba suburb, east of Tulkarm, and wounded her three daughters. IOF fired at the family’s house from a neighboring house they had seized and transformed into a military site. On Tuesday, 2 May 2006, two members of the Palestinian National Security Forces were killed and a third was seriously wounded, when one of them attempted to deactivate an unexploded artillery shell fired by IOF at the north of Beit Lahia town, in the northern Gaza Strip.
During the reported period, 17 Palestinian civilians (9 in the West Bank and 8 in the Gaza Strip), including 7 children, were wounded by IOF gunfire. During the reported period, IOF continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip. A number of houses and civilian facilities were damaged.
Incursions: During the reported period, IOF repeatedly moved into Nablus. IOF also conducted 37 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses and arrested 111 Palestinian civilians, including 14 children and two women. In addition, IOF transformed two houses into military sites. IOF used undercover units and trained dogs during these incursions. In an attempt to exert pressure on allegedly wanted Palestinians to surrender, IOF arrested a number of their wives and mothers.
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.
IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the Gaza Strip, transforming it into a large prison. IOF have continued to monitor the movement of Palestinian civilians through Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border. Although IOF have allowed the transportation of food aid from Egypt into the Gaza Strip through Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, southeast of Rafah, the crossing has not yet been officially opened. IOF have also continued to prevent Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip from reaching their work places in Israel through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing. They have continued to prevent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip from traveling to the West Bank. IOF have partially reopened al-Mentar (Karni) commercial crossing, east of Gaza City. As a result of the repeated closures of the crossing, the economic conditions in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated.
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. IOF claimed that this measure is temporary. During the reported period, IOF positioned at various checkpoints around Nablus imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank abused a number of Palestinian civilians, including journalists. During the reported period, IOF at a checkpoint near Nablus arrested the wife and mother of an allegedly wanted Palestinian.
Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. During the reported period, IOF continued to raze areas of Palestinian land in Kherbat al-Tawani area to the east of Yatta village, south of Hebron, in order to construct a section of the Wall in the area. IOF engineering units also placed signs for the route of the Wall in al-Baq’a area in the northeast of Hebron. According to eyewitnesses, IOF will construct a section of the Wall in the area on thousands of dunums of Palestinian agricultural land. IOF started to establish a road linking villages located to the northwest of Jerusalem with the road leading to Ramallah, through al-Jeeb village. IOF decided to establish this road after they had closed all outlets of the Wall in the area. They claim that they decided to establish the road “to make it easier for Palestinians to move in the area.” On Sunday, 30 April 2006, the Israeli cabinet voted to reroute an area near the major settlement of “Ariel” deep in the West Bank and approved putting temporary fencing around areas of Jerusalem. These moves came in an effort to overcome temporary injunctions issued by the Israeli High Court stopping the construction of the Wall in some areas. According to the Israeli cabinet’s latest decisions, Beit Eksa village, north of Jerusalem, would be put on the Palestinian side of the enclosure. According to Israeli sources, the rerouting of the Wall around “Ariel” settlements aims to link it with the main route of the Wall to the south instead of the already decided route to the West Bank. On the following day, IOF placed barbed wire around Sho’fat refugee camp and the neighboring Ras Khamis area, north of Jerusalem, to separate them from Jerusalem. The separation of the camp from Jerusalem will impact the access of its population to educational and medical services in the city. Palestinians living outside the camp will also face difficulties in accessing services inside the camp.
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, Israeli settlers living in “Kiryat Arba” settlement, southeast of Hebron, seized more areas of Palestinian land near the settlement. They also launched a series of attacks on Palestinian houses in Hebron.
The full report is available online at:
html format:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2006/04-05-2006.htm
pdf format:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2006/pdf/weekly%20report…
Public Document
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