Palestinian Center for Human Rights. Weekly Report. 06-12/08/07.
IOF Prevents Muslim from Worship in Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque at the Start of the Holy Month of Ramadan
· 6 Palestinians, including 2 children, were killed by IOF.
· 23 Palestinians, including 9 children, were wounded by IOF.
· IOF conducted 35 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and 3 ones into the Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 54 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and 6 ones in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF razed 81 donums[1] of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF will close the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron during the holiday Ramadan Month for 5 sporadic days.
· IOF raided the local council of Bir Nabala village, north of Jerusalem.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.
· IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and a humanitarian crisis has emerged.
· IOF troops arrested 2 Palestinian civilians at checkpoints in the West Bank.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (6 – 12 September 2007):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 6 Palestinians, including 2 children, and wounded 23 others, including 9 children, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In the Gaza Strip, on 6 September 2007, IOF killed 4 members of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 10 others in al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. Members of the Palestinian resistance resisted an incursion by IOF into the village and clashed with IOF troops. On 8 September 2007, IOF shot dead a Palestinian child who was hunting birds near Karni crossing, east of Gaza City. Additionally, 5 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children and a woman, were wounded when IOF fired a missile at the apartment building where they live.
In the West Bank, on 6 September 2007, IOF moved into Jenin to arrest allegedly wanted Palestinians. IOF troops opened fire at a number of Palestinian children who demonstrated against this incursion. As a result, two children were wounded. One of these children died from his wound on 10 September 2007. On 8 September 2007, a Palestinian civilian was wounded in ‘Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya, when he mishandled a sound bomb of the remainders of IOF. On 10 September 2007, an IOF undercover unit fired from inside a car at a Palestinian who was walking near the entrance of ‘Ein Beit al-Maa’ refugee camp, west of Nablus. He was wounded to the feet and IOF troops arrested him. On 11 September 2007, 5 Palestinian children were wounded by IOF in Jenin town and refugee camp.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 35 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 54 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children and a woman. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 1,931. Also during these incursions, IOF raided and searched the headquarters of the local council of Bir Nabala village, northwest of Jerusalem. They confiscated 3 computer sets and several official documents. This raid was the second of its kind this year. On 11 September 2007, IOF issued a military order closing the Ibrahim Mosque for 5 separate days during the holy Ramadan Month, allegedly to allow Jewish settlers to celebrate Jewish occasions.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 3 incursions into Palestinian communities in the Gaza Strip. On 6 September 2007, IOF moved into al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. During this incursion, IOF killed 4 members of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 10 others. They also razed 66 donums of agricultural land. On 7 September 2007, an IOF undercover unit sneaked into al-Salam neighborhood in Rafah and abducted a Palestinian. On 12 September 2007, IOF moved into al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. They razed 15 donums of agricultural land.
Restrictions on Movement: On Wednesday morning, 12 September 2007, IOF imposed a total siege on the OPT, which will continue until Sunday, 16 SeptemberIOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
Gaza Strip
IOF have imposed a strict siege on the Gaza Strip. They have closed its border crossings as a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.
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. IOF had already closed Rafah International Crossing Point following an armed attack against an IOF military post in Kerem Shalom area, southeast of Rafah, on 25 June 2006. The crossing point had been partially reopened for short, sporadic periods to allow few numbers of Palestinian to travel through it. The crossing point has been completely closed since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Palestinian security forces from the crossing point. There are approximately 6,000 Palestinians held at the Egyptian side of the border awaiting to return to their homes in the Gaza Strip. Most of them have run out of money and are living on assistance. In addition, 19 of them have died in Egypt. The bodies were returned to Gaza through the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing. In addition, thousands of travelers were allowed to return to the Gaza Strip through al-Ojah crossing, 8 kilometers southeast of Rafah. From there, they were transported to Erez Checkpoint to enter the Gaza Strip. IOF have also closed commercial crossings, especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. IOF have continued to close Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been prevented from traveling through this crossing.
West Bank
IOF have tightened the siege imposed on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. They have isolated Jerusalem from the rest of 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 also erected more checkpoints on the main roads and intersections in the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF arrested 2 Palestinian civilians at checkpoints in the West Bank.
[1] 1 donum is equal to 1000 square meters.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (6 – 12 September 2007)
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento