IOF Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the OPT. More Measures of Collective Punishment against the Gaza Strip

Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 23-31.10.07

· 15 Palestinians were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.

· The victims include a disabled civilian and 4 policemen.

· A Palestinian from Nablus died from a previous wound.

· 29 Palestinians, including 9 children, 2 women, an old man, a journalist and human rights defender, were wounded by IOF.

· IOF conducted 37 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and 12 ones into the Gaza Strip.

· IOF arrested 78 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children and 2 women, in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.

· IOF razed at least 32 donums[1] of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip.

· IOF destroyed a complete community near Hebron and forced Palestinian civilians to move to the east of the Wall.

· 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 have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank.

· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attacks Palestinian civilians and property.

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (25 – 31 October 2007):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 15 Palestinians, including a disabled civilian, in the Gaza Strip, and a 16^th Palestinian from Nablus died from a previous wound. IOF also wounded 29 others, including 9 children, 2 woman, an old man, a journalists and human rights defender, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF killed 15 Palestinians, including a disabled civilian and 4 policemen, and wounded 29 others, including 5 children and 2 women and an old man. In the West Bank a Palestinian died on 30 October 2007 from a previous wound he had sustained on 16 October 2007. Six civilians, including 4 children, were also wounded by IOF. Three of these civilians (a Palestinian child, an Italian journalist and an Italian human rights activist) were wounded when IOF used force to disperse a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 37 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 78 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children and 2 women. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 2,261.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 12 incursions into Palestinian communities. During those incursions, IOF troops killed a number of Palestinians, transformed a number of houses into military sites, arrested one Palestinian civilian and razed 32 donums of agricultural land.

Restrictions on Movement: IOF 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 continued to close all border crossings of the Gaza Strip for nearly 16 months. The total siege imposed by IOF on the Gaza Strip has left disastrous impacts on the humanitarian situation and has violated the economic and social rights of the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the rights to appropriate living conditions, health and education. It has also paralyzed most economic sectors. Furthermore, severe restrictions have been imposed on the movement of the Palestinian civilian population. Moreover, the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip has severely impacted the flow of food, medical supplies and other necessities such as fuel, construction materials and raw materials for various economic sectors. IOF have further tightened the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip, and the living and economic conditions of Palestinian civilians have further deteriorated. During the reporting period, the Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip as “an enemy entity,” which implies imposing more restrictions and measures of collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian population. On 19 September 2007, the Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip as “an enemy entity” and accordingly measures of collective punishment against Gaza escalated. Since that time, IOF have limited the goods exported to the Gaza Strip to only 9 basic materials. As a consequence, local markets ran out of many goods, which caused a sharp increase in prices, which mounted to 500% for some goods. Israeli occupation forces have banned the flow of some medicines, furniture, electrical appliances, cows and cigarettes into the Gaza Strip, and have decreased the amounts of some goods allowed into the Gaza Strip, such as fruits, milk and some dairy products. IOF have also continued to impose severe restrictions on fishing in the Gaza Strip.

West Bank

IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been denied access to the city. IOF have established many checkpoints around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays to prevent them from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque. IOF often violently beat Palestinian civilians who attempt to bypass checkpoints and enter the city. IOF have also 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.

Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. on Tuesday, 30 October 2007, IOF, accompanied by bulldozers, moved into Kherbet Qussa area, northwest of Hebron, which is isolated behind the Wall. They opened fire into the air. They then demolished 15 houses, 12 caves and 27 barnyards. At least 250 Palestinian civilians have become homeless, and IOF forced them to leave the area.

Settlement Activities: Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. On Friday, 26 October 2007, IOF informed 7 Palestinian civilians in Hares village, west of Salfit, that their houses, in which at least 30 individuals live, would be demolished, claming that they were built without licenses. On the same day, 5 Israeli settlers from “Ramat Yishai” settlement in Tal Rumaida neighborhood in the center of Hebron attacked a nearby house belonging to Mohammed Hamed Abu ‘Eisha with stones and empty bottles.

[1] 1 donum is equal to 1000 square meters.

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (25 – 31 October 2007)