Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 13-26.12.07
During the reporting period 23 Palestinians, including one civilian, were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
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Ten of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF.
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Eight of the victims were killed by IOF during an offensive on al-Musaddar village in the central Gaza Strip.
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Thirty-two Palestinians were wounded by IOF gunfire in the Gaza Strip, and nine people, including an American human rights defender, were wounded by IOF in the West Bank.
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IOF invaded al-Musaddar village in the central Gaza Strip.
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IOF razed 133 donums[1] of agricultural land.
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IOF partially destroyed 10 houses and arrested one Palestinian.
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IOF transformed a number of houses into military sites.
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IOF conducted 24 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
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IOF arrested 87 Palestinian civilians, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in the West Bank.
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IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.
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IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and a humanitarian crisis has emerged.
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IOF prevented at least 150 Palestinian pilgrims from traveling through Erez crossing.
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IOF troops positioned at checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 3 Palestinian civilians.
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IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
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IOF demolished a house in Jerusalem.
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Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian farmer in Nablus.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (13 – 26 December 2007):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 23 Palestinians. Ten of the victims were extra-judicially executed in 3 IOF air strikes carried out in less than 9 hours, on December 18, the eve of the Eid al-Adha. The victims were all members of the al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of Islamic Jihad). In addition, 10 civilian bystanders were wounded.
On 20 December 2007, IOF killed 8 members of the Palestinian resistance during an incursion into al-Musaddar village in the central Gaza Strip. In addition, 21 Palestinians, including a woman, two children and two journalists, were wounded.
On 18 December, an IOF air strike killed 2 police officers in Rafah. On 21 December 2007, IOF killed a member of the Palestinian resistance in Abasan village, east of Khan Yunis. On 24 December, IOF killed 2 members of the Palestinian resistance in al-Boreij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
On 23 December, a Palestinian civilian was wounded by a gunshot fired by IOF, when he was on his land east of Deir al-Balah town in the central Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, 13 Palestinian civilians and an American human rights defender were wounded by IOF gunfire.
On 14 and 21 December, nine Palestinian civilians and an American human rights defender were wounded when IOF used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah, organized in protest of the construction of the Annexation Wall. On 14 December, a Palestinian civilian was wounded by IOF gunfire near the Annexation Wall to the south of Hebron. On 23 December IOF troops positioned at a checkpoint near Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, wounded and arrested a Palestinian civilian. On 24 December, two Palestinian children were wounded by IOF gunfire in Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 24 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 87 Palestinian civilians, including two children, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) two members of the municipal council of Nablus and three university professors. The number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of 2007 now stands at 2,640.
IOF also made incursions into the Gaza Strip. On 20 December, the second day of the Eid al-Adha, IOF moved into al-Musaddar village in the central Gaza Strip. During this incursion, IOF killed eight Palestinians, and wounded another twenty one. They also razed 73 donums of agricultural land and partially destroyed 10 houses. In addition, IOF arrested a Palestinian civilian. On 21 December, an IOF infantry unit moved into Abasan village, east of Khan Yunis. During this incursion, IOF troops killed a member of the Palestinian resistance.
Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT, and in addition imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
The Gaza Strip
To date, IOF have closed all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for almost 18 months continuously. The total siege imposed by IOF on the Gaza Strip has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and has violated the economic and social rights of the Palestinian civilian population, particularly their rights to appropriate living conditions, health and education. The siege has also paralyzed most economic sectors. Furthermore, severe restrictions have been imposed on the movement of the Palestinian civilian population. The siege imposed on the Gaza Strip has also severely affected 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 in June 2007, and the living and economic conditions of Palestinian civilians in Gaza have continued to deteriorate. On 19 September 2007, the Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip “A hostile entity,” and at this point measures of collective punishment against the civilian population escalated. Since September 2007, IOF have limited the goods exported to the Gaza Strip to just nine basic materials. As a direct consequence, local markets ran out of many goods, causing a sharp increase in prices, which in some cases amounted to 500%. The IOF have also banned the import of some medicines, furniture, electrical appliances and cigarettes, as well as decreasing the amounts of some other goods being imported into the Gaza Strip, such as fruits, milk and some other dairy products.
The West Bank
IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians across the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WB/GS) Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the WB/GS have been denied access to Jerusalem. IOF have established many checkpoints around and inside Jerusalem. Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays, in order to prevent them from praying at the Jerusalem al-Aqsa Mosque. IOF often violently assault Palestinian civilians who attempt to bypass checkpoints and enter the city.
IOF have also tightened the siege imposed on Palestinian communities across the West Bank. IOF positioned at various checkpoints across the West Bank have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF have also erected more checkpoints on the main roads and intersections across the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF troops positioned at checkpoints and border crossings in the West Bank arrested at least three Palestinian civilians.
Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT, in violation of international humanitarian law, have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. During the reporting period, IOF demolished a Palestinian house in the Wad al-Jouz neighborhood of East Jerusalem. A number of Israeli settlers also attacked a Palestinian farmer in Til village, southwest of Nablus. The farmer was injured.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (13 – 26 December 2007)
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