Israeli aircraft bomb interior ministry of de facto government in Gaza; one woman dead, 46 injured

Gaza - Ma'an. 18.1.08 (16,04) - A woman was killed and 46 people were injured, three of them seriously, in an Israeli airstrike on the interior ministry of the de facto government in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Al-Hawa, on Friday afternoon. The building was completely destroyed. According to Muawiya Hassanein, director of emergency and ambulance services in the Palestinian health ministry, fifty-two-year-old Haniya Abd Al-Jawad was killed. 32 of the injured were taken to Ash-Shifaa' Hospital in Gaza City, three of them in a critical condition. 14 others were taken to Al-Quds Hospital. The de facto government's interior ministry has been targeted twice in the past several months by the Israeli airforce. Meanwhile Israeli warplanes also bombed the marine headquarters of the security services, west of Dir Al-Balah. No one is reported injured.

Al-Aqsa Brigades leader killed in clashes with Israeli forces

Nablus - Ma'an 18.1.08 (12,41) – A leader from the military wing of Fatah, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, was killed during several hours of clashes with Israeli Special Forces in the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus on Friday. Israeli Special Forces stormed Balata refugee camp east of Nablus at dawn, and surrounded a house where four brigades members were holed up. Armed clashes ensued and Al-Aqsa leader Ahmed Sanakra was killed. His three fellow combatants, Yousef Hanoun, Mohamed Hweta and Mahmoud Shtawi, were arrested. The Israeli military had made several attempts to assassinate twenty-five-year-old Ahmed Sanakra in recent years. Medical sources reported that three-year-old Yazan Qar'an was also shot and wounded during the large scale invasion, carried out by more than 50 military vehicles that surrounded the camp from all its sides. The Israeli forces raided several houses and imposed a curfew in the camp before withdrawing, leaving Sanakra dead, and several Palestinian citizens injured.

Al-Aqsa Brigades announce an end to 3-month ceasefire

Bethlehem – Ma'an exclusive 18.1.08 (11,34) – The general commander of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, in the West Bank announced an end to their three-month ceasefire on Friday. Abu Uday said in a statement that the ceasefire was now over and that the Brigades will respond to the recent Israeli assassinations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. "We will not stand idly by while witnessing massacres of our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We will respond to these massacres and we give the green light to all our brigades. Thus we will calm the hearts of the martyrs' families," he said. Abu Uday said that the ceasefire had been abandoned as the Israeli forces "have not stopped killing our people and destroying our institutions and our cities for a single day."

Two dead, two injured in Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza Strip. 35 dead in four days of Israeli military offensives against the Gaza Strip.

Gaza – Ma'an. 18.1.08 (11,05) – Two Palestinians were killed and two others injured on Friday morning in an Israeli airstrike on the city of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip. Muawiyya Hassanain, director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Ministry of Health identified one of the dead as twenty-two-year-old Ismail Radwan. Seventeen-year-old. Mahmoud Ramadan was seriously wounded in the attack and died later in hospital, according to Hassanain. The latest killing brings the number of dead to 35 in four days of Israeli military offensives against the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, local Palestinian sources told Ma'an that Israeli forces have moved one of their military bases several hundred meters inside Israel from its original site, east of Khan Younis on the Gaza border. The base has been repeatedly targeted by Palestinian projectiles over the past few days.

Abu Mazen: "Mi dimetto se non cessano i raid militari israeliani"

La Stampa, 18.1.08 (9,19). Medio Oriente, cresce la tensione. Chiusi i valichi tra Israele e Gaza. Ancora razzi palestinesi su Sderot - GAZA. Il presidente palestinese Abu Mazen ha minacciato ieri sera, durante una riunione con i suoi più stretti collaboratori, di dare le dimissioni se non cesseranno i raid militari israeliani contro la Striscia di Gaza. L’Autorità nazionale palestinese ha condannato le operazioni militari lanciate dagli israeliani a Gaza ed in Cisgiordania come un tentativo di distruggere i tentativi di rilanciare i negoziati di pace. Lo riferisce oggi con evidenza il più diffuso dei quotidiani palestinesi, Al-Quds, edito a Gerusalemme Est. «Non ha senso negoziare (con Israele) in questo clima», ha detto il presidente palestinese sottolineando anche l’urgenza di una fine immediata dell’espansione delle colonie ebraiche in Cisgiordania, in particolare nella zona araba di Gerusalemme. Al-Quds tuttavia non precisa se Abu Mazen abbia ordinato una sospensione temporanea degli incontri con la controparte israeliana. Secondo il quotidiano Haaretz l’escalation di lanci di razzi rientrerebbe in una strategia di Hamas volta a tenere sotto pressione la popolazione civile israeliana residente nei centri adiacenti a Gaza e, quindi, ad obbligare il governo di Ehud Olmert ad accettare una tregua. L’agenzia delle Nazioni Unite per il soccorso e l’occupazione dei profughi palestinesi accusa: «L’isolamente della Striscia di Gaza riguarda anche gli aiuti umanitari alla popolazione palestinese». La principale agenzia per l’assistenza dei profughi in Medio Orienteha fattto sapere che è stato bloccato il transito alle frontiere tra Israele e Gaza dei camion carichi di aiuti umanitari. «Gaza è completamente isolata. E questo non farà che aggravare una situazione già tremenda», ha detto il portavoce, Christopher Gunness.

testo integrale

Fresh Israeli attack on Beit Lahiya in Northern Gaza strip leaves three killed from the same family

Child injured in Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip – file 2007

Ghassan Bannoura & Rami Al Meghari ghassanb at imemc dot org, IMEMC, 17.1.08 20.04. Palestinian sources reported that a fresh Israeli air raid targeting a horse carriage in the northern Gaza strip town of Beit Lahiya left three members of a Palestinian family killed and five others injured on Thursday night. With this attack, the number of the Palestinians killed today by the army reaches five. On Thursday midday in an 'apparently' total disregard to civilian lives in Gaza, an Israeli warplane fired a missile on a car in northern Gaza Strip, killing a Palestinian and his wife. Palestinian medical sources reported that Ra'd Abu Fool, 43, of the Popular Resistance Committees' armed wing and his wife Amna Abu Fool, 40, have been killed today noon, when an Israeli warplane fired at least one missile towards their car. Palestinian health ministry's sources had earlier voiced belief that the Israeli army has been using fletchets and illicit weapons against Palestinian civilians. Such doubts have not been verified by independent sources yet. Israeli army attacks on Gaza have been steadily increasing through the week, with a death toll estimated at least 28 and injuries at about 60; 12 of whom are critical.

Popular Resistance Committees leader, wife killed as Israeli helicopters target car in northern Gaza Strip

Popular Resistance Committees leader, wife killed as Israeli helicopters target car in northern Gaza Strip. Today's killings bring the total number of people killed in the Gaza Strip to 25 in the past two days.

Gaza – Ma'an – 17.1.08 13,48Israeli helicopters assassinated a leader in the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, and his wife by shelling his car as he was traveling near Sheikh Zayid City in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday afternoon.

Palestinian medics and sources within the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades named the victims as forty-three-year-old Ra'd Abu Al-Ful and his forty-year-old wife Amina Abu Al-Ful.

Muawiya Hassanain, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that the bodies of the victims were torn to pieces. They were taken to Kamal Udwan hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.

Witnesses said several other people were injured in the raid.

Today's killings bring the total number of people killed in the Gaza Strip to 25 in the past two days. On Tuesday Israeli tank fire killed Husam Zahhar, the son of one of Hamas' senior leaders, Mahmoud Zahhar, a former Palestinian Foreign Minister.

Since September 2000 679 Palestinians, including 224 civilian bystanders (78 of them children) extra-judiciallly killed by IOF

This attacks demonstrate IOF blatant disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians, who continue to be killed during extra-judicial executions carried out by IOF. According to PCHR research, 679 Palestinians, including 224 civilian bystanders (78 of them children) have been killed in extra-judicial executions committed by IOF since September 2000.

PCHR condemns this crimes, and:

1) Asserts they are part of a series of continuous crimes committed by IOF in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) with total disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians.

2) Calls upon the international community to immediately intervene to stop such crimes, and calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention, Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to fulfill their obligation under article 1 of the Convention to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under article 146 to search for and prosecute those who are responsible for perpetrating grave breaches of the Convention. Such breaches constitute war crimes according to article 147 of the Convention and the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I).

IOF Kill 3 Palestinian Civilians and Wound 3 Others in Gaza

On Wednesday noon, 16 January 2008, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) launched an air strike against a civilian vehicle in Gaza City. Three Palestinian civilians (a man, his son and his brother) were killed in the strike.

According to preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 12:30 on Wednesday, an IOF aircraft fired a missile at a civilian vehicle, in which three members of the al-Yazji family, including a child, were traveling, in al-Nafaq Street in the al-Daraj neighborhood of east Gaza City. The missile killed all three civilians.

1) Mohammed Hashem Mohammed al-Yazji, 27.

2) His child Ameer, 5.

3) His brother ‘Aamer, 40.

In addition, three civilian bystanders sustained shrapnel wounds:

1) Shukri Salem al-Shukri, 78.

2) Marshoud Salah al-Mazloum, 39.

3) Rashed Salah al-Mazloum, 40.

The Israeli media reported that IOF sources have admitted the vehicle was attacked by mistake, and the target of the IOF attack was another vehicle, in which Palestinian resistance activists were traveling.

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 10-16.1.08

Under fire: A paramedic attempting to evacuate one of the wounded during the Israeli military incursion into al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza on 15 January 2008

• 26 Palestinians were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip and 1 Palestinian was killed in the West Bank.

• 8 of the victims were civilians, including 2 brothers, a child and an elderly man.

• 17 of the victims were killed during an Israeli incursion into the east of Gaza City.

• 7 of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF.

• 51 Palestinians, including 3 elderly men, a woman and 2 brothers, were wounded by the IOF gunfire.

• IOF conducted 22 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 3 into the Gaza Strip.

• IOF razed 30 donums of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip.

• IOF arrested 50 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children.

• IOF transformed 5 houses in Nablus and Qabatya into military sites.

• IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.

• IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and the humanitarian crisis is worsening.

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

• IOF started to built a new settlement neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

• IOF razed 40 donums of agricultural land in Hebron.

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting period (10 – 16 January 2008):

Shootings: During the reporting period, IOF killed 27 Palestinians, including a child, 2 brothers and an elderly man, and wounded 51 others.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF killed 26 Palestinians, and wounded 44 others.

On 15 January, IOF killed 17 Palestinians, including 5 civilians, and wounded 30 others, including a woman, during an incursion into the east of Gaza City, which lasted for 4 hours. On 13 January, IOF extra-judicially executed 2 Palestinians and wounded a third. On the same day, IOF shelled a site of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas), killing 2 members at the site and wounding a third. On 16 January, 3 Palestinian civilians (a man, his child and his brother) were killed when an IOF aircraft fired a missile at their car. On the same day, IOF extra-judicially executed 2 Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip.

In addition, IOF wounded 6 members of the Palestinian resistance in the northern Gaza Strip on 15 and 16 January. On 15 January, a Palestinian farmer was wounded by the IOF gunfire in al-Qarara village, east of Khan Yunis. On 16 January, an elderly man was wounded in Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip, when an IOF aircraft fired a missile at a tract of agricultural land.

In the West Bank, IOF killed a Palestinian and wounded 6 others.

On 11 January, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when IOF used force to disperse a peaceful demonstration organized in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah. On 16 January, IOF extra-judicially executed the leader of the al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of Islamic Jihad) in the West Bank. Another 2 Palestinians were wounded and arrested in the same attack. Also on 16 January, 4 Palestinian children were wounded when IOF used force to disperse a demonstration organized in Hebron in protest at Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 22 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 50 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children. Since the beginning of 2008, IOF have arrested 147 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During the reporting period, IOF troops also transformed 5 houses into military sites.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 3 incursions into Palestinian communities. During these incursions, IOF demolished razed 30 donums of agricultural land. They also destroyed the remains of shops and factories in Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip.

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.

PCHR is following the deterioration of economic and social conditions resulting from the total siege imposed by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on the Occupied Palestinian Territory with the utmost concern, especially as regards the Gaza Strip. PCHR is extremely concerned that living standards of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza will further deteriorate if the recommendations of the Israeli Security Committee continue to be implemented, as this will result in at least 60% of the Palestinian civilian population being deprived of electricity supplies. In addition, many facilities that provide vital civilian services will be curtailed, due to lack of electricity.

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. It has also paralyzed most economic sectors. Furthermore, severe restrictions have been imposed on the movement of the Palestinian civilian population. The siege of 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. After the Hamas' takeover of Gaza in June 2007, IOF further tightened the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and the living and economic conditions of Palestinian civilians in Gaza have subsequently deteriorated. On 19 September 2007, the Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip “A hostile entity” and measures of collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza escalated from this point. Since September 2007, the Israeli Government have severely limited the goods exported to the Gaza Strip to just nine basic materials. Consequently, local markets have run out of many goods, causing sharp increases in prices, which in some cases have amounted to 500%.

West Bank

IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have systematically been denied access to Jerusalem. IOF have established many checkpoints in and around 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 assault and 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. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in 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 in the West Bank.

Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement activities, and Israeli settlers living in the OPT have, in violation of international humanitarian law, continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. During the reporting period, IOF started construction of a settlement that would include 66 housing units for Israeli settlers in the Ras al-‘Aamoud neighborhood in East Jerusalem. According to the Israeli daily newspaper, Haaretz, the project obtained its license from the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem. On 15 January, IOF They razed at least 40 donums of agricultural land planted with olive and almond trees, and destroyed 6 wells and a number of fences and roads in Beit Oula village near Hebron. On 12 January, dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilians and property in Hebron. Twelve Palestinian civilians were wounded, and IOF troops arrested 4 of them.

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (10 – 16 January 2008)

Exiled Hamas leader says Gaza raid result of Bush's visit

Abbas: IDF raid on Gaza is a massacre which can't be ignored
IDF kills 19 Palestinians in raids on Gaza Strip
Haaretz, 15.1.08. The exiled leader of Hamas said Tuesday that the Gaza raids were the fruit of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to the Middle East region.

Khaled Meshal, in an interview with The Associated Press in Damascus where he lives, accused Bush of inciting Israeli leaders.

"This crime is the ugly fruit of Bush's visit to the region. He has incited the Zionists and has exerted pressure on the Palestinian side to become more hardline against Palestinian dialogue," he said during the interview in his office.

"This proves that our people are great and our leaders sacrifice their sons. These are the real leaders that meld with their people and defend them, not those who infiltrate to the futile negotiating table with the Zionist entity, he said of Fatah."

Barenboim, c’è un muro anche nella musica

l'Unità, 15.1.08. «Proponiamo un modello - riflette Barenboim -. Dei ragazzi con in comune la musica possono esprimere se stessi e ascoltare al contempo le ragioni dell’altro. Perché non esiste una soluzione militare, e i destini del popolo palestinese e israeliano sono inestricabilmente uniti». Uniti come la West-Eastern Divan Orchestra - realizzata nel 1999 su un progetto che Barenboim aveva messo a punto assieme ad Edward Said, il più grande intellettuale palestinese, ora scomparso. Uniti come il doppio passaporto - israeliano e palestinese - di Daniel Barenboim.

Un messaggio di speranza che viaggia sulle note musicali. Un messaggio tanto più pregnante perchè a veicolarlo è un grande direttore d’orchestra: Daniel Barenboim. In Israele la destra oltranzista si è scagliata contro di lui per aver accettato il passaporto palestinese. Si è gridato al «tradimento», la stessa accusa a suo tempo lanciata contro il premier israeliano Yitzhak Rabin, colpito a morte da un giovane zelota per aver «osato» di fare la pace con il «Nemico», Yasser Arafat. Ma prima di riflettere sul significato del «doppio passaporto», vale la pena soffermarsi sul contesto nel quale questa scelta è stata annunciata.
Perché è quel contesto a dare il senso della straordinaria esperienza di cui Daniel Barenboim si è reso protagonista. I Territori palestinesi conquistano l’interesse internazionale quando sono associati a raid, atti di terrorismo, rappresaglie, sofferenze, patimenti... Ramallah, capitale della Cisgiordania, è balzata ai tristi onori della cronaca nei mesi dell’assedio israeliano alla Muqata, il quartier generale dell’Anp dove era confinato Yasser Arafat. Le «note» di quei mesi erano quelle, lugubri, di mitragliatori, colpi di artiglieria, missili... È con queste «note» che i giovani di Ramallah sono cresciuti, che sono stati costretti a «imparare» fin da piccoli. Ben diverse, erano le note che hanno riempito, l’altra sera, il Palazzo della Cultura di Ramallah. Note che hanno beato un pubblico di oltre 1200 persone. Molti avevano le lacrime agli occhi nell’ascoltare le composizioni di Beethoven eseguite dall’orchestra diretta da Barenboim.
È questo il «miracolo» maturato a Ramallah: invece di ingrossare le fila delle milizie armate, centinaia di ragazzi e ragazze palestinesi erano lì ad ascoltare quel maestro israeliano. E la sua orchestra. Un’orchestra composta da giovani musicisti israeliani e arabi ( in maggior parte palestinesi). In platea c’erano ragazzi in jeans e donne velate. Quelle note struggenti hanno superato i Muri, quelli fisici e quelli mentali che segnano la Terra Santa. Note che uniscono. Che fannno sognare. Note che liberano la mente dalle angosce del presente, un presente di sofferenza per tanti palestinesi e israeliani. Il doppio passaporto è la carta d’identità di questa speranza. Perché la musica raggiunge i cuori prima e meglio di tante esternazioni politiche. Perché la West-Eastern Divan Orchestra - realizzata nel 1999 su un progetto che Barenboim aveva messo a punto assieme ad Edward Said, il più grande intellettuale palestinese, ora scomparso - racchiude in sé, più e meglio di tanti accordi scritti e mai praticati, una idea alta, nobile, e concreta, di cooperazione tra i due popoli. Tra le loro gioventù.
Quel doppio passaporto non è una provocazione. È un investimento sul futuro. La forza di Barenboim è di non voler vestire i panni del politico. Ed è per questo che il suo messaggio è ancora più (positivamente) dirompente, ed è per questo che è entrato nel mirino dei seminatori di odio: «Non credo che la musica sia il veicolo di qualcosa. Io vengo qui (a Ramallah) come un essere umano, con lo spirito di chi vuol far conoscere e migliorare la vita delle persone», ha spiegato dopo aver concluso il suo concerto. E la musica aiuta, e molto, a migliorare la vita dei giovani di Ramallah. E, se fosse per il maestro, le note di Beethoven riempirebbero anche Gaza. Se fosse per lui, porterebbe anche la Scala di Milano a Ramallah.
Non dà lezioni di diplomazia, Daniel Barenboim. Ma ricorda che «la musica ti dà soprattutto la possibilità di capire il mondo. Suonare in orchestra, ad esempio, è una grande lezione di democrazia. Forma l’abitudine ad ascoltare gli altri. Così i modi di fare musica possono, devono essere modelli per l’esperienza umana. E la missione della musica in questo millennio è quella di lottare contro chi la vuole staccata dalla vita...». Una lotta che Barenboim conduce con coerenza. Attraverso le note e l’esperienza di un’orchestra che parla ai politici dei due campi. E racconta di una pace possibile. «Proponiamo un modello - riflette Barenboim -. Dei ragazzi con in comune la musica possono esprimere se stessi e ascoltare al contempo le ragioni dell’altro. Perché non esiste una soluzione militare, e i destini del popolo palestinese e israeliano sono inestricabilmente uniti». Uniti come la West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Uniti come il doppio passaporto - israeliano e palestinese - di Daniel Barenboim.

As a response to Olmert's statements, Sederot residents call Olmert to travel them away like the settlers of Gaza

Ezzedeen Al Qassam Brigades, 15.1.08. Olmert's statements he said to the security and exterior committee, about not invading Gaza made the residents of Sedrot settlement be angry from his statements.

The head chief in Sederot, in a talk to Maaref electronic site, appealed to transform the residents of Sederot like the settlers of Gaza according to a well-known criterion of evacuation and compensation. "He asked Olmert to submit the power to another men who can treat the terrorism coming from Gaza", as he claimed.

The chief of rulers in Sederot also considered Olmert's statements as a green light to the resistance to continue shelling the city with homemade rockets.

21 Citizens Killed due to Ongoing state of Lawlessness and Political Conflict throughout

December 2007 Report on Human Rights Violations. During the month of December 2007, the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights (PICCR) reported several human rights violations throughout the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) controlled territory, particularly incidents resulting from the state of lawlessness, security instability and political conflict. PICCR also monitored a number of violations against other human rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful gatherings, attacks on personal security and arrests.

1. Violation of the right to life and physical safety:
Compared to 17 citizens killed in November, incidents of violations of the right to life and physical safety increased during the month of December. PICCR reported that 21 citizens were killed during incidents of security chaos and infighting throughout the PA controlled territory. Of these, 6 citizens were killed in the West Bank and 17 in the Gaza Strip.
In the course of ongoing political conflict in the Gaza Strip, Police Forces affiliated with the Hamas' deposed government prevented Fatah activists from commemorating Fatah's 43rd anniversary on 31 December 2007. As a result, an armed confrontation took place between Police Forces and armed members of Hamas as well as armed individuals from Fatah and their respective families, during which 7 citizens were killed in several areas in the Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, 5 citizens were killed in family fights and acts of revenge. In addition, 4 citizens were slain as a result of arms chaos. Another 3 citizens died under obscure circumstances; 1 citizen in a robbery; and another in prison under unknown conditions.
Of those killed were 4 children. Additionally, 17 citizens were killed by firearms or du to the detonation of explosive devices.
Furthermore, PICCR reported that 130 citizens were injured as a result of infighting and
security instability, particularly during the armed confrontation reported on 31 December
in the Gaza Strip.

Full Text:
2. Atrocities against Freedom of Opinion and Expression
3. Attacks on public and private Institutions and property
4. Attacks on personal security and arrests
5. Attacks on Academic Freedom

IOF Escalate Attacks against the Gaza Strip: 17 Palestinians Killed and at Least 30 Others Wounded in Gaza City in Less Than 4 Hours

PCHR is gravely concerned about this continuing escalation in attacks by IOF, and therefore:

1) Condemns these crimes, which are part of a serious of continuous crimes committed by IOF in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) with total disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians, considering them a form of collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian population in violation of article 33 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

2) Stresses that IOF do not pay attention to the principles of necessity and proportionality when using their full-fledged arsenal against members of the Palestinian resistance, who are sometimes present in densely populated areas.

3) Calls upon the international community to immediately intervene to stop such crimes, and calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention, Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to fulfill their obligation under article 1 of the Convention to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, as well as their obligation under article 146 to search for and prosecute those who are responsible for perpetrating grave breaches of the Convention, as such breaches constitute war crimes according to article 147 of the Convention and the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I).