Weekly Summary of israeli War Crimes

PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
http://www.pchrgaza.org


Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
No. 47/2005
01- 07 December 2005

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Launch More Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

� 4 Palestinians, including 3 civilians, were killed by IOF.
� One of the victims was extra-judicially executed by IOF in Rafah.
� 17 Palestinian civilians, including 10 children, were wounded by IOF.
� IOF launched at least 8 attacks on the Gaza Strip.
� IOF conducted 23 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
� Houses were raided and 42 Palestinian civilians, including 8 children, were arrested by IOF.
� IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; Rafah International Crossing Point was partially reopened; IOF have closed Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip; and IOF arrested 10 Palestinian civilians, including a child, at various checkpoints in the West Bank.
� IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the Wall; IOF arrested two Palestinian children near the Wall; and at least 610 donums[1] of Palestinian land were confiscated in Yatta village near Hebron to construct a section of the Wall, which will also isolate 14000 donums of land.
� Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT; at least 90 donums of Palestinian land in Nablus and Bethlehem were confiscated; and IOF razed 5 donums of land in Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem to establish a car parking lot for Israeli settlers.


Summary

On Monday, 5 December 2005, the Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz stated that he ordered IOF to conduct military operations in the Gaza Strip and the north of the West Bank, including extra-judicial executions targeting activists of the Islamic Jihad. Following a bombing that occurred in the Israeli town of Netanya on Monday, IOF imposed a total closure on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israeli media sources reported that IOF were instructed to shell areas from where Qassam rockets are launched; to resume extra-judicial executions; and to prevent members of the Palestinian police from carrying weapons in Tulkarm. The Israeli government has decided also to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel; to cancel VIP permits; to prevent Palestinian workers from entering Israel; to prevent the movement of Palestinian convoys between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank; and to give a green line to launch a wide scale military operation against the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank. PCHR asserts that these latest decisions will serve to increase tension in the region and will threaten the lives of Palestinian civilians.

Israeli violations of international law continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) during the reporting period (1 – 7 December 2005):

Killing: During the reported period, IOF killed 3 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. A fourth Palestinian died in the West Bank from a wound he had sustained at the beginning of the current Palestinian Intifada. On 2 December 2005, IOF killed a Palestinian when he was attempting, together with other civilians, to cross the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to search for jobs. On 3 December 2005, IOF shot dead a Palestinian fisherman in al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis. They claimed that he did not obey orders to stop while sailing in the sea. On 7 December 2005, IOF extra-judicially executed a Palestinian in Rafah. In the West Bank, a Palestinian civilian died from a wound he had sustained in Jenin at the beginning of the current Intifada. In addition, 17 Palestinian civilians, including 10 children, were wounded by the Israeli gunfire. Five of these civilians were wounded in Rafah when IOF extra-judicially executed one Palestinian. IOF also launched a series of aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Incursions: IOF conducted 23 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and two incursions into the Gaza Strip. During these incursions, IOF raided houses and arrested 42 Palestinian civilians, including 8 children. IOF used trained dogs to search houses.

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 big jail. Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border, the sole outlet for the Gaza Strip to the outside world, was partially reopened following a two-month closure. An agreement was reached regarding the operation of the crossing point. The crossing point is operated for 4 hours a day only. In the meantime, IOF have closed Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing for Palestinian workers and patients. IOF have also continued to impose severe restrictions at commercial border crossings and on fishing in the Gaza Strip.

IOF have declared the West Bank a closed military zone following the bombing that occurred in the Israeli town of Netanya. They have erected more checkpoints and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. During the reported period, IOF positioned at various checkpoints arrested 10 Palestinian civilians, including a child.

Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank territory. During the reported period, IOF razed areas of Palestinian agricultural land in al-Khader village, southwest of Bethlehem, and the villages of Prophet Samuel and al-Jeeb and Dahiat al-Barid area near Jerusalem, to construct new sections of the Wall. IOF decided to change the route of the Wall to the north of Jerusalem, but these changes will not reverse the fact that the Wall is being constructed inside the West Bank territory, in violation of international law and the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on 9 July 2004. During the reported period, IOF issued a military order confiscating at least 610 donums of Palestinian land in Yatta village, south of Hebron, to construct a new section of the Wall. This section will isolate at least 14200 donums of Palestinian land. In the meantime, the Israeli Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni stated that "the Israeli High Court issue judicial rulings to decide the borders of Israel through the Wall." During the reported period, IOF used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli solidarity activists in protest to the construction of the Wall. At least 20 demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation, and 5 others, including a journalist, were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets. IOF also beat and arrested two Israeli solidarity activists. Also during the reported period, IOF arrested two Palestinian children who were walking near the Wall.

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, IOF handed home demolition notices to 12 civilians in Qaryout village, south of Nablus. IOF claimed that these houses were built without obtaining necessary licenses in Area C, which is under full Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords. In addition, IOF also confiscated 5 donums of land in Majdal Bani Fadel village, southeast of Nablus, to establish a military post. IOF also issued a military order confiscating 85 dunums of land in the villages of al-Khader and Battir, and Beit Jala town, to establish a crossing point to separate the western rural areas of Bethlehem from the rest of the governorate. On Monday, 5 December 2005, IOF razed 5 donums of land owned by Palestinian civilians in Silwan neighborhood to the south of al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, for the purpose of establishing a car parking lot for the vehicles of extremist settlers living in the area.


The full report is available online at:

html format:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2005/08-12-2005.htm

pdf format:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2005/pdf/weekly%20report%2047.pdf