Israeli
Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian
Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
· A Palestinian civilian
was wounded in the Gaza Strip
· A Palestinian child
was wounded in an attack launched jointly by IOF and Israeli settlers.
· IOF used force
to disperse peaceful demonstrations commemorating the Palestinian Naksa.
- Twenty six
demonstrators, including 11 children and a woman, were wounded near Qalandya
checkpoint, north of Jerusalem.
· IOF continued
to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank.
- Two Palestinians,
including a journalist, were wounded.
· IOF conducted 38
incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
- IOF arrested 14
Palestinian civilians, including 2 children.
- The arrested
Palestinians include two PLC members.
· IOF continued
settlement activities and Israeli settlers continued their attacks in the West
Bank.
- Israeli
settlers set fire to wheat farms in Qalqilya.
- Israeli
settlers damaged 20 grape trees and set fire to a wheat farm in Beit Ummar
village, north of Hebron.
· Israel has
continued to impose a total siege on the Gaza Strip and tightened the siege on
the West Bank.
- IOF held a PCHR
fieldworker for several hours in the north of Hebron.
- IOF held a PCHR
fieldworker at a military checkpoint in the north of the West Bank and
questioned him about PCHR’s annual report.
Summary
Israeli
violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued
during the reporting period (02 – 08 June 2011):
Shooting:
During
the reporting period, IOF wounded 30 Palestinian civilians, including 12
children and a woman, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Twenty nine of them were wounded in the West
Bank and the thirtieth was wounded in the Gaza Strip, and the majority of them
were wounded in peaceful demonstrations.
In
the West Bank, On 02 June 2011, a Palestinian child from Fraata village,
northeast of Qalqilya, was wounded when a group of settlers from "Havat
Gilad" settlement raided Palestinian lands in Fraata village and set fire to
lands planted with wheat and stoned Palestinian farmers. The settlers then called IOF who rushed to
the scene to provide protection to settlers. IOF started firing tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets at
Palestinians. Asaad al-Tawil, 16, was hit
as a result by a tear gas canister to his left eye.
IOF
used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest
to Israeli settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall in
the West Bank. As a result, Khaled
Sabarneh, 42, reporter of the Iranian TV, was wounded by a tear gas canister in
the right leg, and Mousa Ahmed Mohammed Abdul Karim, 45, sustained shrapnel
wounds to the head.
On
05 June 2001, Palestinians organized a peaceful demonstration on the occasion
of the 44th anniversary of the occupation of the rest of the
Palestinian territories by the Israeli occupation, calling for putting an end
to the occupation. IOF used excessive
force to disperse this demonstration. As
a result, 26 Palestinians, including 11 children and a woman, were
wounded. Paramedics who were in the
scene told a PCHR fieldworker that only five of the wounded were transferred to
Palestine Medical Compound in Ramallah for treatment while the others were
treated on the spot and refused to give their names to the paramedics.
In
addition, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights
defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation and bruises as they were beaten by
IOF in peaceful demonstrations in the West Bank.
In
the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian civilian was wounded on 07 June 2011 when
IOF positioning on observation towers at the border near Beit Hanoun
"Erez" crossing, in the far north of the Gaza Strip, opened intensive
fire at a group of Palestinian and international demonstrators who were nearly
300 meters from the border fence to the north of the Agricultural School of
al-Azhar University, north of Beit Hanoun.
Incursions:
During
the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 38 military incursions into
Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 14
Palestinian civilians, including 2 children.
The
arrested Palestinians included two members of the Palestinian Legislative
Council (PLC) of the Hamas Change and Reform Bloc who are Abdul Rahman Fehmi
Abdul Rahman Zidan, 51, from Deir al-Ghsoun village in the north of Tulkarm and
Ahmed Ali Ahmed al-Haj Ali, 73, from Ein Beit al-Maa refugee camp, west of
Nablus. Also Hussam Mahmoud Abdul Rahman
Khader, 48, former PLC member of the Fatah parliamentary bloc from Balata
refugee camp, east of Nablus, and Dr. Ghassan Nayef Talab Thougan, 54, an
academic and a leader of Hamas, were among those who were arrested by IOF.
Israeli
Settlers' Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property:
Israeli
settlers living in the OPT in violation of the international humanitarian law
have continued to commit systematic crimes against Palestinian civilians and
Palestinian property with protection provided by IOF who ignore conducting
investigations into complaints submitted by Palestinian civilians against
settlers.
On 02
June 2011, a group of settlers from "Havat Gilad" settlement raided
Palestinian lands in Fraata village, northeast of Qalqilya, and set fire in
lands planted with wheat and stoned Palestinian farmers. Farmers and some Palestinians from the
village who rushed to help the attacked farmers tried to drive the settlers
away, but the settlers called IOF who rushed to the scene to provide protection
to settlers. IOF started firing tear gas
canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets at Palestinians and beat them. As a result, a Palestinian child was wounded
and another civilian sustained wounds in his left leg as IOF pushed him to the
ground. Another 3 Palestinians sustained
wounds when they were attacked by Israeli settlers.
On 06
June 2011, Israeli settlers from "Karmei Tzur" settlement established
on Palestinian lands in "Khellet al-Kutleh", south of Beit Ummar
village and north of Halhoul town in Hebron, sprayed incinerating chemicals at
20 grape trees owned by Ali Ayad Issa Awad, 45. The grape trees were damaged as a result.
On
07 June 2011, Israeli settlers set fire in a wheat farm to the north of Hebron
also owned by Ali Ayad Issa Awad. The
fire damaged 2 dunums
and a half of the farm which measures 3 dunums.
Also
on 07 June 2011, dozens of Israeli settlers chased a number of Palestinian
shepherds from "Um al-Kheir" village, southeast of Yatta in the south
of Hebron, and prevented them from watering and grazing their sheep. IOF also
held Belal Mohammed al-Hathalin from from "Um al-Kheir" village for
allegedly "taking his sheep to a military zone."
Restrictions
on Movement:
Israel
has continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and has imposed severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
Gaza
Strip
Israel has continuously closed all
border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over three years. The illegal Israeli-imposed
closure of the Gaza Strip, which has been steadily tightened since June 2007,
has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the
Gaza Strip.
· IOF have tightened the closure of the Gaza
Strip and practically made Karm Abu Salem crossing as the sole commercial
crossing of the Gaza Strip although it is not proper for commercial purposes in
terms of its distance and operational capacity.
· IOF have continued to apply their policy aimed
at tightening the strangulation of the commercial movement in the Gaza Strip,
including imposing total control over the flow of imports and exports.
· The total closure of al-Mentar
"Karni" crossing on 02 March 2011 has created a bitter situation that
has seriously affected the Gaza Strip. Following this closure, all the economic and commercial establishments
in Gaza Commercial Zone were shut off. It
should be noted that al-Mentar crossing is the biggest crossing in the Gaza
Strip in terms of its operational capacity to absorb the flow of imports and
exports. The decision of al-Mentar
crossing was the culmination of a series of decisions to totally close Soafa
crossing, east of the Gaza Strip, in the beginning of 2009, and Nahal Oz
crossing, east of Gaza City, which was dedicated for the delivery of fuel and
cooking gas to the Gaza Strip, in the beginning of 2010.
· These statistics which were made available to
PCHR by the Border and Crossings Department indicate a continued drop in the
number of truckloads of Gaza imports and exports.
· IOF have continued to impose total ban on the
delivery of raw materials to the Gaza Stri, except for very limited items and
quantities. The limited quantities of
raw materials allowed into Gaza do not meet the minimal needs of the civilian
population in the Gaza Strip.
· The cooking gas crisis which has erupted last
November has continued to affect the Gaza Strip. This crisis was created when the Israeli
occupation authorities totally closed, on 04 January 2010, Nahal Oz crossing,
which used to be dedicated for the delivery of fuel and cooking gas supplies to
Gaza, and shifted fuel and cooking gas supplies to Karm Abu Salem crossing
which is not technically equipped to receive Gaza's needs of fuel. Karm
Abu Salem crossing, with its maximum absorptive capacity, can receive only 200
tons of cooking gas per day.
· Approximately 80% of Gaza civilians have
continued to depend on alimentary aid provided by UNRWA and other relief
agencies, rates of families who are living below poverty line have continued to
be on the rise and approximately 40% of Gaza's manpower has continued to suffer
from permanent unemployment as a result of shutting down the majority of Gaza's
economic establishments.
· IOF have continued to impose a total ban on the
exportation of Gaza's products, especially industrial products, leading to
undermining any real chances to rerun economic establishments. The situation has been aggravated especially
after making Karm Abu Salem crossing as Gaza sole commercial crossing and the
repeated closure of this crossing which negatively affected the quantity of
Gazan products which were allowed to be exported during last April.
· IOF have continued to prolongue the
implementation of their decision to allow 60 cars into Gaza weekly although
more than 10 months have passed since they announced this decision after three
years of ban imposed on the delivery of cars to Gaza. As a result, the prices of cars in Gaza have
been on the rise and local markets experience serious shortage in spare parts.
· For approximately four consecutive years, IOF
have continued to ban the delivery of construction materials to Gaza. During
the reporting period, IOF approved the delivery of limited quantities of
construction materials for a number of international organizations.
· Israel has
continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing for Palestinian civilians from
the Gaza Strip. IOF only allow the
movement of limited groups amidst severe restrictions, including long hours of
waiting in the majority of cases. IOF
have also continued to adopt a policy aimed at reducing the number of
Palestinian patients allowed to move via Beit Hanoun crossing to receive
medical treatment in hospitals in Israel or in the West Bank and
Jerusalem. IOF denied new categories of
Gazan patient permission to have access to hospitals via the crossing.
· Israel has
imposed additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists
and humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip.
· For approximately 46 months, IOF have
continued to deny approximately 710 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza detained in
Israeli jails their visitation rights without providing any justification to
this measure, which violates the rules of the international humanitarian law.
West
Bank
IOF have continued to impose severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank,
including occupied East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.
· IOF have
established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely restricting
Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently prevented from praying
in the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
· There are
approximately 585 permanent roadblocks, and manned and unmanned checkpoints across
the West Bank.
· When complete,
the illegal annexation wall will stretch for 724 kilometers
around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population. 350 kilometers of
the wall have already been constructed. Approximately 99% of the wall has been
constructed inside the West Bank itself, confiscating more Palestinian land.
· At least 65% of
the main roads that lead to 18 Palestinian communities in the West Bank are
closed or fully controlled by IOF.
· There are
approximately 500
kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. In
addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including occupied East
Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without permits issued by IOF. Such
permits are extremely difficult to obtain.
· IOF continue to
harass and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful protests against the
construction of the annexation wall.
· Palestinian
civilians continue to be harassed by IOF in Jerusalem, and across the West
Bank, including being regularly stopped and searched in the streets by IOF.
Israeli
Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (02– 08 June 2011)
1. Incursions into
Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip
Thursday, 02 June 2011
· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Deir al-Ghsoun village,
north of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the
streets and stationed in the western neighborhood of the village. Nearly 50 Israeli soldiers stepped down from
their vehicles and snaked into the house of Abdul Rahman Fehmi Abdul Rahman
Zidan, 51, a PLC member of the Hamas Change and Reform Bloc. Zidan's wife told a
PCHR fieldworker that Israeli soldiers jumped over their house wall. An Israeli soldier talked to Zidan via the
window of the bedroom and told him: "Open the door otherwise we will blow
the house up." IOF then raided the house and held the Zidan family in the
stair case. They drove Zidan before them
and searched the house. Approximately
one hour later, they arrested Zidan.
· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Balata refugee camp, east of
Nablus. They surrounded the house of
Hussam Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Khader, 48, former PLC member of the Fatah
parliamentary bloc, in the eastern neighborhood in Balata refugee camp. They raided the house with sniffer dogs. They precisely searched the house and
confiscated 2 computers. They then
arrested Khader.
IOF also surrounded the house of Yaser Ibrahim al-Badrasawi, 46, a
clothes merchant, in al-Tiraweyeh neighborhood in Balata refugee camp. They raided and precisely searched the house
with sniffer dogs. Then they arrested al-Badrasawi.
Majda Mohammed Hassan al-Badrasawi, 40, is al-Badrasawi's
wife. She told a PCHR fieldworker the
following:
"At approximately 02:15 on Thrusday, 02 June 2011, the Israeli
occupation forces surrounded our house which is located in al-Tiraweyeh
neighborhood in Balata refugee camp. The soldiers used a sharp tool and tried
to open the door that separates our apartment from the apartment of my
brother-in-law, Mohammed, but they failed. They then knocked the door and called: 'Mohammed and Yaser, open the
door.' My brother-in-law, Mohammed,
opened the door. They checked his ID
card and the ID cards of his sons. My
husband was not among them so the soldiers asked about him. Mohammed told them that my husband was at
home. They asked him to knock our door
and to ask Yasser to get out. My
brother-in-law knocked our door and Yasser got out with his ID card in his
hand. They checked Yasser's ID card and
asked: 'Is there anybody in the house?' We answered them that there was nobody
in the house. They then asked me, my
husband, my brother-in-law, and our daughters Walaa, 21, Zahraa, 14, Sujoud, 11
and Ibtihal, 8, to get into a room in the house. They let a big brown dog go in the house. They entered behind the dog. They searched the house and then arrested my
husband."
· Also at approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Nablus. They stationed in al-Maajin neighborhood,
northwest of the city, and surrounded building no. 8 of the housing buildings
belonging to al-Najah National University. They knocked the door of Dr. Ghassan Nayef Talab Thougan, 54, an
academic and a leader of Hamas, on the fifth floor of building no/ 8. Thougan opened the door and IOF arrested him without
entering the house.
· At approximately 02:20, IOF moved into Housan village, west of
Bethlehem. They drove their vehicles in
the streets and then raided and searched the house of Ali Abdul Wahhab Shaker
Hamamra, 22. IOF withdrew at
approximately 03:00 after arresting Hamamra. IOF beat Hamamra with gun butts and with their legs while transferring
him to one of their vehicles. They then
drove him to an Israeli police station in "Kfar Etzion" settlement, southwest
of Bethlehem, where he was placed under interrogation for allegedly stoning IOF
vehicles.
· At approximately 09:00, IOF moved into Kafr al-Labad village, east
of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the
streets for some time. They withdrew
later and neither house raids nor arrests were reported.
· At approximately 16:50, IOF moved itno Yasouf village, northeast of
Salfit. They patrolled in the streets
and held a number of Palestinians and questioned them about their workplaces
and telephone numbers. IOF withdrew
later and neither house raids nor arrests were reported.
Friday,
03 Friday 2011
· At approximately 00:00, IOF moved into al-Hfeira village, southwest
of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets
for some time. They withdrew later and
neither house raids nor arrests were reported.
· At approximately 00:15, IOF moved into Hares village, north of
Salfit. They patrolled in the streets
and raided the house of Belal Tahsin Ali Aqel, 26. They delivered a notice to Aqel requiring him
to appear before the Israeli intelligence. IOF withdrew later and no arrests were reported.
· Also at approximately 00:15, IOF moved into Marda village, north of
Salfit. They patrolled in the streets
and raided the house of Belal Tahsin Ali Aqel, 26. They delivered a notice to Aqel requiring him
to appear before the Israeli intelligence. IOF withdrew later and nether house raids nor arrests were reported.
· At approximately 17:30, IOF moved into al-Shwaika suburb, north of
Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets
and raided the house of Belal Tahsin Ali Aqel, 26. They delivered a notice to Aqel requiring him
to appear before the Israeli intelligence. IOF withdrew later and neither house raids nor arrests were reported.
Saturday, 04 June 2011
· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Anabta village, east of Tulkarm.
They patrolled in the streets for some
time. They withdrew later and neither
house raids nor arrests were reported.
· At approximately 23:45, IOF moved into al-Nabi Elias village, east
of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the
streets for some time and fired flash bombs near the village. They withdrew later and neither house raids
nor arrests were reported.
Sunday, 05 June 2011
· At approximately 10:10, IOF moved into Bedia village, northwest of Salfit. They patrolled in the streets for some
time. They withdrew later and neither
house raids nor arrests were reported.
· Also at approximately 10:10, IOF moved into al-Zawya village,
northwest of Salfit. They patrolled in
the streets for some time. They withdrew
later and neither house raids nor arrests were reported.
· At approximately 11:30, IOF moved into Nazlet Issa village, north
of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the
streets for some time. They withdrew later
and neither house raids nor arrests were reported.
· At approximately 12:50, IOF moved into Azzoun vilalge, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some
time. They withdrew later and neither
house raids nor arrests were reported.
Monday, 06 June 2011
· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Azzoun vilalge, east of
Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets
and raided and searched the house of Umar Abdul Hafiz Odwan. Before withdrawing, they arrested Odwan's
sixteen-year-old son, Saji.
· At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Nour Shams refugee camp, east
of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the
streets and positioned near al-Mansheyeh neighborhood, east of Nour Shams
refugee camp. They used a bomb to blow
up the door of a house belonging to Nazmi ali Ahmed Eisha, 54, and raided the
house. They used gun butts to severely
beat Eisha's thirty-year-old son, Ashraf. They searched the house and arrested Eisha's twenty-one-year-old son,
Mahfouz, who is a member of the Palestinian National Security Se
