Israeli
Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian
Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
IOF
have continued bombardments and shootings in the Gaza Strip.
IOF
implemented 5 airstrikes and fired 9 missiles.
14
civilians, including 2 women and 3 children, sustained bruises and wounds by
glass shrapnel.
A
metal workshop was destroyed and several houses and civilian establishments
were damaged.
IOF
have continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank.
7
protesters, including an Israeli peace activist, were wounded.
5 of
the wounded were participating in Kafr Qaddoum protest and 2 of them were
participating in al-Nabi Saleh protest.
IOF
have used force against protests in support of Palestinian prisoner Khader
Adnan.
4
protesters were wounded in front of 'Ofer prison, southwest of Ramallah.
IOF
conducted 74 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and a
limited incursion into the south of the Gaza Strip.
IOF arrested 21
Palestinians in the West Bank.
The arrested
Palestinians include 4 Palestinians who were released from Israeli jails in the
recent prisoner swap, and including the wife and daughter of a Palestinian who
was released from Israeli jails in the recent prisoner swap and who was
arrested again during the reporting period.
IOF undercover
units implemented arrests in al-Bireh city and in 'Anabta village.
IOF raided
houses of PLC members and the office of PLC members of Hamas Change and Reform
Bloc.
IOF arrested 2
Palestinians in the south of the Gaza Strip while getting ready to hunt birds.
Israel
has continued to impose a total closure on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza
Strip from the outside world.
IOF arrested 3
Palestinians at checkpoints in the West Bank.
IOF held a
Palestinian patient at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing for several hours as he was
on his way to al-Maqased hospital for treatment.
Summary
Israeli
violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued
during the reporting period (16 – 22 February 2012):
Shooting:
In the West Bank, IOF wounded 11
protesters, including an Israeli peace activist. Seven of the Palestinians
wounded in the West Bank were wounded in peaceful protests to the construction
of the annexation wall and settlement activities while 4 Palestinians were
wounded in peaceful demonstrations organized in support of Palestinian prisoner
Khader Adnan. In the Gaza Strip, 14 Palestinians, including 2 women and 3
children, sustained bruises and wounds by shrapnel wounds in airstrikes
implemented by IOF warplanes.
In
the West Bank, during the reporting period, 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, 11 protesters, including an Israeli peace activist, were wounded. Seven
of the wounded were wounded in peaceful demonstration organized in protest to
settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall, including 2
of them wounded in the weakly protest in al-Nabi Saleh on 17 February 2012, and
5 wounded in the weakly protest in Kafr Qaddoum also on 17 February. Additionally,
dozens of protesters suffered from tear gas inhalation.
IOF also used excessive force
against peaceful demonstrations organized in support of Palestinian prisoner
Khader Adnan. As a result, 4 Palestinians sustained wounds. Additionally dozens
of protesters suffered from tear gas inhalation.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF warplanes
launched 5 airstrikes at civilian targets and training sites used by groups of
the Palestinian resistance. In these airstrikes, IOF fired 9 missiles.
Additionally, IOF fired 2 artillery shells at a site of the Palestinian
National Security Service. As a result, 14 Palestinians, including 2 women and
3 children, sustained bruises and wounds by shrapnel wounds. Additionally, the
destructions and damages were caused to the targeted places and their
surroundings.
Incursions:
During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 74 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank, during which they arrested 21 Palestinian civilians, including a child.
During the reporting period, IOF
undercover units moved into Palestinian communities and arrested 4 Palestinians.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF implemented a
limited incursion in the south of the Gaza Strip and arrested 2 Palestinians.
Restrictions
on Movement:
Israel
had 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
Israel has continuously closed all
border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over four years. The illegal
Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has 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 Sofa
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 Strip, 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, on 04 January 2012, the
Israeli occupation authorities totally closed 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 export of Gaza's
products, especially industrial products, leading to undermining any real
chances to revive 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 delay the implementation of their decision to
allow 60 cars into Gaza weekly although more than 11 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 permission to new categories of Gazan patients
to have access hospitals in Israel or even in West Bank via the crossing.
Israel has imposed additional access restrictions on international
diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza
Strip.
For approximately 55 months, IOF have continued to deny
approximately 700 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza detained in Israeli jails
their visitation rights without providing any justification to this measure,
which violates the fundamental 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 completed, 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.
Efforts to
Create a Jewish Majority in East Jerusalem
On Monday, 13
February 2012, IOF bulldozed Wadi Helwa playground which measures 700 meters
squared; Silwan Creative Forum which is built on Wadi Helwa playground; and a
barrack measuring 60 meters squared and belonging to Amin Abdul Razzaq Seyam,
all in Wadi Helwa in Silawan village, south of the Occupied City of Jerusalem.
They also bulldozed a tin wall of 100 meters in length and a tin room measuring
6 meters squared belonging to Zeid Zamzam Shweiki in Wadi Yasoul neighborhood
in Silwan village.
Also on Monday,
13 February 2012, IOF demolished and leveled to ground a house of Ahmed
Mohammed Nasser al-Baghdadi.
The Israeli
Municipality's District Committee for Planning and Building in Jerusalem
approved a plan to construct a large building in the yard of the al-Buraq Wall
(the Western Wall) opposite to the western wall of the al-Aqsa Mosque and near
the Mughrabi Gate Bridge. The building will be called "Beit Halibah".
According to the plan, the building area is estimated at approximately 3,700 meters
squared, consists of three floors and two underground floors. The building was prepared
for use for the Jewish settlers and foreign tourists, as well as an information
center and exhibition grounds.
Settlement
Activities:
Israel
has continued its settlement activities in the OPT in violation of
international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack
Palestinian civilians and property.
On
13 February 2012 on Monday, IOF demolished a number of tents, stockyards for
sheep and stores for fodders in Kherbet al-Rahwa in the south of al-Dahirya
village, southwest of Hebron. Besides, IOF confiscated a number of agricultural
tools and equipment under the pretext of not obtaining a "prior
license" from the Israeli authorities. The attack resulted in the
demolition of six tents, eights stockyards and stores, an old well and ten
cells for beekeeping.
On
the same day, IOF bulldozed five barracks and four tents in al-Ja'wana area,
east of Kherbet Tana, east of Nablus. They belong to Shaher Fa'eq Taher Hanani,
'Atef Ahmed Hanani and As'ad Mohammed As'ad.
On
Wednesday, 15 February 2012, IOF, using three bulldozers, uprooted 250 olive
trees and 30 fig trees in Beer al-Hour area, northeast of Ramallah. The area is
adjacent to "Shilo" settlement from the northern side. The uprooted
trees have been planted for over 15 years in lands belonging to Rabee' Mohammed
As'ad Dar Jbara with an area of approximately 300 dunums. This attack is a part
of a series of attacks paving the way to annex the lands of the village to
"Shilo" settlement.
On
the same context, on 09 February 2012, the Israeli settlers planted forest
trees in a land with an area of approximately 15 dunums in al-Dawali area. The
land belong to Hassan Abdullah Ishtiwi, north of Kafr Qaddoum.
In
Salfit, a group of settlers seized dozens of dunums of land belonging to Yasouf
village. The targeted land is adjacent to the eastern and southern sides of the
settlement. The settlers established iron bars using cement to be surrounded by
a fence.
In
Nablus, on 09 February 2012, the Israeli settlers moved from "Bracha"
settlement, south of Nablus, to houses of Palestinians in al-Batin area,
northeast of Burin.
In
Hebron, on 10 February 2012, dozens of settlers from "Carmiel"
settlement, south of Hebron, moved into 40 dunums of lands belonging to
al-Hatheleen family. The settlers
planted a number of seedlings in front of the Israeli soldiers. In 11 February 2012, another group of
settlers attacked a number of farmers and solidarity activists while, on
voluntary basis, they were planting trees in Susia area, east of
"Susia" settlement, south of Hebron.
Israeli
Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (16- 22 February 2012)
1. Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian
Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Thursday, 16 February 2012
At
approximately 00:00, IOF moved into 'Arraba, southwest of Jenin. They patrolled
in the streets for some time and then stationed in the southern neighborhood.
They raided and searched the house of Ibrahim Mohammed Saleh Dahbour, 44, a PLC
member for Hamas Change and Reform Bloc. They confiscated a computer, a laptop,
ID documents, a number of video tapes and 3 mobiles. IOF withdrew later and no
arrests were reported.
Also at
approximately 00:00, IOF moved into al-Jabriat neighborhood, north of Jenin.
They raided and searched the house of Khaled Suleiman Fayez Abu Hassan, 44, a
PLC member for Hamas Change and Reform Bloc. They confiscated 2 computers,
documents and 2 mobile phones from the house. Before withdrawing from the
house, they asked Abu Hassan to go with them to the office of PLC members for
Hamas Change and Reform Bloc. In the same time, another IOF force raided and
searched the house of Khaled Abdullah Yahya, 53, PLC member for Hamas Change
and Reform Bloc. They also asked Yahya
to go with them to the office of PLC members for Hamas Change and Reform Bloc.
As the two PLC members arrived at their office in al-Samoudi building in the
east of Jenin, IOF raided and searched the office. Then they asked Abu Ha and
Yahya to leave the place. IOF remained in the office for some time. Before
withdrawing, they confiscated some documents from the office of PLC members for
Hamas Change and Reform Bloc.
At
approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Rajabi neighborhood, south of Hebron.
They raided and searched the house of Zeid Zidan Mohammed Zayed al-Rajabi, 35.
Before withdrawing, IOF arrested al-Rajabi and transferred him to "Kfar
Etzion" detention center, southwest of Bethlehem.
At
approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Barqin village, west of Jenin. They patrolled
in the streets for some time and then stationed in the southern neighborhood. They
raided and searched the house of Hanaa Yehya Saber Shalabi, 30, who was
recently released from Israeli jails. Before withdrawing, they arrested
Shalabi. It should be noted that Shalabi served 25 months in administrative
detention and was released in the recent prisoner swap.
At
approximately 02:10, IOF warplanes fired two missiles at a training site used
by the Izz Addin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in Yafa Street,
east of al-Tufah neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. As a result, the
windows in some of the surrounding houses and establishments, particularly
Mohammed al-Durrah Hospital, crushed and locals were in panic. Additionally, 10
Palestinians sustained bruises and were transferred to al-Shifa Hospital for
treatment:
1. Alaa Abed Abu Ghneima, 24;
2. Sharihan Uthman Hassan Abdul Al, 23;
3. Nader Ahmd Zaqzouq, 30;
4. Shaima Uthman Abdul Al, 14;
5. Maher Fadhel Ata Allah al-Jammal, 50;
6. Maher Yahya Jamal Khalaf, 40;
7. Mukarram Tawfiq Abdul Salam Hassouna, 54;
8. Asil Radi Abdul Al, 7;
9. Mohammed Ali Mahmoud Lubbad, 22, who is a paramedic of the civil
defense service; and
Za10. kariya Said Helles, 21; who is a nurse at Mohammed al-Durrah
Hospital and who sustained wounds in the nose as he was hit by glass shrapnel
from the crushing windows.
Also at approximately 02:10, IOF warplanes
fired three missiles at a training site used by Palestinian resistance groups,
northwest of Nusseirat in the middle of the Gaza Strip. The site was damaged
and no casualties were reported.
At approximately 08:15, IOF moved
into Asala village, south of Qalqilya. Patrolled in the streets for some time
and withdrew later. Neither house raids nor arrests were arrested.
At approximately 08:50, IOF moved
into Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some
time and withdrew later. Neither house raids nor arrests were arrested.
At approximately 09:00, IOF moved
into Beit 'or al-Foqa village, southwest of Ramallah. They patrolled in the
streets for some time. They withdrew later and no arrests were reported.
Also at approximately 09:00, IOF
moved into Fasayel village, north of Jericho. They patrolled in the streets for
some time. They withdrew later and no arrests were reported.
At approximately 10:00, IOF moved
into Beit Sira village, southwest of Ramallah. They patrolled in the streets for some
time. IOF withdrew later and no arrests
were reported.
At approximately 10:25, IOF moved
into al-Nabi Elias village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for
some time and withdrew later. Neither house raids nor arrests were reported.
At approximately 15:00, IOF moved
into Shweika suburb, north of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets and
withdrew approximately two hours later. Neither house raids nor arrests were reported.
At approximately 17:00, IOF moved
into Zabuba village, northwest of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some
time. In the meanwhile, a number of Palestinian boys gathered and stoned IOF
who replied by firing tear gas canisters and sound bombs. IOF withdrew later
and no arrests were reported.
Also at approximately 17:00, IOF
moved into al-Jiftlik village, north of Jericho. They patrolled in the streets
for some time. IOF withdrew later and no arrests were reported.
At approximately 18:30, IOF moved
into Asala village, south of Qalqilya, for the second time within hours. They
patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. Neither house raids
nor arrests were reported.
At approximately 18:45, IOF moved
into Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some
time. Then they raided and searched a number of houses in al-Safha
neighborhood. They held the residents of the raided house in the outdoors in
cold and rainy weather. The raided houses include: the houses of Mesleh
Mohammed Hussein, Salah Mohammed Hussein, Imran Abdullah Hussein, Mohammed Amin
Abdullah Hussein, Mohammed Said Saleh Salim, Ali Abdul Hafez Odwan, Juma'a
Yasin Inaya and Iyad Wasfi Hussein. They also searched a car repair workshop.
IOF withdrew at around 21:30 and no arrests were reported.
At approximately 20:00, IOF moved
into Kafr Qaddoum village, northeast of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets
for some time and withdrew later. Ne