A Palestinian woman standing near the debris of her house that was demolished by Israeli Occupation Forces in Jerusalem
December 13, 2007
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
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8 Palestinians, including 3 civilians,
were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
-
5 of the victims were killed by IOF during an offensive against the
southern Gaza Strip.
-
12 Palestinians were wounded by the IOF
gunfire in the Gaza Strip, and 9 persons, including 5 journalists and an
Israeli human rights defender, sustained bruises in the West Bank.
-
IOF conducted 22 incursions into
Palestinian communities in the West Bank, invaded the south of the Gaza
Strip and moved into its north.
-
IOF arrested 28 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children, in the West
Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.
-
IOF razed 133 donums of agricultural land in Khan Yunis.
-
IOF transformed a number of houses into military sites.
-
IOF raided a number of media institutions in Nablus, confiscated
equipment and closed one of them.
-
IOF have continued to impose a total
siege on the OPT.
-
IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and a
humanitarian crisis has emerged.
-
The number of patients who died due to the denial of their access to
medical treatment increased to 15.
-
IOF troops positioned at checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 7
Palestinian civilians, including a child and a girl.
-
IOF have continued settlement activities
in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attacks
Palestinian civilians and property.
-
IOF demolished a house in Jerusalem.
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Israeli settlers uprooted 32 olive trees in Hebron.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law and
humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (6 – 12
December 2007):
Shooting:
During the reporting period, IOF killed 8
Palestinians, including 3 civilians, and wounded 12 others in the Gaza
Strip. Additionally, 9 persons, including 5 journalists and an Israeli human
rights defender, sustained bruises by IOF in the West Bank.
In the Gaza Strip, on 6 December 2007, IOF
shot dead a Palestinian civilian while he was hunting birds near the border
between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Jabalya. On 7 December 2007, IOF
shot dead a Palestinian farmer in Khuza’a village, east of Khan Yunis. On 11
December 2007, IOF killed 5 Palestinians, including one civilian, during a
wide scale offensive on the southern Gaza Strip. Nine Palestinians were also
wounded. On the same day, an IOF air strike killed a member of the
Palestinian resistance and wounded 3 others in the northern Gaza Strip town
of Beit Hanoun.
In the West Bank, On 30 November 2007, 8
Palestinian civilians, including 5 journalists, and an Israeli human rights
defender sustained bruises when IOF troops used force to disperse peaceful
demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and
Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the construction of the
Annexation Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah, and al-Ma’sara
village, south of Bethlehem.
Incursions:
During the reporting period, IOF conducted
at least 22 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West
Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 28 Palestinian civilians,
including 4 children. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in
the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 2,553. During
the reporting period, IOF transformed 3 Palestinian houses into military
sites. IOF also raided a number of media offices in Nablus, confiscated
media equipment and closed Afaq TV.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 2
incursions into al-Fukhari area in the southern Gaza Strip and Beit Hanoun
town in the north. During those incursions, IOF killed 6 Palestinians, razed
133 donums of agricultural land, damaged a factory and arrested one
Palestinian civilian.
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.
Gaza Strip
IOF have continued to close all border
crossings of the Gaza Strip for nearly 17 months. The total siege imposed by
IOF on the Gaza Strip has left disastrous impacts on the humanitarian
situation and has violated the economic and social rights of the Palestinian
civilian population, particularly the 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. Moreover, the siege imposed on 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. IOF have further tightened the siege imposed on
the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip, and the living and
economic conditions of Palestinian civilians have further deteriorated.
On 19 September 2007, the Israeli
government declared the Gaza Strip as "a hostile entity" and accordingly
measures of collective punishment against Gaza escalated. Since that time,
IOF have limited the goods exported to the Gaza Strip to only 9 basic
materials. As a consequence, local markets ran out of many goods, which
caused a sharp increase in prices, which mounted to 500% for some goods.
Israeli occupation forces have banned the flow of some medicines, furniture,
electrical appliances and cigarettes into the Gaza Strip, and have decreased
the amounts of some goods allowed into the Gaza Strip, such as fruits, milk
and some dairy products.
West Bank
IOF have continued to impose severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from Jerusalem.
Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
have been denied access to the city. IOF have established many checkpoints
around and inside 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 violently 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 also erected more checkpoints on
the main roads and intersections in the West Bank. During the reporting
period, IOF troops positioned at checkpoints and border crossings in the
West Bank arrested at least 7 Palestinian civilians, including a girl and
child.
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. On Tuesday morning, 11 December 2007, IOF demolished a house in
the old town of Jerusalem claiming that it was built without a license. On
6
December 2007, Israeli settlers from "Sousia" settlement, south of Hebron,
uprooted 32 olive trees from a tract of agricultural land belonging to
Yasser Radhi al-Nawaj’a in Kherbat Sousia area, south of Hebron. On 7
December 2007, dozens of Israeli settlers, accompanied by IOF troops,
arrived at al-Jumjoma Mount near bypass road #60, northeast of Hebron. They
set up 3 tents and raised the Israeli flag. They remained in the area until
night, when the Israeli police eventually evacuated them.
Israeli Violations Documented during the
Reporting Period (6 – 12 December 2007)
1.
Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on
Palestinian Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Thursday, 6 December 2007
·
At approximately
00:30, IOF moved into Qalqilya. They raided and searched a number of houses
in Kfar Saba neighborhood in the south of the town and arrested 'Ali Mahmoud
'Owaisat, 21.
·
At approximately
01:00, IOF moved into Kufor Ra’ei village, southwest of Jenin. They raided
and searched a number of houses and arrested Hussein Ahmed Jawabra, 34.
·
At approximately
02:00, IOF moved into Abu Dis town, southeast of Jerusalem. They raided and
searched a number of houses and arrested 3 Palestinian children:
1.
Ayman Saqer Khanafsa,
17;
2.
Ra’fat Hasan 'Awad,
17; and
3.
Tha’er Halabiya, 16.
·
In the morning, IOF
shot dead a Palestinian civilian in Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip,
while he was hunting birds together with a number of other civilians.
According to investigations conducted by
PCHR, at approximately 05:00, Majed 'Awni Matar, 29, from Beit Lahia, went
together with his brother Mazen to Abu Safiya area in the east of Jabalya
town, nearly 1,000 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and
Israel, to hunt birds as they used to do. There were some other civilians in
the area for the same purpose. At approximately 07:30, IOF soldiers in a
military jeep positioned at the border opened fire at those civilians, who
attempted to flee. Matar was seriously wounded by a gunshot to the head. He
bled to death as ambulances were not able to reach the area due to the
intense IOF gunfire.
·
At approximately
22:000, IOF moved into Yatta town, south of Hebron. They raided a 3-storey
house belonging to Hussein Hammad Bhais and forced its residents out. They
searched the house for allegedly banned objects and wanted Palestinians.
They then transformed the third floor of the house into a military site
after forcing its residents to stay on the first floor. IOF troops left the
house on the following day noon. At approximately 23:00, IOF troops 2
neighboring houses belonging to Hasan Mohammed Nassar and Hussein 'Ali
Nassar, and forced their residents out. They searched the two houses and
beat two of their residents: 'Ali Hasan Nassar, 37; and Hasan Ahmed Nassar,
19.
Friday, 7 December 2007
·
In the morning, IOF
shot dead a Palestinian farmer in Khuza’a village, east of Khan Yunis, while
he was farming agricultural land.
According to investigations conducted by
PCHR, at approximately 07:40, Bahjat Mohammed Barak Abu Daqqa, 30, from al-Fukhari
area in the southeast of Khan Yunis, was driving a tractor farming a tract
of agricultural land belonging to the Hamad clan in Khuza’a village, east of
Khan Yunis, nearly 600 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip
and Israel. Two of his uncles were with him. As soon as, they started their
work, IOF troops positioned on a military observation tower at the border
opened fire at them. Abu Daqqa attempted to flee, but IOF troops continued
to fire at him and his uncles. He was killed by a gunshot to the neck.
Saturday, 8 December 2007
·
At approximately
01:00, IOF moved into Ras Teera village, south of Qalqilya. They raided and
searched a number of houses and arrested 6 Palestinian civilians:
1.
Nasser al-Din Yousef
Shawahna, 56;
2.
Sa’ad Nasser al-Din
Shawahna, 19;
3.
Saddam Nasser al-Din
Shawahna, 18;
4.
Eyad Yousef Shawahna,
36;
5.
Firas Sameeh
Shawahna, 29; and
6.
Bassam Yousef
Shawahna, 40.
·
At approximately
19:00, IOF moved into Qalqilya. They raided and searched a number of houses
in al-Mrouj area in the north of the town and arrested Majed Darwish 'Aamer,
26, a member of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service.
Sunday, 9 December 2007
·
At approximately
00:30, IOF moved into al-'Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron. They raided
and searched a house belonging to the family of Ziad Khalil Jawabra, 19, and
arrested him.
·
At approximately
01:30, IOF moved into Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses,
but no arrests were reported.
·
Also at
approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Maithaloun and Sirrees villages,
southeast of Jenin. They raided and searched dozens of houses in the two
villages, but no arrests were reported.
Monday, 10 December 2007
·
At approximately
01:00, IOF moved into Nablus and the neighboring Balata refugee camp. They
raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.
·
Also at
approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Nazlat 'Eissa village, north of Tulkarm.
They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Tha’er 'Abdul
Qader Younis, 17, and arrested him.
·
At approximately
02:00, IOF moved into al-Zahiriya village, southwest of Hebron. They raided
and searched a number of houses and arrested Ra’ed 'Ouda al-'Otal, 32.
·
Also at
approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Halhoul town, north of Hebron. They
raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Qassem Mohammed al-Douda,
19.
·
Also at
approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Sa’ir village, northeast of Hebron. They
raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Maher 'Abed Jaradat, 35.
·
At approximately
02:30, IOF moved into Jenin town and refugee camp. They raided and searched
a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.
·
Also at
approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Rummana village, west of Jenin. They
raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.
·
At approximately
21:00, an IOF undercover unit moved into al-Bireh. IOF troops raided an
office of Fatah movement in al-Balou’ area in the north of the town, and
arrested Mohammed al-Bawab, 22. Al-Bawab was on the list of amnesty issued
by IOF lately towards wanted Palestinians.
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
·
As IOF have
continued to threaten to invade the Gaza Strip, they moved into al-Fukhari
area in the southeast of Khan Yunis. They moved forwards to reach Sofa
intersection. They cut off Salah al-Din Street, which links Khan Yunis with
Rafah. During this military operation, which lasted for at least 20 hours,
IOF killed 5 Palestinians, including one civilian, and wounded 12 others.
They also arrested one Palestinian civilians and razed areas of agricultural
land.
According to investigations conducted by
PCHR, at approximately 00:00, IOF heavy military vehicles moved into al-Fukhari
areas in the southeast of Khan Yunis. IOF troops raided a number of houses
and transformed them into military sites. A few hours later, IOF troops
ordered through megaphones Palestinians aged 15-50 to get out of houses and
gather on a yard in the area. IOF troops took a number of those civilians to
military sites, but released them in the evening, excluding 'Atwa 'Abdullah
al-'Omour, 40. At approximately 08:00, IOF heavy military vehicles moved
towards Salah al-Din Street and cut off transportation between Khan Yunis
and Rafah. At approximately 09:10, an IOF tank fired a shell at the roof of
an under-construction house belonging to the 'Ashour clan in al-Nasser
village, west of Salah al-Din Street. Three Palestinians, including 2
members of the Palestinian resistance were wounded. A few minutes later, as
Palestinian civilians and two journalists moved into the house to check what
happened, IOF tanks fired 2 additional shells at the house. As a result, 3
Palestinians were killed:
1.
Khalil Mohammed al-Aswad,
26, a member of the Palestinian resistance, from Rafah;
2.
Mohammed Jamal Abu
Hamra, 19, a member of the Palestinian resistance, from Rafah; and
3.
Mohammed Hussein
'aashour, 36, from al-Nasser village near Rafah.
The two journalists survived the attack,
whereas on of the house owner’s sons, 23-year-old Wa’el Mas’oud 'Aashour,
was wounded.
In his testimony to PCHR about the attack,
Rami Abu Shammala, a cameraman of the local Ramattan news agency, stated
that he arrived at the place together with Ya’qoub Abu Ghalwa, a cameraman
of Associated Press and the Palestine News Agency (Wafa), to film the scene.
He added:
"I photographed 3 corpses that were on the
roof. One of the corpses was cut into 2 parts. IOF troops were firing at the
area, so I had shelter and continued to photograph. Soon, a tank shell hit
the room where we found the corpses. Shortly after that, IOF troops fired
another tank shell at the place. Dust and smoke covered the place, and Abu
Ghalwa fainted. A few minutes later, people took two of the corpses down and
an ambulance took them to the hospital. I transported the third corpse in my
car towards an ambulance."
Approximately 20 minutes later, IOF troops
fired 2 shells at 2 groups of the Palestinian resistance in al-Fukhari area,
wounding 6 resistance activists. Most of those activists were in a very
serious condition as some of their limbs were cut, and one of them died at
approximately 15:15. He was identified as Mahmoud Suleiman Abu Mustafa, 23,
from Khan Yunis refugee camp. As a result of the indiscriminate IOF
shelling, 3 Palestinian civilians were wounded.
At approximately 17:30, an IOF drone fired a
missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance, killing one
of them. He was identified as 'Omar Hasan 'Omar Khalil, 22, from Rafah.
During this incursion, IOF razed 133 donums
of agricultural land. They also damaged a factory of antiques belonging to
Ayman Zayed al-Jbour. IOF started to withdrew from the area at approximately
20:30.
·
At approximately
00:30, IOF heavy military vehicles moved nearly 1,500 meters into the
northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. IOF troops opened fire
indiscriminately to cover the withdrawal of an IOF special unit that had
been near the College of Agriculture. Approximately 20 minutes later, an IOF
aircraft fired a missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian
resistance who were near an UNRWA clinic. An activist, 26-year-old Hussam
Zaki Saleh Nashwan, was killed, and 3 others were wounded. IOF withdrew from
the town at approximately 05:00.
·
At approximately
01:00, IOF moved into al-Far’a refugee camp, south of Tubas. They raided and
searched a number of houses and arrested 2 Palestinian civilians:
1.
Na’im Fayez Shahmawi,
17; and
2.
Fayez 'Omar Nassar,
22.
·
At approximately
01:30, IOF moved into Shioukh al-Arab village, northeast of Hebron. They
raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 'Omar Shihda Halaiqa,
23.
·
Also at
approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-'Arroub refugee camp, north of
Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Hussein
Mahmoud al-Teeti, 22.
·
At approximately
02:00, IOF moved into Nabi Elias village, east of Qalqilya. They raided and
searched a number of houses and arrested 4 Palestinian civilians:
1.
Rami Fat’hi Radwan,
22;
2.
Khaled Zaki Radwan,
24;
3.
'Aadel 'Othman
Zamari, 21; and
4.
Hamdan Fayeq Hannoun,
19.
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
·
At approximately
01:00, IOF moved into Nablus. They ransacked
Palestinian media offices on the 5th floors of 'Antar Building.
IOF soldiers broke the main door of the building and mounted to the 5th
floor. They then broke doors of 6 offices, including Ar-Ruwad media office.
They confiscated 8 computer sets and some documents. According to Suhail
Khalf, the director of the office, he received a phone call from the owner
of the building who informed him that IOF troops raided the office and broke
the doors. He did not pay attention to the phone call. When he went to the
office as usual, he noticed the damage incurred to the office and the
confiscation of computer sets and documents. The office belongs to the daily
al-Quds, which is subject to the Israeli military censorship. In the same
context, IOF troops raided an-Najah media office, which belongs to Farid Abu
Duhair, on the 6th floor of Kamil Sa’d al-Din Building in
al-'Adel Street, and confiscated 3 computer sets and some documents. IOF
troops further
seized computers and
transmission equipment from the offices of Afaq TV on the pretext that the
station supports 'terrorism.’ According to Samehh Qandilo, a transmission
worker at Afaq TV, IOF troops raided the station's office and beat him.
They informed him that the Israeli military ordered the station closed for
security reasons.
2.
Continued Siege on the OPT
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.
Gaza Strip
IOF have continued to close all border
crossings of the Gaza Strip for nearly 17 months. The total siege imposed by
IOF on the Gaza Strip has left disastrous impacts on the humanitarian
situation and has violated the economic and social rights of the Palestinian
civilian population, particularly the 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. Moreover, the siege imposed on 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. IOF have further tightened the siege imposed on
the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip, and the living and
economic conditions of Palestinian civilians have further deteriorated.
During the reporting period, the Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip
as "a hostile entity," which implies imposing more restrictions and measures
of collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian population.
·
Rafah
International Crossing Point:
Rafah
International Crossing Point on the Egyptian
border is the sole outlet for the Gaza Strip to the outside world. IOF have
closed Rafah International Crossing Point, even though they do not directly
control it. They have prevented European observers working at the crossing
point form reaching it. The crossing point has been
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