[News] Human rights weekly report on Israeli abuses against Palestinians

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Human rights weekly report on Israeli abuses against Palestinians
(Gaza City) PCHR
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=618&Itemid=1

Friday, 22 September 2006

Image

Gaza City's Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 
issued its report for 14 through 20 September.

With the report came the photo with the caption 
reading, "Khaled Hamdan Qeshta’s in Rafah, which 
was bombarded by Israeli warplanes on 15 
September 2006 after he had been warned by 
Israeli Occupation Forces through a phone call."

The full PCHR report is reprinted below.

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

3 Palestinians were killed by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

One of the victims was extra-judicially executed by IOF in the West Bank.

A child died from a previous wound she had 
sustained when IOF killed her father and brother.

10 Palestinian civilians, including 7 children 
and a woman, were wounded by the IOF gunfire.

IOF have continued to launch air strikes on 
houses in the Gaza Strip; 4 houses were destroyed in Rafah.

IOF conducted 42 incursions into Palestinian 
communities in the West Bank, and 4 others into the Gaza Strip.

IOF arrested 52 Palestinian civilians, including 
a child and a woman, in the West Bank, and two civilians in the Gaza Strip.

IOF raided the Jordanian National Bank in Nablus, 
and 11 money exchange shops in 4 West Bank towns.

IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the 
OPT; IOF have imposed a tightened siege on the 
Gaza Strip; and IOF positioned at a various 
checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 7 Palestinian civilians.

IOF have continued to construct the Annexation 
Wall in the West Bank; they issued a military 
order to construct a new section of the Wall near 
‘Azzoun ‘Atma village, south of Qalqilya; and 
they violently beat 8 demonstrators protesting 
the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein village near Ramallah.

Israeli settlers have continued to attack 
Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT; 
Israeli settlers attacked a family in Hebron.




Summary

As the international community has remained 
silent, IOF have continued to wage a full scale 
offensive on the Palestinian people, especially 
in the Gaza Strip.  During the reported period, 
IOF have continued their attacks on Palestinian civilians and property.

PCHR, monitoring with utmost concern the 
developments of this offensive, calls upon the 
international community, particularly the High 
Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions of 
1949 and United Nations, to immediately intervene 
to force IOF to stop this offensive and lift the 
siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.  PCHR also warns 
the international community of the consequences 
of the policy of collective punishment and 
reprisals practiced by IOF against the 
Palestinian civilian population, especially the 
destruction of energy resources and the denial of 
the flow of fuels needed for providing basic services.

Israeli violations of international law continued 
in the OPT during the reported period (14 – 20 September 2006):

Killing: During the reported period, IOF killed 3 
Palestinians. A Palestinian child also died from a previous wound.

In the Gaza Strip, an IOF special unit shot dead 
a Palestinian civilian in Rafah on Thursday 
morning, 14 September 2006. IOF moved into the 
area to arrest two Palestinians, and shot this 
civilian dead when he was sitting in front of his 
house. On 20 September 2006, an IOF drone fired a 
missile at a Palestinian civilian in Jabalya, 
when he was in an area from which locally made 
rockets are fired at Israel. The victim was a 
resident of the area. On the same day, a 
16-year-old child died from a previous wound she 
had sustained on 2 September 2006, when IOF shot 
dead her father and brother. In addition, a 
Palestinian woman was wounded by the IOF shelling in Beit Lahia.

Thus, the number of Palestinians killed by IOF in 
the Gaza Strip since 25 June 2006 has increased 
to 231, including 49 children and 12 women. In 
addition, 814 others, mostly civilians, including 
216 children, 31 women, 4 paramedics and 6 journalists, have been wounded.

IOF also launched 3 air strikes on 4 houses 
Rafah, claiming that there were tunnels under 
these houses. Those houses were totally destroyed 
and a number of neighboring houses and civilian 
facilities were severely damaged.

In the west Bank, on Friday morning, IOF 
extra-judicially killed a member of the al-Aqsa 
Martyrs Brigades, a military wing of Fatah 
movement, in Sanour village, southeast of Jenin. 
IOF claimed that the victim, who was a resident 
of Beit Fourik village near Nablus, fired at them 
when they came to arrest him, but investigations 
conducted by PCHR refute this claim. In addition, 
9 Palestinian civilians, including 7 children, 
were wounded by IOF gunfire throughout the West Bank.

Incursions: During the reported period, IOF 
conducted at least 42 military incursions into 
Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during 
which they raided dozens of houses and arrested 
52 Palestinian civilians, including a child, a 
woman, a member of the municipal council of 
Bethlehem, the Mufti of Bethlehem and a 
university lecturer. IOF also transformed a house 
into a military site. In an act of piracy, IOF 
broke into the Jordanian National Bank and 11 
money exchange shops in the West Bank. They 
arrested 7 money exchangers and confiscated big 
amounts of money. Israeli sources estimated the 
confiscated money at 6 million NIS (US$ 1.3 
million), and claimed that these money exchange 
shop transferred amounts of money that were used 
to finance attacks on Israeli targets. In the 
Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 4 incursions in the 
southern Gaza Strip villages of ‘Abasan and 
al-Shouka, and into Erez industrial zone in the 
north. During these incursions IOF arrested 5 
Palestinians and demolished at least 30 factories and workshops.

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 imposed a strict siege on the Gaza 
Strip. They have closed its border crossings as a 
form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.

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. 
IOF have closed commercial crossings of the Gaza 
Strip, especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. As 
a consequence, the economic situation inside the 
Gaza Strip has further deteriorated and many 
goods have been lacked in markets. During the 
reported period, IOF partially reopened al-Mentar 
(Karni) crossing, east of Gaza City, and Sofa and 
Kerem Shalom crossings near Rafah. IOF have also 
continued to close Erez crossing in the northern 
Gaza Strip.  Hundreds of thousands of 
Palestinians from the Gaza Strip had been 
prevented from traveling through this 
crossing.  IOF have allowed international workers 
to pass through the crossing.  With this closure, 
few Palestinian patients have been able to travel 
to hospitals in Israel and the West Bank. On 
Sunday, 17 September 2006, IOF suddenly closed 
the crossing for alleged security reasons. In 
addition, IOF have prevented Palestinian fishermen from fishing for 3 months.



West Bank

IOF have tightened the siege imposed on 
Palestinian communities in the West Bank. They 
have isolated Jerusalem from the rest of 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 continued to separate 
between the north and south of the West Bank. 
During the reported period, IOF positioned at 
various checkpoints around imposed severe 
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian 
civilians. During the reported period, IOF 
positioned at various checkpoints in the West 
Bank arrested 7 Palestinian civilians.



Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct 
the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. During 
the reported period, IOF issued a military order 
to construct a new section of the Wall around 
‘Azzoun ‘Atma village, south of Qalqilya. 
According to the order, a 4500-meter-long section 
of the Wall will be constructed, extending from 
“Sha’ari Tikva” settlement to “Uranit” 
settlement. According to local sources, upon its 
construction, this section of the Wall will 
isolate at least 2000 donums[1] of agricultural 
land belonging to Palestinian civilians. IOF also 
used force to disperse a peaceful demonstration 
organized by Palestinian civilians and 
international and Israeli peace activists in 
protest to the construction of the Wall in 
Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah. As a result, 5 
Palestinian civilians and 3 Israeli solidarity activists sustained bruises.



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. Israeli settlers raided a house in 
Hebron and violently beat the owner and his son. 
Other Israeli settlers damaged the fence of a 
house in Hebron. In addition, Israeli settlers 
violently beat an old Palestinian civilian in 
Yatta village, south of Hebron. In Qalqilya, 
Israeli settlers seized a house in Kufor Qddoum 
village for some time. In the context of 
settlement expansion activities, IOF razed large 
areas in the south of al-Zahiriya village, 
southwest of Hebron, to establish a new settlers road.


The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
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