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 PCHR

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

http://www.pchrgaza.org

 

Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

No. 13/2010

25-31 Mar. 2010

 

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the OccupiedPalestinian Territory (OPT)

 

·              Two Palestinian brothers were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.

 

·              18 Palestinians, including 3 children and a journalist, were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

 

·              IOF used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians.

 

·              IOF continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in border areas of the Gaza Strip.

 

·              IOF conducted 8 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 4 incursions into the Gaza Strip.

 

·              IOF arrested 18 Palestinian civilians, including a child, in the West Bank.

 

·              Among the detainees was Abbas Zaki, member of the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement.  

 

·              Israel has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

 

·              Israeli troops stationed at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested at least 8 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a woman.

 

·              Israel has continued its settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

 

·              IOF confiscated 3.5 donums[1] of land in Nablus.

 

 

 

Summary

 

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (25 – 31 March 2010):

 

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed two Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip, and wounded 18 other Palestinians, including 3 children, a resistance activist and a journalist, in West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

 

In the Gaza Strip, IOF moved into 'Abassan village, east of Khan Yunis on 26 March 2010.  They exchanged fire with activists of the Palestinian resistance and shelled Palestinian communities.  As a result, two Palestinian brothers, one of whom was a resistance activist, were killed, and 6 others, including a child, were wounded. 

 

During the reporting period, 4 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded by Israeli troops stationed on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel as well as by Israeli naval troops on gunboats patrolling off the shore of the Gaza Strip. 

 

In the West Bank, 5 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a journalist, were wounded during the reporting period, when IOF usedexcessive force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest of the construction of the Annexation Wall and settlement activities in the West Bank.  IOF also arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including 'Abbas Zaki, member of the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement and the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and a journalist. 

 

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 8 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.  IOF arrested 10 Palestinian civilians, including a child. 

 

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 4 limited incursions into Palestinian areas, during which they demolished a house and an egg production facility, razed 31 donums of agricultural land and leveled areas of land that they has previously razed.

 

Restrictions on Movement: Israel has 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 two and a half years. The illegal Israeli-imposed siege of Gaza, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.   

 

·       On Friday, 01 January 2010, IOF decided to close Nahal Ouz crossing permanently, and to allow the entry of fuels through Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, southeast of Rafah, claiming security reasons.     

 

·       1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.

 

·       The main concern of the population of the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs of food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.

 

·       Israel has continued to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for more than two and a half years.

 

·       Israel has not allowed fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas and energy fuel for Gaza Power Plant, since 10 December 2008.

 

·       The Rafah International Crossing Point has been opened for a few days for a number of patients who received medical treatment abroad and needed to return home to the Gaza Strip.

 

·       Israel had continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.

 

·       Israel has imposed additional restrictions on access of international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers to the Gaza Strip. They have prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.

 

·       Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of poverty and unemployment have mounted sharply.

 

·       At least 800 Gazan prisoners in Israeli jails have been deprived of family visitation for more than two and a half years. 

 

·       IOF have continued to attack Palestinian fishermen along the coast of the Gaza Strip.

 

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 at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

 

·       There are approximately 630 permanent roadblocks, manned and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank. In addition, there are some 60 - 80 ‘flying’ or temporary checkpoints erected across the West Bank by IOF every week.

 

·       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, further confiscating 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 (47 out of 72 roads).

 

·       There are around 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 a permit issued by the IOF. These 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.

 

·       During the reporting period, Israeli troop stationed at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a woman.

 

Settlement Activities: Israel has continued its settlement activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.  During the reporting period, IOF issued a military order seizing a 2.5-donum area of land in 'Awarta village, south of Nablus, to establish a military site, as well as a 900-square-meter area of land in Yanoun village, southeast of Nablus.

 

 

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (25 – 31 March 2010)

 

The full report is available online at:

http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/?option=com_content&view=article&id=6337:weekly-report-on-israeli-human-rights-violations-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-25-31-march-2010&catid=84:weekly-2009&Itemid=183

 

 

 

Public Document

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