PCHR, No. 24/2010, 10- 16 June 2010
- IOF willfully killed 1 Palestinian civilian and wounded 1 child in Jerusalem.
- IOF continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
- Dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation in the West Bank and 1 sustained a fracture in the Gaza Strip.
- IOF arrested 7 civilians, including 3 journalists and 2 human rights defenders.
- IOF continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in border areas of the Gaza Strip.
- 4 workers were wounded while working in the border area.
- IOF conducted 24 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and 1 limited incursion into the Gaza Strip.
- IOF arrested 29 Palestinian civilians, including 8 children.
- IOF continued to raid houses of activists of protests against the annexation wall and settlement activities.
- IOF summoned a 7-year-old child for interrogation.
- Israel has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
- Israeli troops stationed at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 2 Palestinian civilian.
- Israeli troops continued to harass Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints.
- Israel has continued to take measures aimed at creating a Jewish demographic majority in Jerusalem.
- The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem approved the construction of 1,600 settlement housing units.
- IOF demolished a number of stores in Jerusalem.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (10 – 16 June 2010):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 1 Palestinian civilian and wounded 1 Palestinian child in the West Bank. They also wounded 4 Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, on 11 June 2010, IOF killed 1 Palestinian civilian in Wad al-Jouz neighborhood in East Jerusalem, and wounded 1 Palestinian child. IOF claimed that the victim was driving a car, did not obey orders to stop at a checkpoint in Wad al-Jouz and attempted to run down 2 soldiers, who were injured. Investigations conducted by PCHR refute this claim and confirm that the civilians was willfully killed. Another child was also wounded by the gunfire.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF fired at Palestinian workers who were collecting construction materials. As a result, 4 workers were wounded in 4 separate incidents.
On 14 June 2010, Israeli troops that moved into al-Qarara and ‘Abassan villages, east of Khan Yunis, fired 5 artillery shells at the area; no casualties were reported.
On the same day, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the northern Gaza Strip; no casualties were reported.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 24 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 29 Palestinian civilians, including 8 children. They also arrested 3 journalists, 3 human rights defender and a university student during the dispersion of peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to settlement activities and the construction of the Annexation Wall.
IOF also stormed the house of Ahmed Khalil Abu Hashem, 43, Secretary of the National Committee against Settlement Activities and the Wall in Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 2 limited incursions into Palestinian areas, during which they leveled areas of previously razed land.
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 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 divert the entry of fuels through Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, southeast of Rafah, citing security reasons.
- · 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement and the right to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.
- · The principle concern of the population of the Gaza Strip is to obtain basic necessities: food, medicine, water and electricity supplies.
- · Israel has continued to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for more than 2 and a half years.
- · Israel has not allowed fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip since 10 December 2008, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas and energy fuel for Gaza Power Plant.
- · The Rafah International Crossing Point has been opened on only 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. Israel has prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.
- · Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated as levels of poverty and unemployment have mounted sharply.
- · At least 800 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza 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.
Measures Aimed at Creating a Jewish Demographic Majority in Jerusalem: IOF have continued to take measures at creating a Jewish majority in Jerusalem.
On 16 June 2010, IOF, accompanied by a bulldozer, moved into al-’Abasiya quarter in Silwan village. There they demolished two 18-square-meter stores belonging to Maher Na’im Siam, claiming that they were built without a license. IOF also confiscated an 18-square-meter container and demolished a 100-sqiuare-meter barrack belonging to the family. On the same day, IOF moved into al-Thawri neighborhood in Jerusalem. Without warning, they demolished a 30-square-meter garage belonging to Kamal Ibrahim al-Shoubaki.
On 14 June 2010, the Planning and Construction Committee of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem, approved the construction of 1,600 housing units in “Ramat Shlomo” settlement in Jerusalem. Israeli postponed the approval of the construction to this week to avoid any crisis with the United States.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (10 – 16 June 2010)
The full report is available online at: