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Weekly Report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 19 - 26 Mar 2008

Attachments

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

- 2 Palestinian farmers were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.

- 2 activists of the Palestinian resistance died from previous wounds.

- 5 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children and a paramedic, were wounded by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

- IOF conducted 48 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 3 ones into the Gaza Strip.

- IOF arrested 82 Palestinian civilians, including 15 children, and 7 others in the Gaza Strip.

- IOF demolished 4 houses, razed 94 donums1 of agricultural land and destroyed 2 bird farms in al-Qarara village in the Gaza Strip.

- IOF raided and searched offices of a number of NGOs, charities and radio stations in the West Bank.

- IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.

- IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

- 7 Palestinian civilian were arrested by IOF at military checkpoints in the West Bank.

- IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank.

- IOF razed area of Palestinian land in Hebron.

- IOF demolished 4 houses in Jerusalem and Hebron.

- IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attacks Palestinian civilians and property.

- IOF demolished 7 houses in Jerusalem and Hebron.

- 3 Palestinian civilians were injured by Israeli settlers in Hebron.

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law seriously escalated in the OPT, especially in the Gaza Strip, during the reporting period (19 - 26 March 2008):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 2 Palestinian farmers in the Gaza Strip. Two members of the Palestinian resistance died from previous wounds. Additionally, IOF wounded 5 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children and a paramedic, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF killed 2 Palestinian civilians in 2 separate attacks in al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis, on 20 and 24 March 2008. They also wounded a 4-year-old child in Wadi al-Salqa villag in the central Gaza strip. Also during the reporting period, 2 members of the Palestinian resistance died from previous wounds.

In the West Bank, IOF wounded 4 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children and a paramedic, in Beita village, south of Nablus; 'Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya; Hawara village, south of Nablus, and Bal'ein village, west of Ramallah.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 48 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 82 Palestinian civilians, including 15 children and a girl. Thus, the number of Palestinian civilians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of 2008 has mounted to 777. During the reported period, IOF also raided and searched offices of a number of NGOs, charities and radio stations.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 3 incursions into Palestinian communities. During these incursions, IOF killed a Palestinian farmer, arrested 7 Palestinian civilians, demolished 4 houses, razed 94 donums of agricultural land and destroyed 2 bird farms.

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 more than one year and a half. 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 nearly 1.5 million 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. 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. In September 2007, 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. Since then, IOF have sharply decreased food and fuel supplies allowed into the Gaza Strip. IOF have continued to prevent the entry of raw materials into the Gaza Strip, and subsequently many factories have stopped their industrial activities. Concerning the movement of persons, IOF allow a few Palestinian civilians to pass through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to travel to the West Bank. 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 closure of border crossings deprives the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip of their right to freedom of movement, education and health. IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on fishing in the Gaza Strip. Fishermen have been subjected to intensive monitoring by IOF, which use helicopter gunships and gunboats to monitor the fishermen. The Oslo Accords allow Palestinian fishermen to go fishing up to 20 nautical miles away from the Gaza seashore.

West Bank

IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been denied access to Jerusalem. 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 various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 7 Palestinian civilians.

Annexation Wall: On 19 March 2008, IOF razed large areas of Palestinian agricultural land in the villages of al-Burj, Deir al-'Assal, Sikka and al-Majd, southwest of Hebron, to establish a settler road between the Negev inside Israel and Israeli settlements established on Palestinian land to the northwest of Hebron. During the reporting period, IOF demolished 4 houses in Jerusalem and Jenin near the Annexation Wall.

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. During the reporting period, IOF demolished 7 houses in Jerusalem and Hebron. Israeli settlers living in the center of Hebron attacked Palestinian civilians in the town and injured 3 of them.

Notes:

(1) 1 donum is equal to 1,000 square meters