Rapport PCHR

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) amidst a Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip Due to the Closure

- A member of the Palestinian resistance was killed by IOF and a Palestinian civilian died from a previous wound in the Gaza Strip.
- 10 Palestinians, including 3 children and a journalist, and an Israeli journalist were wounded by the IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
- IOF attacked 2 Palestinian ambulances in Ne'lin village, west of Ramallah.
- IOF conducted 25 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
- IOF arrested 18 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children.
- IOF stormed a medical center in Hebron.
- IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
- IOF have continued to take measures aiming at the Judaization of Jerusalem.
- IOF confiscated for the fifth time a tent belonging to the al-Kurd family whose house had been seized.
- IOF ordered Bedouins living to the south of Jerusalem to leave their area of residence.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting period (18 – 23 December 2008):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed a member of the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip and wounded 10 Palestinians, including 3 children and a journalist, and an Israeli journalist. A Palestinian civilian also died from a wound he had sustained by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
In the Gaza Strip, on 20 December 2008, IOF killed a member of the Palestinian resistance. IOF fired a surface-to-surface missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance who were launching home-made rockets at Israeli towns. Earlier, a Palestinian farmer was wounded by shrapnel in similar circumstances.
On 18 December 2008, IOF fired a surface-to-surface missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance who were launching home-made rockets at Israeli towns. An activist was seriously wounded.
On 21 December 2008, a Palestinian toddler was wounded when IOF aircrafts fired 2 missiles at al-Shoja'eya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. The toddler was wounded when she was at home.
On Saturday morning, 20 December 2008, a Palestinian civilian from Khan Yunis died from a wound he had sustained by IOF in 2003.
On 18 December 2008, IOF aircrafts attacked a car maintenance workshop in Khan Yunis town in the southern Gaza Strip. The workshop was destroyed an a number of nearby houses were damaged.
In the West Bank, on 21 December 2008, a Palestinian workers was wounded when IOF fired at a number of workers who were on their way to their work places in Israel.
During the reporting period, 6 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children and a journalist, and an Israeli journalist were wounded when IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall west of Ramallah. In the same context, IOF fired tear gas canisters at 2 Palestinian ambulances in Ne'lin village, west of Ramallah. Five medical personnel suffered from tear gas inhalation and one of the ambulances was damaged.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 25 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 18 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children. Thus, the number of Palestinian civilians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of 2008 has mounted to 2,329. On 21 December 2008, IOF stormed and damaged a medical center in Hebron.
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 to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The IOF 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.
The Gaza Power plant completely stopped operation due to the lack of energy fuel. Over the past three weeks, IOF have allowed only 1,721,610 liters of energy fuel into the Gaza Strip, an amount which can operate the power plant for only 5 days.
The main concern of 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs of food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.
The majority of the civilian population lack access to drinking water.
Electricity is cut off for 100,000s of civilians from 8-12 hours daily, which has impacted at least 500,000 students or various stages of education who are currently having exams./
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was forced to suspend it humanitarian aids program for at least 750,000 Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip for 5 days.
Thousands of Palestinian civilians have been forced to wait in long queues to buy bread.
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.
IOF have continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the face of Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.
IOF have 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.
IOF have decreased the number of patients allowed to travel through Erez crossing to receive medical treatment in hospitals in the West Bank and Israel to an average of 17 patients daily, which marks a decrease by 15% in comparison with the first quarter of 2008.
Health conditions in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated and all medical facilities have been impacted as scores of medical sets are operated by electricity. Dozens medicines have been lacking.
The lives of newly born babies, whose development has not been completed, is endangered as they need medical equipments in neonatal units that are operated by electricity.
Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of poverty and unemployment have sharply mounted.
At least 900 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been deprived for family visitation for more than 16 months.
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 the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
There are approximately permanent 630 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 has 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 leads 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.
Judaization of Jerusalem: IOF have escalated arbitrary measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem to force them to leave the city. During the reporting period, IOF stormed and confiscated for the fifth time a tent set up by the al-Kurd family in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. It is worth noting that IOF seized Fawzia al-Kurd's house on 9 November 2008 and expelled the family from it. Since that date, Fawzia al-Kurd has lived in a tent set up near the house. During the reporting period, IOF handed a written notice to Ahmed 'Abdul Rahim al-Balbissi, informing him that a 78-square-meter structure he built in May 2008 would be demolished. IOF and Israeli police also stormed Bedouin communities to the south of Jerusalem. The Organization Officer of the IOF Civil Administration handed military order to dozens of Bedouins living 3 communities in the area according to which they must evacuate the area.
Additionally, IOF have continued preparations to establish a railway network in Jerusalem. The IOF municipality of Jerusalem started this project in 2006. This network aims at linking Israeli settlements located to the northeast of Jerusalem with West Jerusalem. Works at the project has caused disruption of traffic in Palestinian areas in the north of Jerusalem.

Full_Report (pdf* format - 313,6 Kbytes