[AL-AWDA-News] PCHR Weekly Report 44-2005 Israeli Human RightsViolations (fwd)

[Clement Henry <cmhenry@mail.la.utexas.edu>]

I don't want to overwhelm you with source material but here is another
useful Palestinian site --CH

Subject: [AL-AWDA-News] PCHR Weekly Report 44-2005 Israeli Human Rights
    Violations


       PCHR
      Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

      http://www.pchrgaza.org


      Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
     No. 44/2005

      10- 16 November 2005



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



      ·          3 Palestinians were killed by IOF.



      ·          2 of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF.



      ·          IOF conducted 29 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.



      ·          Houses were raided and 45 Palestinian civilians, including 10 children, were arrested by IOF.



      ·          2 houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.



      ·          IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; they have closed all border crossings of the Gaza Strip; and they arrested 9 Palestinian civilians, including two children, at various checkpoints in the West Bank.



      ·          IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF have started to raze areas of Palestinian land to the east of Jerusalem and at least 2500 dunums[1] of land are threatened to be confiscated; IOF decided the route of the Wall to the south of Hebron which will run two kilometers inside West Bank territory; IOF razed 30 dunums of agricultural land in Jayous village; and IOF confiscated two dunums of land in al-Zawia village.



      ·          Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT; a Palestinian child was seriously injured; a new settlement post was established in Yatta village; and at least 200 dunums of land were seized in Sa'ir village.



      Summary



      Israeli violations of international law continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) during the reporting period (10 - 16 November 2005):



      Killings: During the reported period, IOF killed 3 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  Two of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in the north of the West Bank.



      On 13 November 2005, IOF extra-judicially executed Shojaa' Bala'awi, 21, from Jenin.  They killed him after he had been wounded by a live bullet to the foot.  Bala'awi was a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah movement.  Approximately 24 hours later, IOF extra-judicially executed Amjad al-Hinnawi, 33, from Nablus.  He was the leader of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.



      In the Gaza Strip, on 12 November 2005, IOF shot dead Bilal al-Sha'er, 22, when he attempted to enter Israel to search for a job.



      PCHR has always asserted that the failure to hold Israeli soldiers accountable for killing Palestinian civilians serves to encourage Israeli soldiers to commit more crimes against these civilians.  On Tuesday, 15 November 2005, an Israeli military court acquitted an Israeli officer of all charges relating to the killing of a Palestinian child, Iman al-Hams.



      During the reported period, 4 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded by the Israeli gunfire.



      Incursions: IOF conducted 29 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.  During these incursions, IOF raided houses and arrested 45 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children and a girl.  Since the beginning of the last month, IOF have waged a wide-scale wave of arrests against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.  IOF employed undercover units and trained dogs in these incursions.  IOF also transformed two houses into military sites.



      Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a comprehensive siege on the OPT, in violation of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of Palestinian civilians.



      Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border, the sole outlet for the Gaza Strip to the outside world, has remained closed for nearly two months.  During the reported period, an agreement was concluded regarding the operation of the crossing point.  According to media reports, the crossing point will be operated by the Egyptians and Palestinians with the presence of a European force as a third party, whose responsibilities have not been determined.  Goods and foreigners will not be able to travel through the crossing point, rather they will travel through Kerem Shalom crossing point to the southeast of Rafah.   Israel insists on having some authority at Rafah International Crossing, including fixing cameras to monitor the movement at the crossing and handing over lists to the Europeans of Palestinians banned from travelling due to security reasons claimed by Israel.  In the past weeks, IOF allowed Palestinians to operate the crossing point for several hours to solve the problem of those who had been trapped on both sides of the crossing point.  The continued closure of the crossing point has deprived hundreds of Palestinian civilians of their rights to education, health, work and social communication.  On 13 November 2005, IOF allowed only 1000 workers to reach their wok places inside Israel through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing.  They also allowed a few patients with serious medical conditions to travel to Israeli hospitals through the crossing.  IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions at commercial border crossings and have also imposed severe restrictions on fishing in the Gaza Strip.



      In the West Bank, IOF have imposed more restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.  In the context of restrictions on the movement, IOF have continued to prevent Palestinian civilians from Jenin from crossing Za'tara checkpoint, south of Nablus.  IOF have also continued to close Jenin-Nablus road.  During the reported period, IOF positioned at various checkpoints arrested 9 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children.



      Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank.  On Thursday morning, 10 November 2005, IOF started to raze areas of Palestinian land near Abu Subaitan crossing on the Mount of Olives to the east of Jerusalem, opposite al-'Eizariya village.  At least 2500 dunums of land are planned to be razed.  IOF also surveyed areas of land in Yatta village to the south of Hebron to construct a new section of the Wall, nearly two kilometers inside West Bank territory.  Thousands of dunums of agricultural land may be confiscated for this purpose.  Moreover, IOF razed at least 30 dunums of agricultural land in Jayous village behind the Wall, north of Qalqilya.  They also confiscated two dunums of land in al-Zawia village, southwest of Nablus.



      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. During the reported period, Israeli settlers from "Kiryat Arba" settlement, east of Hebron, attacked Palestinian houses in the town.  A Palestinian child was seriously injured and two houses were damaged.  A number of Israeli settlers established a new settlement post on Palestinian land to the south of "Karme'el" settlement, south of Hebron.  A number of Israeli settlers fenced at least 200 dunums of land in Sa'ir village, east of Hebron.  IOF also razed areas of land in Kufol Hares village, east of Hebron, to establish an observation tower.



      The full report is available online at:

      html format:

      http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2005/17-11-2005.htm

      pdf format:

      http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2005/pdf/weekly%20report%2044.pdf






Public Document

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*Office Hours are between 08:00 - 16:00 hours (05:00 GMT - 13:00 GMT) Sun - Thurs.

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[1] 1 donum is equal to 1000 square meters.