from ReliefWeb
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
- 2 Palestinians, including a civilian were killed by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
- 10 Palestinian civilians were wounded by the IOF gunfire and 3 others by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
- 4 activists of the Palestinian resistance and a woman were wounded by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
- IOF conducted 38 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and one into the Gaza Strip.
- IOF arrested 50 Palestinian civilians, including 14 children and a girl, in the West Bank, and 3 others, including 2 children, in the Gaza Strip.
- IOF transformed 8 houses in Hebron into military sites.
- IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
- The Gaza Strip is suffering a serious humanitarian crisis due to the closure of border crossings.
- IOF troops positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 6 Palestinian civilians, including a child.
- IOF have continued to take measures aiming at the Judaization of Jerusalem.
- IOF confiscated for the third time a tent belonging to the al-Kurd family whose house had been seized by IOF.
- IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
- 17 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children, were injured.
- 4 houses were burnt and 5 cars were destroyed in Hebron
Summary
- Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting period (4 – 17 December 2008):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 2 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They also wounded 10 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children, in the West Bank, and 4 activists of the Palestinian resistance and a woman in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, 3 Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli settlers' gunfire.
In the West Bank, on Monday, 15 December 2008, an IOF undercover unit extra-judicially executed Jihad Ahmed Ameen Nawahda, 21, a member of the al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of Islamic Jihad), in al-Yamoun village west of Jenin. Nawahda was hit by multiple gunshots to the back, the abdomen and the legs.
During the reporting period, 9 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were wounded when IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall west of Ramallah.
Also during the reporting period, 3 Palestinian civilians, including a man and his son, were wounded by Israeli settlers' gunfire in Hebron on 4 and 5 December 2008.
On Sunday, 12 December 2008, a Palestinian child was seriously wounded by a gunshot to the head fired by IOF troops that provided protection to Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinian civilians and property in Hebron.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 38 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 50 Palestinian civilians, including 14 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 2,311. IOF also transformed 8 houses in Hebron into military sites. In the Gaza Strip, IOF troops that had moved into 'Abassan village, east of Khan Yunis, arrested 3 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, for some hours.
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. During the reporting period, IOF imposed a comprehensive closure on the OPT for the the Jewish Sukkot.
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.
During the reporting period, IOF arrested 6 Palestinian civilians, including a child, at various checkpoints in the West Bank.
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 third 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.
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, Israeli settlers living in "Kiryat Arba" and "Kharsina" settlements and settlement outposts in the southeast and the center of Hebron launched a series of systematic terrorist attacks against Palestinian civilians and property in nearby Palestinian residential areas in Hebron. IOF provided protection for settlers. The settlers used firearms, empty bottles and stones in their attacks. A number of Palestinian civilians were injured, 4 houses were burnt, 5 vehicles were destroyed and some other property was damaged.
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