Weekly Report

on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the

Occupied Palestinian Territories

March 29 – April 4, 2001

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

                                          ·        Israeli occupation forces combat helicopters shell Gaza and Rafah;

                                    ·        Man assassinated in Rafah

                                    ·        Nine Palestinian civilians are killed by the Israeli occupation forces;

                                    ·        Dozens of Palestinian civilians are wounded with live and                            rubber-coated metal bullets fired by the Israeli occupation forces;

                                    ·        A number of Palestinian medical personnel are wounded; and

                                    ·        More land is leveled and more houses and civilian facilities are demolished.

Introduction

The last week witnessed a very serious escalation of Israeli violations, some of which constitute war crimes under international law, against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

At the beginning of the seventh month of clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces that erupted on September 29, 2001, the Israeli forces continued to employ excessive force against Palestinian civilians and shell residential areas in the absence of a military threat.  As a result, nine Palestinian civilians were killed and dozens were wounded.[1]  During clashes that erupted between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces on Land Day (Friday, March 30, 2001), the Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians, killing six and wounding dozens with live and rubber-coated metal bullets. 

Nablus witnessed the bloodiest clashes.  According to medical sources, the Israeli occupation forces used explosive live bullets during the clashes, killing five Palestinian civilians.  Shrapnel of these bullets were found in the bodies of the killed, who are:

                                1)         ‘Ayesh Ghazi Mustafa Zamel, 19, from Deir El-Hatab village, killed with a an explosive bullet in the head;

                                2)         Ahmed Mahmoud Abu Marahil, 16, from Balatta refugee camp, killed with an explosive bullet in the neck;

                                3)         Sha’ban Sa’id Salloum, 31, from Balatta refugee camp, killed with an explosive bullet in the head that cut it from the rest of his body;

                                4)         Murad Hani Sharai’a, 20, killed with an explosive bullet in the head that exploded part of it;

                                5)         Khaled Shehadeh Dhib Nahla, 28, from Nablus, killed with a live bullet in the abdomen. 

At the northern entrance of Al-Bireh, similar clashes erupted between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces.  These forces opened fire and killed Mohammed ‘Abdel-Muhsin El-Wawi, 21, from Al-Am’ari refugee camp, with a live bullet in the head.

On April 1, 2001, a 12-year-old child from Deir Nezham village in the northwest of Ramallah, Lu’ai Mohammed Hussein El-Tamimi, was pronounced dead at Ramallah hospital.  The child was wounded on March 14, 2001 with a live bullet in the head that fired by the Israeli occupation forces as they tried to burst into the village.

On Monday, April 2, 2001, the Israeli occupation forces committed another assassination.  Mohammed ‘Atwa ‘Abdel-‘Al, 26, from Rafah, was killed when an Israeli combat helicopter shelled his car. During his funeral, clashes erupted between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces in Rafah.  The Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians, wounding two--including a fifteen-year-old from Al-Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, Sa’id Amin El-Khayat, who was critically wounded with a live bullet in the head.

The Israeli occupation forces also continued to shell Palestinian residential areas, especially in Rafah, Khan Yunis, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Al-Bireh.  The shelling resulted in wounding dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children, with shrapnel of artillery shells and live bullets.  During shelling of Rafah on March 31, 2001, the two and a half year old child, Samar Fuad Abu Jazar, was wounded with two live bullets in both thighs; and the eight year old child Wala’ Mahmoud Abu ‘Obeid was wounded with a live bullet in the left thigh, when the Israeli occupation forces opened fire indiscriminately on Palestinian houses.    

On March 31, 2001, Whid Nasser ‘Azer El-Dik, 54, from Ramallah, was pronounced dead at Ramallah hospital.  El-Dik was critically wounded during shelling the headquarters of the Palestinian President’s Guards (Force 17) in Ramallah by the Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday, March 28, 2001.  He was a guard of the nearby Palestine Technical College located near the Force 17 headquarters.  He fell off the roof the campus when he tried to flee once he heard the bombings near him.

In the evening of Tuesday, April 3, 2001, combat helicopters of the Israeli occupation forces shelled Gaza and Rafah.  Khan Yunis and Ramallah were shelled from Israeli forces' positions.  The shelling resulted in severe damage to a number of Palestinian security and civilian facilities.  Furthermore, more than 60 wounded Palestinians were evacuated to hospitals in Gaza, Rafah and Khan Yunis.  Missiles also hit a number of civilian facilities, including an UNRWA elementary school in Rafah.

During the period covered by this report (March 29-April 4, 2001), Jewish settlers escalated their attacks against Palestinian civilians and their properties.  These attacks reached the climax in Hebron, where Jewish settlers, under full protection by the Israeli occupation forces destroyed Palestinian civilian property.

During the same period, the Israeli occupation forces razed large area of agricultural land and demolished civilian facilities, especially in the northern area of the Gaza Strip and in Khan Yunis.  A significant portion of this land razing and building demolition was in the area adjacent to the northern border of the Gaza Strip.

                                   1.      Shooting at Palestinian Civilians

Thursday, March 29, 2001[2]

At approximately 10:00 local time, approximately 100 Palestinian children from Nusseirat refugee camp went to Al-Shuhada’ junction leading to Netzarim settlement, south of Gaza City.  This came as soon as they heard news about the death of Hussam Ghanem Al-Kronz, 24, from Al-Boreij refugee camp, who was killed by Israeli occupation forces positioned near the aforementioned settlement.[3]  When those children were approximately 150m to the south of the junction, they started to throw stones at Israeli occupation soldiers positioned there.  Those soldiers opened fire, wounding 10 children as follows:

                                1)        Salah Abu Dabbagh, 14, wounded with a live bullet in the right knee;

                                2)        Samir Zakaria Abu Dalal, 12, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the face;

                                3)        Mohammed El-Hawajri, 17, wounded with a live bullet in the right thigh;

                                4)        Mohammed Abu Shawish, 17, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the abdomen;

                                5)        ‘Abdel-Rahim Zaqout, 14, wounded with a live bullet in the right foot;

                                6)        Mohammed Zaki Abu Safeya, 17, wounded with a live bullet in the back;

                                7)        Qais El-‘Aidi, 15, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head;

                                8)        ‘Ali Ghaleb El-Namrouti, 12, wounded with a live bullet in the side;

                                9)        Mohammed Talal El-Sheikh, 12, wounded with a live bullet in the right shoulder; and

                              10)      Tariq Sueiman Abu Shallouf, wounded with a live bullet in the abdomen.

Friday, March 30, 2001 (the Land Day)

In a serious escalation in the use of excessive force and willful killings, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians during clashes that erupted in Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps, on the 25^th anniversary of the Land Day.   The Israeli occupation forces killed six and injured approximately 100.

The West Bank city of Nablus witnessed the bloodiest clashes. During the clashes, Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians, killing five and injuring dozens.  After the Friday prayer, a mass demonstration moved from the city’s largest mosque towards the city’s southern entrance where Israeli occupation forces had been reinforced in the morning by additional deployments.  The Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians, killing:

                                6)         ‘Ayesh Ghazi Mustafa Zamel, 19, from Deir El-Hatab village, with a an explosive bullet in the head;

                                7)         Ahmed Mahmoud Abu Marahil, 16, from Balatta refugee camp, with an explosive bullet in the neck;

                                8)         Sha’ban Sa’id Salloum, 31, from Balatta refugee camp, with an explosive bullet in the head that cut it from the rest of his body; and

                                9)         Murad Hani Sharai’a, 20, with an explosive bullet in the head that exploded part of it.

Furthermore, 94 Palestinian civilians were evacuated to Raffidia and Al-Ittihad hospitals in Nablus, after they were wounded with live and rubber-coated metal bullets or inhaled tear gas employed extensively by the Israeli occupation forces during clashes in Nablus.  Of the wounded, 32 were wounded with live bullets.  This includes Khaled Shehadeh Dhib Nahla, 28, from Nablus, who was critically wounded with a live bullet in the abdomen.  At approximately 20:30 local time, Nahla was pronounced dead at Raffidiah hospital in Nablus.  Medical sources at Raffidia hospital stated that the Israeli occupation forces used a type of explosive bullets against Palestinian civilians.  These bullets partially exploded the heads of three victims.  Shrapnel from these bullets were found in: the heads of Zamel, Zalloum and Sharai’a; in the neck of Abu Marahil; and in the abdomen of Nahla, whose kidney, spleen and arteries were ruptured.  The same medical sources asserted that the Israeli occupation forces also used a highly effective gas with unfamiliar symptoms, similar to that used first in Khan Yunis on February 12, 2001 (for more details about the symptoms, see PCHR’s Weekly Report on February 15, 2001.)  The wounded in Nablus who received live bullets were:

                                   1)      Ahmed Mahmoud Faraj, 13, wounded with a live bullet in the right leg;

                                   2)      Sumar Yahia Darwish, 27, wounded with a live bullet in the genital area;

                                   3)      Ghassan Mohammed Jaber, 36, wounded with a live bullet in the right hand;

                                   4)      Bilal ‘Abdel-Rahim Dweikat, 38, wounded with a live bullet in the right knee;

                                   5)      Mohammed Bahjat El-Khalili, 19, wounded with a live bullet in the left thigh;

                                   6)      Sabe’ Salim Sayeh, 15, wounded with a live bullet in the left leg;

                                   7)      Hamad Kamal Abu Thera’, 19, wounded with a live bullet in the right knee;

                                   8)      Majdi Jamil Barakat, 28, wounded with a live bullet in the back;

                                   9)      ‘Abdullah Sedqi Qanadilo, 16, wounded with a live bullet in the head;

                                10)    Samer Fahmi ‘Oweijan, 27, wounded with a live bullet in the right thigh;

                                11)    Najib Mas’oud ‘Abdel-Karim, 19, wounded with an explosive live bullet in the left thigh; and

                                12)    Farid Mustafa Abu Leil, 17, wounded with a live bullet in the neck.

At the northern entrance of Al-Bireh, in the afternoon, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians who were demonstrating more than 100m away.  As a result, Mohammed ‘Abdel-Muhsin El-Wawi, 21, from Al-Am’ari refugee camp, was killed with a live bullet in the head.  Additionally, another 16 civilians were wounded with live and rubber-coated metal bullets and dozens suffered from suffocation due to tear gas inhalation.  Among the wounded were:

                                   1)      Mohammed Mahmoud Moqbel, 50, from Ramallah, wounded with a live bullet in the pelvis;

                                   2)      Wasfia ‘Ali El-Barghouthi, 51, from Deir Abu Mesh’al, wounded with a live bullet in the left leg and shrapnel in the abdomen;

                                   3)      Mohammed Zakaria Abu El-‘Adas, 18, from Bitounia, wounded with a live bullet in the left thigh;

                                   4)      Amjad Rushdi El-Hanbali, 39, from Ramallah, wounded with two live bullets in the left leg and hand; and

                                   5)      Mohammed Hussein, 23, from Qaddoura refugee camp, wounded with a live bullet in the head.

Also in the afternoon, a demonstration of approximately 300 Palestinian civilians moved from Nusseirat refugee camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip towards Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction south of Gaza City.  Israeli occupation forces opened fire and used tear gas against civilians, wounding seven with live bullets and shrapnel.  The wounded were:

                                   1)      Anwar ‘Abdel-Rahman El-Sharif, 18, wounded with a live bullet in the left side of the chest;

                                   2)      Jehad ‘Ezzat El-Hour, 13, wounded with a live bullet in the abdomen;

                                   3)      Akram Khaled Hamad, 16, wounded with shrapnel in the left hand;

                                   4)      Islam Hussam El-‘Essawi, 9, wounded with shrapnel in the left leg;

                                   5)      Mahmoud Salim Haroun, 17, wounded with shrapnel in the face;

                                   6)      Yousef ‘Ali El-Asmr, 15, wounded with a live bullet in the pelvis; and

                                   7)      Rami Mattar, 15, wounded with a live bullet in the left knee.

On Friday afternoon, a similar demonstration moved toward Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing in the north of the Gaza Strip.  Israeli occupation forces, positioned in the vicinity of Erez industrial zone, opened fire on Palestinian demonstrators.  As a result 11 civilians, mostly children, were wounded with live and rubber-coated metal bullets.  They are:

                                     1)    Nabil Suleiman Shabat, 15, from Jabalya refugee camp, wounded with a live bullet in the left leg;

                                     2)    Thae’r Fayeq Abu El-Qumsan, 14, from Jabalya refugee camp, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the right hand;

                                     3)    Sufian ‘Abdel-Hai ‘Abed-Rabbo, 16, from Jabalya village, wounded with a live bullet in the left knee;

                                     4)    Maher Salim Abu Mo’awadh, 23, from Jabalya refugee camp, wounded with a live bullet in the right foot;

                                     5)    Mohammed Fathi Abu El-‘Eish, 16, from Jabalya refugee camp, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head;

                                     6)    Mahmoud Helmi El-Madhoun, 13, from Beit Lahia, wounded with a live bullet in the left foot;

                                     7)    Khalil ‘Abdel-Karim Abu Zhaher, 18, from Jabalya refugee camp, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head;

                                     8)    Mohammed Yousef Sahwil, from Beit Hanoun, 15, wounded with a live bullet in the left thigh;

                                     9)    ‘Abdel-Karim Mohammed Abu Jabal, 10, from Tal El-Za’tar, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the left arm;

                                  10)  Khalil Maher El-Masri, 23, from Beit Hanoun, wounded with a live bullet in the right foot;

                                  11)  Khalil Ziad Abu Jasser, 14, from Jabalya refugee camp, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the right thigh;

                                  12)  Ahmed Sahwil, 15, from Beit Hanoun, wounded with shrapnel in the right foot;

                                  13)  Ibrahim Faisal Mousa, 13, from Jabalya refugee camp, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head; and

                                  14)  Mohammed Nizar Rayan, 13, from Jbalya refugee camp, wounded with a live bullet in the abdomen.

Also in the afternoon, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians who were demonstrating near Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet.  As a result, 12 civilians were wounded with live bullets as follows:

                                   1)      the child Ibrahim Tayseer Yassin, 15, from Al-Shati refugee camp, critically wounded with a live bullet in the head;

                                   2)      the child Hani Khamis Baker, 14, from Gaza, critically wounded with a live bullet in the head.

                                   3)      Jamil Na’im El-‘Attar, 14, from Jabalya refugee camp, wounded with a live bullet in the right thigh;

                                   4)      Amin ‘Abdel-Karim Mohammedein, 20, from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded with a live bullet in the left thigh;

                                   5)      Ahmed Khamis ‘Oudeh, 16, from Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded with a live bullet in the left ear;

                                   6)      Hassan Mohammed Ghazal, 17, from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded with a live bullet in the left upper arm.

                                   7)      Mohammed Ahmed Helles, 19, from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded with a live bullet in the right leg;

                                   8)      Fahmi Mahmoud El-Shawa, 17, from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded with a live bullet in the right forearm;

                                   9)      Mohammed ‘Abdel-Rahim El-Dabash, 16, from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded with shrapnel in the head;

                                10)    Sami Fathi Abu ‘Amr, 15, from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded with a live bullet in the right thigh;

                                11)    Mohammed Khalil Barakat, 16, from Al-Shati refugee camp, wounded with a bullet in the right arm; and

                                12)    Khamis Hassan El-Fishawi, 25, from Al-Shati refugee camp, wounded with shrapnel in the head.     

Saturday, March 31, 2001

At approximately 8:00 local time, Israeli occupation forces positioned at Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction, to the south of Gaza City, opened fire on a number of Palestinian boys who were demonstrating approximately 150m south of the junction.  As a result, five were wounded as follows:

                                1) ‘Abdel-Razeq Ya’cob El-Qatrawi, 13, from Nusseirat refugee camp, wounded with a live bullet in the right hand;

                                2) Mohammed Saleh El-Helo, 18, from Nusseirat refugee camp, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the face;

                                3) Khalil Mahmoud Ramadan, 12, from Nusseirat refugee camp, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head;

                                   4)      Nour Hamad Abu Maktouma, 13, from Nusseirat refugee camp, wounded with a live bullet in the right shoulder;

                                   5)      Hammouda Mohammed Hammouda, 14, from Nusseirat refugee camp, wounded with a live bullet in the left thigh.

Also at approximately 8:00 local time, approximately 200 Palestinian civilians, mostly school children, came from Jabalya and Beit Hanoun to demonstrate near the entrance of Erez industrial zone which is in the north of the Gaza Strip and under control by the Israeli occupation forces.  Israeli soldiers opened fire at demonstrators during clashes that lasted until the afternoon, wounding:

                                   1)      Ziad ‘Arafat ‘Abdel-Dayem, 33, a medic from Beit Lahia, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the left hand;

                                   2)      Wae’l Zamel Al-Weheidi, 33, from Jabalya, seriously with two live bullets in the chest and the abdomen;

                                   3)      Ossama Ahmed Hammad, 16, from Beit Lahia, with a live bullet in the right thigh;

                                   4)      Tariq Mohammed Abu Eshkian, 20, from Beit Lahia, with a live bullet in the left foot;

                                   5)      Ahmed Jamal Mohammed Dhiab, 17, from Jabalya refugee camp, with a live bullet in the right knee;

                                   6)      Ashraf Jamal Zeidan, 18, from Jabalya refugee camp, with a live bullet in the left thigh;

                                   7)      Mohammed Mohammed Samir El-Leddawi, 16, from Jabalya refugee camp, with a live bullet in the left thigh;

                                   8)      ‘Abdel-Salam Amin Mousa, 16, from Jabalya refugee camp, with a live bullet in the left knee;

                                   9)      Sae’d Mohammed ‘Awadallah, 25, from Jabalya refugee camp, with two live bullets in the right leg and arm;

                                10)    Ramzi Ibrahim Abu Namous, 17, from Jabalya refugee camp, with a live bullet in the left leg;

                                11)    Hassan Abu El-Yakhni, 18, with two live bullets in the left leg and arm;

                                12)    Adam ‘Omar El-Kahlout, 18, from Beit Lahia, with a live bullet in the buttocks;

                                13)    Yousef Ibrahim Abu Sa’da, 17, from Jabalya refugee camp, with a live bullet in the left thigh;

                                14)    Hussein Na’im ‘Abbas, 25, from Jabalya refugee camp, with a live bullet in the left leg;

                                15)    ‘Abdel-Khaleq ‘Adel Zhaher, 13, from Jabalya refugee camp, with a live bullet in the left leg; and

                                16)    Haitham Isamail Mahanna, 23, from Jabalya refugee camp, with a live bullet in the left leg.

Furthermore, dozens of Palestinian civilians suffered from suffocation and breathing difficulties due to tear gas inhalation, including Hazem Ismail Ghaben, a 33-year-old Palestine Red Crescent Society medic from Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.

In Rafah, Shaker Mohammed Shaker Shahin, a 54-year-old UNWRA ambulance driver from Khan Yunis, was wounded with shrapnel in the left forearm while he was driving the ambulance near the border in Rafah.  In his testimony to PCHR, Shahin said that, immediately after being informed of clashes in the area, he and an accompanying nurse, he drove the ambulance from the UNRWA clinic in Rafah towards the Brazil refugee camp next to the border.  He added that he and his colleague offered medical assistance to five civilians who were lightly wounded with shrapnel of live bullets fired by the Israeli forces.  He stated that at approximately 9:00 local time, he was wounded with shrapnel in the forearm when he was inside the ambulance, approximately 40m away from the border.

In the afternoon, the Israeli occupation forces fired upon a number of Palestinian civilians who were demonstrating near Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet, to the east of Gaza City.  As a result, the 13-year-old child from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, Mohammed Rafiq El-Sedoudi, was wounded with a live bullet in the left knee.

Clashes also erupted between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces at the southern entrance of Nablus.  The Israeli forces opened fire, wounding Nafez Mohammed ‘Eissawi, 30, from Balatta refugee camp, with a live bullet in the left shoulder.

Sunday, April 1, 2001

In the morning, a 12-year-old child from Deir Nezham village in the northwest of Ramallah, Lu’ai Mohammed Hussein El-Tamimi, was pronounced dead at Ramallah hospital.  The child was wounded on March 14, 2001 with a live bullet in the head fired by the Israeli occupation forces.  On March 14, 2001, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians in Deir Nezham village who were attempting to stop these forces from storming into their village. As a result, a number of Palestinian civilians were wounded, including the child El-Tamimi, who was shot from a distance of approximately 200m.  The Israeli forces then prevented his evacuation to a hospital for approximately 65 minutes, which resulted in further deterioration in his condition.  The child was clinically dead from 14 March until he physically died the morning of April 1, 2001.

Also in the morning, a number of Palestinian civilians, mostly school children, demonstrated more than 100m away from a military site of the Israeli occupation forces in the vicinity of Erez industrial zone in the north of the Gaza Strip.  PCHR’s field officer in the area reported that during the clashes that lasted until the afternoon, Israeli occupation forces fired live and rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters at Palestinian demonstrators.  As a result, three civilians were wounded as follows:

                                   1)      Mohammed Ahmed Abu Jalhoum, 13, from Jabalya refugee camp, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head;

                                   2)      Mohammed Sa’id El-Zahhar, 16, from Al-Nasser neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded with shrapnel in the eyes; and

                                   3)      Tal’at Saleh Abu ‘Asser, 22, from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded with a live bullet in the right thigh.

In the afternoon, Israeli occupation forces, positioned near Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet, to the east of Gaza City, fired at a number of Palestinian children who were demonstrating more than 100m away.  As a result, a 13-year-old child from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood, Mohammed Riadh Joma’ Shamali, was wounded with a live bullet in the left leg.

At approximately 18:00 local time, Hassan Mousa El-Akhras, 20, from Rafah, was wounded with a live bullet in the left shoulder fired by the Israeli occupation forces.  According to PCHR’s investigation, El-Akhras is mentally handicapped.  He was approximately 100m away from the border, adjacent to Brazil refugee camp when he was shot.  Clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces were occurring in the area, but El-Akhras was not participating in them.  According to PCHR’s documentation, El-Akhras was wounded with a live bullet in the left thigh fired by the Israeli occupation forces on October 13, 2000.

Monday, March 26, 2001

In the afternoon, the Israeli occupation forces committed a new assassinated Mohammed ‘Atwa ‘Abdel-‘Al, 26, from Al-Salam neighborhood in Rafah, was killed.  This crime, the latest in a growing record of assassinations and extra-judicial killings during the past six months, represents a serious escalation against Palestinian civilians.  The Israeli government has openly declared a policy of extra-judicially killing and assassinating and Palestinians.

At approximately 12:40 local time, Israeli combat helicopters flew over Rafah and fired three rockets at a a white civilian car, a Peugeot Thunder.  At the time, the car was on Khaled Ben Al-Walid Street in Al-Barazil neighborhood, adjacent to the border in the south of Rafah.  The two direct hits on the car killed its driver Mohammed ‘Atwa ‘Abdel-‘Al.  PCHR’s field officer in Rafah reported that the car was completely destroyed and that ‘Abdel-‘Al’s body completely burnt.  ‘Abdel-‘Al’s body was removed from the scorched vehicle to Al-Joneina hospital in Rafah.  Furthermore, a taxi behind ‘Abdel-‘Al’s car was destroyed.  Its driver ‘Omar Sahqfeh miraculously survived because he and the passengers fled as soon as they heard the first explosion.  Additionally, two passing civilians, including an 11-year-old child who was on her way back from school, were evacuated to Al-Joneina hospital in Rafah after they suffered a nervous breakdown.

It is worth mentioning that the policy of assassination and extra-judicial killing carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians resulted in killing 17 Palestinians in the past six months.  This includes six civilian bystanders who were not targets.

This incident increased tension in Rafah and throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories.  During the funeral ceremony of ‘Abdel-‘Al in Rafah, clashes erupted between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces, near Salah El-Din Gate on the border in Rafah.  The Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians, wounding a 15-year-old child from Al-Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, Sa’id Amin El-Khayat, , with a live bullet in the head.  He was evacuated to the intensive care unit at Shifa’ hospital in Gaza City in critical condition.  Furthermore, the child Fadi ‘Ali Joudeh, 13, was wounded with shrapnel throughout the body.   

In the afternoon, similar clashes erupted near Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet, to the east of Gaza City, during which Nedal ‘Ezzat El-Sheikh Khalil, 17, from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, was wounded with a live bullet in the abdomen.  He was evacuated to Shifa’ hospital in Gaza City, where medical sources stated that his spleen and right kidney were reuptured.  

Before this, in the morning, Ashraf Mohammed El-Sayed, 17, from Jabalya refugee camp, was wounded with a live bullet in the right hand, when the Israeli occupation forces fired at a number of Palestinian youth who were demonstrating near Erez industrial zone in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, April 3, 2001

At approximately 11:00 local time, after an exchange of fire with a number of armed Palestinians, Israeli occupation forces, positioned on military observation towers in the west of Kfar Darom settlement in Deir El-Balah, indiscriminately opened fire on Palestinian civilians in the area.  As a result, Ibrahim Ahmed Abu El-Rous, 31, from Deir El-Balah, who was passing by the area, was wounded with shrapnel in the left forearm and in the head behind the left ear.  He was evacuated to Shifa’ hospital in Gaza City for treatment.

At approximately 13:30 local time, Israeli occupation soldiers, positioned on military observation towers in the north of Kfar Darom settlement, fired at Hazem Subhi El-‘Abit, 18, from Deir El-Balah, wounding him with a live bullet in the left foot.  He was evacuated to the Palestine Red Crescent Society Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City.  

At approximately 15:00 local time, Israeli occupation forces, positioned in the east of Kfar Darom settlement in Deir El-Balah, fired at Salma Hussein Abu Meghsib, 73, from a distance of approximately 400m, wounding her with a live bullet in the right hand.  At the time, she was returning to her home.

Wednesday, April 4, 2001

At approximately 10:00 local time, approximately 70 school students from Nuseirat organized a peaceful mar