PCHR Weekly Report

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

· IOF fired bullets and projectiles from the ground, air and sea at civilians and civil targets in the Gaza Strip.

· IOF arrested 20 Palestinian civilians and an American human rights defender in the West Bank.

· IOF stormed houses of a number of activists working against the construction of the Annexation Wall.

· IOF naval troops have continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

· IOF troops positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested one Palestinian civilian.

· Israel has continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

· IOF closed off 150 donums in Beit Ummar and prevented civilians from accessing them.

· A Palestinian civilian was forced to demolish a room of his house in the old city of Jerusalem.

· Israeli settlers seized one floor of a building belonging to a Palestinian family.

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (28 January – 03 February 2010).

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF wounded a Palestinian child in the West Bank village of Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron. On 30 January 2010, IOF moved into Beit Ummar village and chased a number of children and youth in the Bayad area. The children and youth stoned IOF soldiers who responded by firing sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the children and youth. One of the children sustained shrapnel wounds in his back as a result.

IOF continued to systematically use excessive force to disperse demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders protesting the Annexation Wall, settlement activities and attacks of Israeli settlers. Many of the demonstrators sustained bruises as they were beaten by IOF while others suffered from tear gas inhalation.

During the reporting period, IOF launched numerous air strikes and shot bullets on many occasions in the Gaza Strip. On 31 January 2010, IOF stationed along the Gaza Strip border to the east of Juhr Addiq village, east of Gaza City, fired several shells at the waste treatment office of Gaza Municipality and the employees were forced to flee.

On 1 February 2010, IOF positioned in observation towers at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, in the northern Gaza Strip, fired at a group of Palestinian civilians who were collecting iron bars from the rubble of buildings destroyed in the nearby industrial zone. The civilians were forced to flee in fear for their lives, but no casualties were reported. On the same day, IOF fired indiscriminately at the Shejaeya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

On 2 February 2010, an IOF gunboat fired at Palestinian fishing boats off the shore of Deir al-Balah. Then a number of rubber boats from the gunboat began to chase the Palestinian fishing boats. They fired at fishing nets, destroying them partially, and confiscated them. On the same day, IOF warplanes launched 6 air strikes in the city of Rafah. They fired at least 5 missiles at Gaza International Airport, southeast of Rafah. At least one missile was fired at a tunnel near Rafah crossing, southeast of Rafah. No casualties were reported.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 19 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 20 Palestinian civilians, including one child. IOF also stormed houses of activists working against the construction of the Annexation Wall. IOF arrested two civilians in Bil’ein who are members of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements, as well as one American human rights defender.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 2 limited incursions in the south and the north of the territory. On 28 January 2010, IOF moved approximately 250 meters into the east of Khza’a village, east of Khan Younis. They positioned themselves in the east of the neighborhood inhabited by the Abu Rida clan, leveled farms and fired indiscriminately. No casualties were reported.

On 3 February 2010, IOF moved approximately 350 meters to the east of Martyrs' Cemetery, in the east of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip. They leveled lands and fired sporadically.

Restrictions on Movement: Israel has 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.

Israel has continuously closed all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two and a half years. The illegal Israeli-imposed of Gaza, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.

· 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.

· 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.

· Israel has continued to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for the past two and a half years.

· Israel has not allowed fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas, since 10 December 2008.

· 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 to the Gaza Strip.

· Israel has continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.

· Israel has continued to prevent the entry of spare parts form water networks and sewage systems. Losses incurred to this sector are estimated at US$ 6 million.

· Israel has imposed additional restrictions on access of international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers to the Gaza Strip. It has prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.

· Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of poverty and unemployment have sharply mounted.

· Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails from the Gaza Strip have been deprived of family visitation rights for more than two and a half years.

· IOF have continued to attack Palestinian fishermen along the Gaza Strip coast.

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 630 permanent 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 have 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 lead 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.

Settlement Activities: Israel has continued settlement activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

On 28 January 2010, IOF delivered military notices to a number of Palestinian civilians from Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, stating that they were prevented from accessing approximately 150 donums of their lands, claiming that they were state-owned lands. On 30 January 2010, dozens of Palestinian farmers headed with Israeli and international human rights defenders to farms in the targeted area in order to plant olive trees and to trim trees, but IOF prevented them from accessing the area under the above-mentioned military order.

It should be noted that the delivery of these notices is a new measure taken by IOF in Beit Ummar village. It is the first time this measure has been taken. IOF have continuously dismissed Palestinian civilians from their own lands in line with continued attacks implemented by Israeli settlers. The targeted lands are farms that were subjected to attacks by settlers from “Bat ‘Ein” settlement, north of the village, last summer. PCHR expresses its concern that this measure may be the beginning of similar military measures targeting hundreds of dunums in the nearby “Wadi Abu al-Rish” area.

On 30 January 2010, IOF chased a number of Palestinian shepherds who were accompanied by activists from the Ta’ayush movement in “Um Zaytouna” and “al-Mafqara” areas in the Musafer area, east of Yatta in the south of Hebron.

On the morning of Sunday, 31 January 2010, members of the the Israeli government laid the corner stone of a new settlement compound in the vicinity of “Beit Hajai” settlement, in the south of Hebron. The corner stone was place by Beini Beighen, minister without portfolio, and it was announced that the compound would include ten new houses. Beighen claimed that the new settlement compound received its license three months ago as “three thousand houses were licensed in Judea and Samaria” before the governmental decision to temporarily suspend settlement activities in the West Bank, excluding occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (28 January – 03 February 2010)

1. Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

· At approximately 00:00, IOF moved into al-‘Aroub refugee camp, north of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians, one of them a minor:

· Also at approximately 00:00, IOF moved into al-Fawar refugee camp, southwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians who are brothers:

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Nablus City and 'Ein Beit al-Maa' refugee camp, west of Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

1. Nour Addin Taysir Abdul Haq, 21, from al-Makhfeya neighborhood in Nablus; and

· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Bil'ein village, west of Ramallah. They raided and searched the house of Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Khatib, 35, arrested al-Khatib and confiscated some of his documents. Al-Khatib is a member of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Bil'ein. Dr. Adib Abu Rahma, a member of the Popular Committee, stated that 35 activists involved with the popular action in Bil’ein has been arrested during the past six months.

· Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Yamoun village, west of Jenin city. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

· Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Zubeidat village, north of Jericho. They raided and searched the house of Ahmed Ibrahim al-Zubeidat and arrested his two sons:

· Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Zabouba village, west of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into al-‘Irqa village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

· At approximately 14:00, IOF moved approximately 250 meters into the east of Khza’a village, east of Khan Younis. They positioned themselves in the east of the neighborhood inhabited by the Abu Rida clan, leveled farms and fired indiscriminately. No casualties were reported.

· At approximately 19:30, IOF moved into Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, and took position in the eastern part of the village. They raided and searched four residential houses that are between 100 and 120 meters from the military checkpoint and observation tower erected near the entrance of Beit Ummar village. They claimed that they were looking for a Palestinian who threw a Molotov cocktail at the military site.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, IOF raided the houses and forced the residents to leave them. They held the residents and placed them under investigation for two successive hours. IOF withdrew at approximately 22:30 and no casualties or arrests were reported. The raided houses belong to: Ahmed Younis Abu ‘Ayash, Mahmoud Younis Abu ‘Ayash, Abdul ‘Aziz Mahmoud Abu ‘Ayash, and Anwar Mahmoud Breighith.

· At approximately 20:00, IOF moved into Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, and closed the northern and eastern entrances of the village. They chased a number of children and boys in the Bayad area, the northwestern part of the village. The children and youth stoned IOF soldiers who responded by firing sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the children and youth. At approximately 20:30, Ahmed Mahmoud ‘Aziz ‘Awad, 17, was wounded by shrapnel in his back when a sound bomb hit a wall near him. ‘Awad was transferred to the medical center in the village for treatment.

· At approximately 09:10, IOF stationed along the Gaza Strip border to the east of Juhr Addiq village, east of Gaza, fired several shells at the waste treatment office of Gaza Municipality and the employees were forced to flee. No casualties were reported. The firing of shells resulted in the suspension of the transfer of waste from Gaza City and from northern the Gaza Strip to the waste treatment site. Garbage was left in the streets. IOF have repeatedly targeted the waste treatment site and disrupted the transfer and treatment of waste.

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Hebron city. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into ‘Orta village, southeast of Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

· At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Bil’ein village, west of Ramallah. They patrolled the streets of the village and fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at houses. No raids of houses or arrests were reported.

· At approximately 13:50, IOF positioned in observation towers in Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, in the northern Gaza Strip, fired at a group of Palestinian civilians who were collecting iron bars from the rubble of buildings destroyed in the nearby industrial zone. The civilians were forced to flee, but no casualties were reported.

· At approximately 16:00, IOF stationed along the Gaza Strip border to the east of the Shejaeya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, fired indiscriminately at Palestinian houses. No casualties or damages were reported.

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Kafr Ra’i village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Seilat al-Thuhur, south of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Thamin Ahmed Abu Dayak, 27. Abu Dayak works in the Islamic Institution for Frozen Foods in Jenin.

· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Dheisha refugee camp, southwest of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Hazem Faraj, 37.

· At approximately 09:00, IOF moved into Jabbara village, south of Tulkarem. They erected a military checkpoint near the entrance of the village until 17:00 o’clock. They prevented civilians from entering or exiting the village. They searched civilians and checked their ID cards and they held dozens of Palestinian vehicles. IOF beat Tha’er Zeyad Mohammed Saleh, 21, as he attempted to leave the village.

· At approximately 10:00, an IOF gunboat fired at Palestinian fishing boats off the shore of Deir al-Balah. Then a number of rubber boats from the gunboat began to chase the Palestinian fishing boats. They fired at fishing nets, partially destroying them, and confiscated them. The confiscated nets belong to Fawzi Musallam al-‘Aqra’a, ‘Awni Rashad al-‘Aqra’a, Suheil Fayeq al-‘Aqra’a, and Sameh Mohammed al-‘Aqra’a.

· At approximately 23:45, IOF warplanes launched 6 air strikes in Rafah city. They fired at least five missiles at Gaza International Airport, southeast of Rafah. At least one missile was fired at a tunnel near Rafah crossing, southeast of Rafah. No casualties were reported. The air strikes terrorized Palestinian civilians who live near the targeted areas but no casualties were reported. Gaza International Airport has been destroyed almost completely, as it was bulldozed and bombarded several times during the al-Aqsa Intifada.

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Nablus city. They raided and searched a number of houses. They arrested Sharhabil ‘Awwad, 22, from the Makhfeya neighborhood southwest of Nablus.

· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Bil’ein village, west of Ramallah. They raided and searched the home of Ibrahim Abdul Fattah Burnat, 29, a member of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Bil’ein. In the meantime, Hamdi Phathi Abu Rahma, a photographer from the Freedom and Justice Friends Association, arrived at Burnat’s house to cover the event. In addition, an American citizen, called "Stormy", arrived at the house in an attempt to prevent IOF from arresting Burnat. IOF arrested Burnat, Abu Rahma and "Stormy".

· At approximately 07:00, IOF moved approximately 350 meters to the east of Martyrs' Cemetery, in the east of Jabalya in the northern the Gaza Strip. They leveled lands and fired sporadically. They withdrew at approximately 07:40 and no casualties were reported.

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.

IOF have continued to impose a tightened closure for more than two and a half years. The illegal Israeli-imposed 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.