Ramallah, 10-06-06: The Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) today condemned in the strongest possible terms the killing of seven Palestinian civilians on Friday, when an Israeli gunboat fired seven successive artillery shells at families picnicking on the beach. The seven killed were all members of same family, and included the father, mother, and five of their six children, aged between one and 10 years.
Their deaths bring the number of those killed in Gaza over the last 24 hours to a total of 14. A further seven Palestinians, including three civilians, were killed in a series of extrajudicial executions launched by Israeli war planes. Up to 36 people were injured during these attacks, including 32 civilians an 13 children. Two of the injured are said to be in serious condition.
The PNI urgently calls on the international community to condemn these attacks, and to pressure Israel into bringing an immediate end to such aggressive actions and abide by international and humanitarian law. Such violence serves only to destabilise the already fragile political and humanitarian situation in Gaza, and jeopardises the possibility of seeking a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Background
The ongoing occupation of Gaza by the Israeli military continues to have devastating implications for the Palestinian civilian population. Since January, there have been a total of 146 deaths and 662 injuries [1], and in just six weeks, 5100 artillery shells were fired into the Northern Gaza Strip. [2] In addition, the prolonged closure of the Karni and Erez crossings has led to food shortages, [3] and has brought the Gaza import and export market to a dead halt. As a result, unemployment levels have risen to 35 percent, and 64 percent of the population is living below the official poverty line of US $2.10 per day. [4]
[1] P.R.C.S. Table of Figures. http://www.palestinercs.org/crisistables/table_of_figures.htm
[2] Amos Harel. IDF has fired more than 5,100 shells at Gaza in six weeks. Haaretz, 16 May 2006. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/715432.html.
[3] OCHA. Humanitarian Update, March 2006, page 3. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/ochaHU0306_En-Final2.pdf.
[4] OCHA Humanitarian Update, January 2006. Special Focus: Emerging Humanitarian Risks. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/ochaHU0106_En.pdf.