Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 10 – 16 Aug 2006
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
6 Palestinians, including two children and an old man, were killed by IOF.
A Palestinian civilian from Jenin died from a previous wound.
36 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children and 3 women, were wounded by the IOF gunfire.
IOF launched a series of air strikes on a number of houses in the Gaza Strip.
6 houses were destroyed and a 7th one was burnt in the Gaza Strip.
IOF conducted 40 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 4 others into the Gaza Strip.
IOF arrested 48 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and 5 others in the Gaza Strip.
4 houses were demolished in the West Bank.
IOF raided 3 hospitals in Hebron.
IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have imposed a tightened siege on the Gaza Strip and there have been shortages of foodstuffs and fuels; IOF positioned at a various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including two girls.
IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; they razed more areas of agricultural land in Qalqilya and used force to disperse a peaceful demonstration protesting the construction of the Wall in Bal'ein village, west of Ramallah.
Israeli settlers have continued attacks against Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT; settlers celebrated a Jewish wedding inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
Summary
As the international community has remained silent, IOF have continued to wage a full scale offensive on the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip. During the reported period, IOF have continued their Operation Grasshopper, under which they move in a certain area, commit crimes there and then redeploy outside it. They then move into another area and do the same. Hundreds of Palestinian families have been forced to leave their houses due to the IOF shelling.
PCHR, monitoring with utmost concern the developments of this offensive, calls upon the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and United Nations, to immediately intervene to force IOF to stop this offensive and allow the flow of foodstuffs, medical supplies and fuels into the Gaza Strip.
The outcome of crimes committed by IOF since 25 June 2006:
207 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 46 children and 10 women, have been killed by IOF.
At least 815 Palestinian civilians, including 232 children and 27 women, have been wounded by the IOF gunfire.
At least 217 air-to-surface missiles and hundreds of artillery shells have been fired at Palestinian civilian and military targets in the Gaza Strip.
Buildings of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National economy, the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister and a number of educational institutions have been destroyed.
The electricity generation plant, providing 45% of the electricity of the Gaza Strip, was destroyed, and electricity networks and transmitters have been repeatedly attacked.
6 bridges linking Gaza City with the central Gaza Strip and a number of roads have been destroyed.
Hundreds of dunums of agricultural land and dozens of houses have been destroyed.
Hundreds of Palestinian civilians, including 8 ministers and 27 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), including the Speaker and Deputy Speaker have been arrested. Minster of Prisoners' Affairs, Minister of Labor and Deputy Speaker of the PLC were released.
The Palestinian governmental compound in Nablus has been destroyed.
Many families in Rafah, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia have been forced to leave their houses.
IOF intelligence has warned some Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip by phone to evacuate their houses, which would be attacked.
25 houses belonging to activists of Palestinian factions were destroyed by IOF warplanes.
IOF have imposed a strict siege on the OPT, and have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.