This is a weekly summary of israeli war crimes committed in Palestine for the week ending 14 June 2006, 2mins, english
PCHR Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
http://www.pchrgaza.org
Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory No. 23/2006
08- 14 June 2006
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Particularly the Gaza Strip
÷ 28 Palestinians, including 7 children, were killed by IOF.
÷ 7 of the victims were from the same family and were killed by IOF shelling in Gaza. (Investigations conducted by PCHR and other human rights organizations refute Israeli claims that IOF shelling was not responsible for this crime.)
÷ 19 of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF.
÷ 76 Palestinian civilians, including at least 20 children, were wounded by IOF gunfire.
÷ IOF conducted 40 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, particularly Nablus.
÷ 49 Palestinian civilians, including 12 children, were arrested by IOF.
÷ Two houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.
÷ IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have continued to close border crossings of the Gaza Strip; the north of the West Bank has been separated from the south; and IOF arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including a girl, at checkpoints in the West Bank.
÷ IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF razed areas of agricultural land near 'Azzoun 'Atma village, south of Qalqilya; and IOF demolished a house and an animal farm in Toura al-Ghabiya village, southwest of Jenin.
÷ Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT: 6 Palestinian civilians were wounded and 4 houses were damaged by attacks launched by Israeli settlers.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law escalated in the OPT during the reported period (8-14 June 2006):
Killing: During the reported period, IOF killed 28 Palestinians in the OPT, including 27 in the Gaza Strip. This number includes 21 unarmed civilians, including 7 children. Seven of the victims were from the same family (father, mother and 5 of their children), who were killed on Friday, 9 June 2006, when IOF fired a number of shells, while they were at the beach in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. IOF claimed that their investigations concluded that "the explosion resulted from a bomb planted by Palestinians targeting IOF". However, field investigations conducted by PCHR and those conducted by a Human Rights Watch military expert refute this claim and prove that the victims were killed by shrapnel from IOF shelling.
During the reported period, IOF conducted 7 extra-judicial executions in the OPT, which killed 19 Palestinians, including 18 in the Gaza Strip. On 13 June 2006, 10 Palestinian civilians, including a man, his child, his brother-in-law and 4 medical personnel, were killed when IOF attacked a car in Gaza City. On 9 June 2006, 3 Palestinian civilians, including two brothers, were killed when IOF attempted to extra-judicially execute a number of Palestinians in Jabalya town. On 8 June 2006, IOF extra-judicially executed 4 Palestinians in Rafah, including Jamal Abu Samhadana, Secretary General of the Popular Resistance Committees. On 14 June 2006, an IOF undercover unit extra-judicially executed a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah movement, in Jenin. In addition, on 11 June 2006, two members of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, were killed, when an IOF aircraft fired a missile at them, while they were attempting to launch locally made rockets at Israeli towns. Also during the reported period, 67 Palestinian civilians, including at least 20 children, were wounded by IOF gunfire in the Gaza Strip. Five of the wounded, including 3 children, were from the same family, whose members were killed at the beach in Beit Lahia. In the West Bank, 9 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children, were wounded by IOF gunfire.
Incursions: During the reported period, IOF conducted at least 40 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, particularly Nablus. During these incursions, IOF raided houses and arrested 49 Palestinian civilians, including 12 children. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF since the beginning of 2006 has increased to 1,720. In addition, IOF transformed two houses into military sites. One of those houses was used by IOF to extra-judicially execute a Palestinian in Jenin. IOF used undercover units and trained dogs during these incursions.
Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a comprehensive siege on the OPT, in violation of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of Palestinian civilians.
IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the Gaza Strip, transforming it into a large prison. IOF have continued to monitor the movement of Palestinian civilians through Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border. During the reported period, IOF refused to increase working hours at the crossing in order to cope with the increasing number of travelers during the summer. Although IOF allowed the transportation of food aid from Egypt into the Gaza Strip through Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, southeast of Rafah, in April 2006, the crossing has not yet been officially opened. IOF have also continued to prevent Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip from reaching their work places in Israel through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing. They have continued to prevent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip from traveling to the West Bank. IOF have partially operated al-Mentar (Karni) commercial crossing, east of Gaza City. As a result of the repeated closures of the crossing, the economic conditions in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated.
IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF have continued to separate the north and south of the West Bank. For this purpose, they have closed Za'tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, and re-established their presence at 'Attara checkpoint, north of Ramallah. They have also erected two new checkpoints near Ramallah. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank abused a number of Palestinian civilians. During the reported period, IOF at checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including a girl.
Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. During the reported period, IOF razed areas of Palestinian agricultural land in 'Azzoun 'Atma village, south of Qalqilya, near "Uranit" settlement, west of the village, and near "Sha'ari Tekva" settlement, east of the village. IOF plan to establish a new settler road linking these two settlements. IOF also demolished a house and an animal farm in Toura al-Gharbiya village, southwest of Jenin. On 9 June 2006, IOF used forced to disperse a peaceful demonstration organized in protest to the construction of the Wall in Bal'ein village, west of Ramallah Wall. IOF fired rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the demonstrators. As a result, 7 Palestinians civilians, including 4 children, were wounded.
Illegal Settler Activities: Israeli settlers in breach of international humanitarian law continue to reside in the OPT and have launched a series of attacks against Palestinian civilians and property. During the reported period, Israeli settlers launched 3 attacks on Palestinian civilians and property in Bethlehem and Hebron, which injured 6 civilians and damaged 4 houses.
For further information please visit our website (http://www.pchrgaza.org) or contact PCHR's office in Gaza City, Gaza Strip by email (pchr@pchrgaza.org) or telephone (+972 (0)8 2824776 - 2825893).
*Office Hours are between 08:00 - 16:00 hours (05:00 GMT - 13:00 GMT) Sun - Thurs.
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