Israeli soldiers fire tear gas canisters at Palestinian civilians during the weekly peaceful demonstration against the construction of the annexation wall in Nabi Saleh village near Ramallah
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
A Palestinian woman was wounded by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
IOF have continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank.
3 Palestinian civilian were wounded.
IOF arrested 5 Palestinian civilians, including a woman.
IOF conducted 68 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and a limited one into the Gaza Strip.
IOF arrested 20 Palestinians, including two children and a university professor.
IOF have continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.
IOF arrested 4 fishermen and confiscated their boat.
Israel has continued to impose a total closure on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
Israeli soldiers arrested 6 Palestinian civilians, including two children, at various checkpoints in the West Bank.
Israel has continued efforts to create a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem.
IOF demolished some civilian facilities in al-‘Eizariya village.
IOF demolished some civilian facilities in al-‘Eissawiya village to establish a biblical garden.
IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
IOF demolished 3 houses in al-Dyouk village, northwest of Jericho.
Israeli settlers burnt 3 cars in Deir Estia village, northwest of Salfit.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (05 – 11 January 2012):
Shooting:
During the reporting period, IOF wounded 4 Palestinian civilians, including a woman, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, during the reporting period, IOF used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to Israeli settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall in the West Bank. As a result, 3 Palestinian civilian was wounded. Dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation. IOF also arrested 5 Palestinian civilians, including a woman.
In the Gaza Strip, on 06 January 2012, a Palestinian woman was wounded by the Israeli gunfire while she was grazing animals in the central Gaza Strip.
On the same day, IOPF fired 3 artillery shells at Palestinian areas in the northern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported, but Palestinian civilians, especially women and children, were extremely terrified.
Incursions:
During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 68 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 20 Palestinian civilians, including two children and a university professor.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted one limited incursion into the north and leveled areas of Palestinian land which they had already razed.
Restrictions on Movement:
Israel had 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.
Gaza Strip
Israel has continuously closed all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over three years. The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.
IOF have tightened the closure of the Gaza Strip and practically made Karm Abu Salem crossing as the sole commercial crossing of the Gaza Strip although it is not proper for commercial purposes in terms of its distance and operational capacity.
IOF have continued to apply their policy aimed at tightening the strangulation of the commercial movement in the Gaza Strip, including imposing total control over the flow of imports and exports.
The total closure of al-Mentar "Karni" crossing on 02 March 2011 has created a bitter situation that has seriously affected the Gaza Strip. Following this closure, all the economic and commercial establishments in Gaza Commercial Zone were shut off. It should be noted that al-Mentar crossing is the biggest crossing in the Gaza Strip in terms of its operational capacity to absorb the flow of imports and exports. The decision of al-Mentar crossing was the culmination of a series of decisions to totally close Sofa crossing, east of the Gaza Strip, in the beginning of 2009, and Nahal Oz crossing, east of Gaza City, which was dedicated for the delivery of fuel and cooking gas to the Gaza Strip, in the beginning of 2010.
These statistics which were made available to PCHR by the Border and Crossings Department indicate a continued drop in the number of truckloads of Gaza imports and exports.
IOF have continued to impose total ban on the delivery of raw materials to the Gaza Strip, except for very limited items and quantities. The limited quantities of raw materials allowed into Gaza do not meet the minimal needs of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
The cooking gas crisis which has erupted last November has continued to affect the Gaza Strip. This crisis was created when the Israeli occupation authorities totally closed, on 04 January 2010, Nahal Oz crossing, which used to be dedicated for the delivery of fuel and cooking gas supplies to Gaza, and shifted fuel and cooking gas supplies to Karm Abu Salem crossing which is not technically equipped to receive Gaza's needs of fuel. Karm Abu Salem crossing, with its maximum absorptive capacity, can receive only 200 tons of cooking gas per day.
Approximately 80% of Gaza civilians have continued to depend on alimentary aid provided by UNRWA and other relief agencies, rates of families who are living below poverty line have continued to be on the rise and approximately 40% of Gaza's manpower has continued to suffer from permanent unemployment as a result of shutting down the majority of Gaza's economic establishments.
IOF have continued to impose a total ban on the exportation of Gaza's products, especially industrial products, leading to undermining any real chances to rerun economic establishments. The situation has been aggravated especially after making Karm Abu Salem crossing as Gaza sole commercial crossing and the repeated closure of this crossing which negatively affected the quantity of Gazan products which were allowed to be exported during last April.
IOF have continued to prolong the implementation of their decision to allow 60 cars into Gaza weekly although more than 11 months have passed since they announced this decision after three years of ban imposed on the delivery of cars to Gaza. As a result, the prices of cars in Gaza have been on the rise and local markets experience serious shortage in spare parts.
For approximately four consecutive years, IOF have continued to ban the delivery of construction materials to Gaza. During the reporting period, IOF approved the delivery of limited quantities of construction materials for a number of international organizations.
Israel has continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing for Palestinian civilians from the Gaza Strip. IOF only allow the movement of limited groups amidst severe restrictions, including long hours of waiting in the majority of cases. IOF have also continued to adopt a policy aimed at reducing the number of Palestinian patients allowed to move via Beit Hanoun crossing to receive medical treatment in hospitals in Israel or in the West Bank and Jerusalem. IOF denied new categories of Gazan patient permission to have access to hospitals via the crossing.
Israel has imposed additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip.
For approximately 55 months, IOF have continued to deny approximately 700 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza detained in Israeli jails their visitation rights without providing any justification to this measure, which violates the rules of the international humanitarian law.
West Bank
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 in the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
There are approximately 585 permanent roadblocks, and manned and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank.
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, confiscating more 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.
There are approximately 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 permits issued by IOF. Such 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.
Efforts to Create a Jewish Majority in East Jerusalem
On 05 January 2012, IOF moved into al-‘Eizariya village, east of occupied Jerusalem. They demolished a 100-square-meter workshop of stone cutting belonging to Sameer Mohammed Taqatqa. They destroyed stones whose value is 30,000 ILS, and confiscated stones whose value is 95,000 ILS. IOF demolished also a 30-square-meter workshop of stone cutting belonging to Mohammed ‘Ayad. They destroyed stones whose value is 15,000 ILS. Additionally, IOF demolished a 200-square-meter shop of junks belonging to Majed Abu Ghalia, a 30-square-meter fence and parking yard belonging to Ibrahim Abu Dhaim.
On 10 January 2012, IOF razed large areas of Palestinian land in the southeastern part of al-‘Eissawiya village in occupied East Jerusalem, to establish a biblical garden. According to local sources, IOF confiscated hundreds of dunums[1] of land in al-‘Eissawiya and al-Tour villages to establish a biblical garden. By the establishment of the garden, al-‘Eissawiya village would be completely isolated by Israeli settlements.
Settlement Activities:
Israel has continued its settlement activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
On 05 January 2012, IOF moved into al-Qassab area in the south of al-Dyouk village, northwest of Jericho. They demolished 3 winter houses belonging to Palestinians from Jerusalem claiming that they were built without licenses. They also handed notices of demolition of houses to a number of Palestinian civilians. They also informed of their intention to destroy a number of electricity towers and an electric transmitter.
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