PCHR Weekly Report: 8 wounded, 9 abducted by Israeli forces this week

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Israeli soldiers intensively deployed at Qalandya checkpoint obstruct access of Palestinians to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for prayers

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

      

A Palestinian civilian was wounded by IOF.

IOF use force to disperse peaceful protest organized by Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

7 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a woman, were wounded.

IOF conducted 7 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.   

IOF arrested 7 Palestinians. 

Israeli gunboats fired at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has continued to impose a total closure on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

IOF arrested two Palestinian civilians in Hebron. 

IOF have continued efforts to create a Jewish demographic majority in East Jerusalem.

The Israeli municipality of Jerusalem decided to establish 12 tower buildings in Jabal Abu Ghunaim (“Har Homah” settlement, south of Jerusalem.

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

IOF legitimized am unplanned settlement outpost.

5 dunums[1] of agricultural land were razed and water well was destroyed in al-Khader village, west of Bethlehem.

 

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (09 – 15 August 2012):

Shooting:

During the reporting period, 8 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a woman, were wounded by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. 

During the reporting period, IOF used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the annexation wall, settlement activities and other Israeli practices in the West Bank.  As a result, 7 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a woman, were wounded.  Dozens of demonstrators also suffered from tear gas inhalation. 

In the Gaza Strip, on 11 August 2012, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when IOF positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of Khan Yunis opened fire at al-Zanna area between al-Qarara and ‘Abassan villages. 

IOF continued to fire at Palestinian fishing boats.  During the reporting period, PCHR documented two attacks in this regard, which did not cause casualties. 

Incursions:

During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 7 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.  During these incursions, IOF arrested 7 Palestinians, including a child.  

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.

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. The illegal closure has caused not only a humanitarian crisis but a crisis of human rights and human dignity for the population of the Gaza Strip.  Measures declared recently to ease the blockade are vague, purely cosmetic and fail to deal with the root causes of the crisis, which can only be addressed by an immediate and complete lifting of the closure, including lifting the travel ban into and out of the Gaza Strip and the ban on exports. Palestinians in Gaza may no longer suffer from the same shortage of goods, but they will remain economically dependent and unable to care for themselves, and socially, culturally and academically isolated from the rest of the world.

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.

Efforts to Create a Jewish Demographic Majority in East Jerusalem:

During the reporting period, the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem decided to build 12 tower buildings in Jabal Abu Ghunaim (“Har Homah” settlement) between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  The online Hebrew news1 reported on Monday, 13 August 2012 that each building will be comprised of 24-33 floors, and the area of contraction will be one million square meters.  A part of the project will include new offices for the municipality, while the largest part will be commercial and tourist and will provide 40,000 job opportunities according to the municipality’s claim.

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 12 August 2012, the Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot reported the GOC Central Command, Nitzan Alon, signed an order legitimizing “Brokhin” settlement outpost, practically implementing a decision by the Israeli government to legitimize 3 settlement outposts: Brokhin’ Rahalim; and Sansana.  Alon also ordered annexing the settlement outpost to “Shomron” district settlement council.

On the same day, Israeli settlers sprinkled poisonous materials at pastures in Sousia area, south of Hebron.  They targeted sheep belonging to Jihad al-Nawaj’a.  According to eyewitnesses, 7 sheep died.

On 13 August 2012, a number of Israeli settlers from “El’azer” settlement, which stands on the lands of al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem, accompanied by bulldozers and heavy machinery and escorted by IOF, razed a 5-donum areas of agricultural land belonging to Rezeq Salah and destroyed a water well.