PCHR weekly report: Israeli Human Rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights report: December 16 – December 22, 2010

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

· 5 activist of the Palestinian resistance were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.

· Another 4 activists were wounded by Israeli air strikes.

· IOF continued to fire at Palestinian workers, farmers and fishermen in border areas in the Gaza Strip.

- Two Palestinian workers, including a child, and one shepherd were wounded.

· Israeli warplanes attacked a number of targets in the Gaza Strip.

· A factory of dairy products was destroyed in the southern Gaza Strip.

· A house and a grocery were destroyed and another two houses were damaged in Rafah.

· A bird farm was damaged and 1,800 chickens were killed.

· Two sites of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) were destroyed.

· IOF continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank.

- 5 Palestinian civilians were wounded.

- IOF arrested 5 human rights defenders.

·IOF conducted 34 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

-IOF arrested 22 Palestinian civilians, including two children.

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

·Israel has continued to take measures aimed at creating a Jewish demographic majority in Jerusalem.

- IOF demolished a houses and forced two Palestinian civilians to demolish their houses in Jerusalem.

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

- Israeli settlers attacked two children in Jenin and burnt a cattle of sheep in Nablus.

- IOF demolished a house in Bethlehem and 4 stores in Hebron.

- IOF confiscated 50 donums[1] of land in Beit Eksa village near Jerusalem.

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (16 – 22 December 2010):

Shooting:

During the reporting period, IOF killed 5 activists of the Palestinian resistance and wound 4 others in the Gaza Strip. They also wounded 8 Palestinian civilians, including a child in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

On 18 December 2010, an IOF drone fired a missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance in the central Gaza Strip who were attempting to fire home-made rockets into Israel. As a result, 5 activists were killed.

On 20 December 2010, two activists of the Palestinian resistance were wounded when Israeli warplanes bombarded a site of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) in Khan Yunis. On 21 December 2010, another two activists were wounded when Israeli warplanes bombarded another site in Rafah.

During the reporting period, IOF fired at Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials. As a result, two workers, including a child, were wounded by Israeli gunfire.

On 19 December 2010, a Palestinian shepherd was wounded by Israeli gunfire in the northern Gaza Strip.

During the reporting period, Israeli warplanes attacked a number of targets in the Gaza Strip. As a result, a factory of dairy products, a house, a grocery and two paramilitary sites were destroyed and two houses and a bird farm were damaged. Additionally, 1,800 chickens were killed.

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. As a result, 5 Palestinian civilians were wounded, and dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation or sustained bruises. IOF also arrested 3 Israeli human rights defenders and two international ones.

Incursions:

During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 34 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 22 Palestinian civilians, including two children.

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.