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

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Period 21 – 27 July 2011

· IOF continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank.
 A Palestinian civilian was wounded.
 IOF arrested 8 Palestinian demonstrators.

· IOF conducted 24 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and a limited one into the Gaza Strip.
 IOF arrested 9 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.

 IOF arrested 3 Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints in the West Bank.
 IOF harassed 5 Palestinian children in Hebron.

· IOF resumed the construction of the annexation wall inside the West Bank territory.

 IOF razed large areas of Palestinian agricultural land in Bethlehem and uprooted at least 22 pine and olive trees.

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

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (21 – 27 July 2011):

Shooting:

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, a Palestinian civilian was wounded and dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation. IOF also arrested 8 Palestinian civilians.

Incursions:

During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 24 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 9 Palestinian civilians, including two children.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted one limited incursion into the southern Gaza Strip, during which they leveled areas of Palestinian land.

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 Soafa 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 Stri, 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.

The full report is available online at:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7621:weekly-report-on-israeli-human-rights-violations-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-21-27-july-2011&catid=84:weekly-2009&Itemid=183

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