Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ( 1925 June 2014) Thursday, 26 June 2014 00:00
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ( 1925 June 2014) Thursday, 26 June 2014 00:00 Nablus – Israeli forces raid houses in Ainabous village Israeli forces continue systematic attacks against Palestinian civilians and property in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) Israeli forces stormed Palestinian communities in the West Bank 6 Palestinian civilians, including a child and an old man, were killed, and 14 others, including 4 children and journalist, were wounded. 127 incursions were conducted in the West Bank. Hundreds of houses were raided brutally, their residents were maltreated and a number of houses were turned into military barracks. 215 Palestinian civilians, including dozens former prisoners and 10 children, were arrested. 21 of these civilians, including 3children, were arrested in East Jerusalem. 18 Charitable associations were raided and a number of them were closed. 4 university campuses, 2 money exchange shops and a media centre were raided. Dozens of surveillance cameras were confiscated from houses and shops. Israeli warplanes launched 18 airstrikes on civilian objects and military training sites in the Gaza Strip. 18 Palestinian civilians, including 7 women and 4 children, were wounded. Israel continued to impose a total closure on the oPt and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world. Israeli forces established dozens of checkpoints in the West Bank. At least 2 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were arrested at military checkpoints in the West Bank. Israeli naval forces continued to target Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza waters. 2 fishermen were arrested and a fishing boat was confiscated.. Israeli forces continued to support settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. Settlers attacked Palestinian civilians and their property. Summary Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law in the oPt continued during the reporting period (19 June – 25 June 2014). Shooting: During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 6 Palestinian civilians, including a child and an old man, and wounded 14 others, including 4 children and a journalist, in the West Bank. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes conducted 18 air strikes. Israeli naval forces carried 5 shooting and chasing incidents. In the West Bank, on 20 June 2014, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian child in Dura village, southwest of Hebron. On 21 June 2014, an old man died of a heart attack in Hares village, northwest of Slafit, as Israeli forces moved into the village and denied him access to medical treatment. On the same day, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian in the northern Jordan Valley. On 22 June 2014, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian in ‘Ein Beit al-Maa’ refugee camp, northwest of Nablus. On the same day, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian in Ramallah. On 25 June 2014, a Palestinian civilian from Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, died of wounds he sustained on 20 June during clashes with Israeli forces. During the reporting period, 14 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children and a journalist, were wounded. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes launched 18 airstrikes on civil targets and paramilitary training sites of armed groups. As a result, a number of facilities were destroyed or damaged, and 18 Palestinian civilians, including 7 women and 4 children, were injured. In the context of targeting Palestinian fishermen in the sea, on 19 June 2014, Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Waha Shore, northwest of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire in the vicinity of the Palestinian fishing boats sailing 2 nautical miles offshore. They also arrested 2 fishermen and confiscated a fishing boat. Incursions: During the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted at least 127 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, Israeli forces arrested at least 215 Palestinians, including 10 children. Following their declaration of the disappearance of 3 Israeli settlers in Hebron in the south of the West Bank, since Thursday evening, 12 June 2014, Israeli forces carried out a large-scale military campaign against residential communities in the West Bank and night raids of houses using tracker dogs and maltreating the house residents by expelling them outside their houses or detaining them in one room. Moreover, Israeli forces turned many houses into military barracks and deliberately damaged those houses. Most of the campaign was mainly targeting Hebron, but it extended all the West Bank governorates. During the reporting period, Israeli forces raided 18 offices of 18 charities and closed a number of them. They also raided 4 university campuses, 2 money exchange shops and a media center. Restrictions on movement: Israel continued to impose a tight closure of the oPt, imposing severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. The illegal closure of the Gaza Strip, which has been steadily tightened since June 2007 has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli authorities impose measures to undermine the freedom of trade, including the basic needs for the Gaza Strip population and the agricultural and industrial products to be exported. For 7 consecutive years, Israel has tightened the land and naval closure to isolate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, and other countries around the world. This resulted in grave violations of the economic, social and cultural rights and a deterioration of living conditions for 1.7 million people. The Israeli authorities have established Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shaloum) as the sole crossing for imports and exports in order to exercise its control over the Gaza Strip’s economy. They also aim at imposing a complete ban on the Gaza Strip’s exports. Israeli forces 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. As part of using military checkpoints and border crossings as traps to arrest Palestinian civilians under the pretext they are wanted, Israeli forces arrested 2 Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints in the West Bank. Settlement activities Israel has continued its settlement activities in the oPt, in a direct violation of international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. Attacks carried out by Israeli forces On 21 June 2014, a group of settlers from Kiryat Arba settlement which is established on confiscated lands east of Hebron attacked a house in the Old City, south of Hebron. The settlers attacked owner who was arrested later by Israeli forces. Israeli forces also arrested his two sons. On 22 June 2014, four armed settlers from “Nahla'il” settlement which is established on the lands of Beitillu village, northwest of Ramallah, fired live ammunition at 9 Palestinian workers while working in a stone pit in Na'lan area in the northern side of the southern farm, northwest of the city. The workers ran way immediately towards the aforementioned village. The settlers withdrew later and no injuries were reported among Palestinian workers. On 23 June 2014, Israeli settlers damaged tires of 35 cars belonging to 9 families in Beit Hanina village to the north of the old town of Jerusalem. They also wrote racist phrases on a tourist bus. Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (19 June – 25 June 2014) 1. Incursions into Palestinian Areas, and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip Thursday, 19 June 2014 At approximately 00:25, Israeli warplanes launched 2 missiles at Yunis paramilitary site belonging to the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) in the east of al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, east of Gaza City. No injuries were reported. It should be mentioned that one of the two missiles did not explode and was pulled out by the Palestinians. Around the same time, an Israeli warplane launched a missile at Abu Jarad paramilitary site belonging to the ‘Izziddin al- Qassam brigades, southeast of Gaza City. No injuries were reported, but fire broke out in the place due to presence of fuel in the site. At approximately 00:30, an Israeli warplane launched a missile at ‘Emad Abu Qadous paramilitary site of the ‘Izziddin al- Qassam brigades, west of al-Maqousi buildings, north of Gaza City. No injuries were reported. Around the same time, Israeli helicopters launched two missiles at a paramilitary site belonging to the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam brigades, east of al-Sheikh Zayed buildings, southeast of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. As a result, a 50-square- meter room, which contained a truck, to the east was completely destroyed. Moreover, Sami Walid Hammad Keshko (45), from al-Sheikh Zayed Housing Project, sustained bruises in his body when he was passing by the place. Around the same time, Israeli forces backed by military vehicles moved into Bir Zeit University, north of Ramallah. They detained the university guard and then raided offices of the student blocs. They confiscated the contents of the Hamas Islamic Bloc’s office and attempted to arrest a number of students, who were in protest against the political arrests carried out by the Palestinian security Services under the pretext of participating in demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinian administrative detainees on hunger strike in the Israeli jails. At approximately 00:45, Israeli warplanes targeted a training site of armed groups, north of al-Nussairat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. As a result, the site was damaged, but no injuries were reported. At approximately 01:00, Israeli forces backed by military vehicles and accompanied by armored personnel carriers moved into a number of neighborhoods in the center of Hebron.