Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 21 October 2004

A refugee woman stands in the ruins of her bulldozed home (Photo: PCHR)


Israeli Troops Continue to Perpetrate Human Rights Violations in the OPT.
  • 10 Palestinians, including 5 civilians, were killed by Israeli troops.
  • 6 of the victims were killed during the Israeli offensive on the northern Gaza Strip.
  • Israeli troops conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
  • 38 houses were destroyed in Rafah and Beit Hanoun.
  • Houses were raided and dozens of Palestinian civilians were arrested.
  • One house was destroyed in the West Bank in the context of retaliatory measures against families of Palestinian militants.
  • Continued shelling of residential areas and civilian facilities, and a number of Palestinian civilians were injured.
  • Construction of the ,Annexation wall0/00 in the West Bank has continued.
  • Israeli troops have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; Israeli troops at military checkpoints fired at Palestinian civilians, seriously wounding a woman.

    Introduction

    On Friday, 15 October 2004, Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) were redeployed in the northern Gaza Strip following a 17-day long wide scale offensive on the area, whose outcome was:

  • 103 Palestinians were killed, nearly half of them were civilians, including 28 children
  • 442 Palestinians, including 177 children, were wounded, many of whom are in a serious condition
  • 87 houses were totally destroyed: 53 in Jabalya refugee camp; 4 to the east of Jabalya; 24 in Beit Lahia; and 6 in Beit Hanoun. As a result, 854 people (128 families) have become homeless. Dozens of houses were also severely damaged.
  • 11 shops, 3 brick factories and 3 workshops for car maintenance were destroyed.
  • 19 public facilities were destroyed, including 6 schools, 3 mosques and 2 kindergartens.
  • 839 donums of agricultural were razed: 332 donumns in Beit Hanoun; 447 donums in Beit Lahia; and 60 donums in Jabalya.
  • The civilian infrastructures of the area were largely destroyed.
  • Education was suspended

    IOF have perpetrated more violations of human rights against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). This week, 10 Palestinians, 5 of whom were civilians, including 2 elderly people, were killed, and at least 20 civilians were wounded by Israeli troops. Human rights violations perpetrated by IOF included willful killings, incursions into Palestinian areas, indiscriminate shelling, land leveling and total closure imposed on Palestinian communities.

    In the Gaza Strip, this week, 10 Palestinians, 5 of whom were civilians, including 2 elderly people, were killed by Israeli troops. Four of the victims, including an elderly woman, were killed by Israeli troops in Jabalya refugee camp on 15 October 2004, the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, and the last day of the Israeli offensive on the northern Gaza Strip. On 16 and 20 October, 2 Palestinians died from previous injuries they had sustained in Jabalya refugee camp during the Israeli offensive on the northern Gaza Strip. On 14 October 2004, 3 Palestinian civilians, including an elderly man, were killed in Rafah by shrapnel from a missile fired by the Israeli air force. On 20 October 2004, a Palestinian civilian was killed in when Israeli troops opened fire at his area, when he was going to the mosque for the dawn prayer.

    This week, Israeli troops conducted three incursions into Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip, 2 of which were in Rafah. On 14 October 2004, Israeli troops moved into Block J in Rafah refugee camp. They destroyed 35 houses, in which 402 people (70 families) lived, and killed the aforementioned 3 civilians.

    In the West Bank, Israeli troops launched a series of attacks against Palestinian civilians and their properties. They moved into various areas throughout the West Bank, injured a number of Palestinian civilians, and arrested dozens of others. They also destroyed one house in Hebron in the context of retaliatory measures against families of Palestinian militants. In addition, Israeli settlers escalated attacks against Palestinian civilians. This week, settlers, who were fully supported by Israeli troops, attacked Palestinian farmers, who have started to cultivate their olives, and prevented many of these farmers from reaching their agricultural land. In some areas, the settlers stole the olive products.

    IOF have continued to construct the annexation wall inside the West Bank territory. This week, this construction took place mainly in East Jerusalem and Hebron. Israeli troops razed large areas of Palestinian agricultural land and uprooted hundreds of olive trees. They also prevented Palestinian farmers in some areas from reaching their agricultural land to cultivate olives.

    IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and have imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops positioned at military checkpoints imposed restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. They also fired at Palestinian civilians. As a result, a Palestinian woman was seriously wounded. Israeli troops have also continued to close most border crossings of the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, Israeli troops have continued to impose a strict siege on Palestinian communities. They have continued to impose a tightened siege on Hebron for the second consecutive month. They have also imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians and arrested some of them while crossing military checkpoints. Israeli troops imposed curfews on a number of Palestinian communities.

    The full report is available online.

    Related links:

  • BY TOPIC: Israeli raid on northern Gaza (28 September-15 October 2004)
  • Palestinian Center for Human Rights