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Israeli Forces Carry out Sweeping Arrests of Palestinian Officials

30 June 2006


Al-Haq is deeply concerned by the arrests carried out by Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank in the early hours of 29 June 2006. According to news reports, 64 parliamentarians, ministers and mayors who are members of the ruling Hamas party were arrested across the West Bank. The Israeli soldiers who carried out the arrests held judicial arrest warrants. It appears that the arrests were planned several weeks ago at the highest levels of the Israeli government and that more arrests will follow, including in Gaza. 

Irish MP: Israel an "abhorrent and despicable" regime

29 June 2006


Sinn Féin International Affairs and Human Rights spokesperson Aengus Snodaigh, a member of the Irish parliament, has described Israel as “one of the most abhorrent and despicable regimes on the planet.” Questioning Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern in the Dáil today he said the kidnap by Israel of some 25 democratically elected Palestinian representatives demonstrates “the true nature of Israel’s commitment to not so democratic principles.” Snodaigh added that, “The death of the Israeli settler is deeply regrettable and I would call on the Palestinians who are holding the Israeli soldier not to harm him.” 

Three Palestinians Killed, including a Woman and an Infant, and Five Injured by Weapons Stored in Civilian Areas and Mishandled Weapons

29 June 2006


Qasem Mohammad Qasem Mas’oud (20) and his 18-month-old niece, Maysam Eyad Mas’oud, were killed when a locally produced rocket exploded prematurely. Qasem was a member of the Ahmad Abu El-Riesh Brigades and had stored the rocket in his father’s house. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 15:15 on Wednesday, 28 June 2006, a locally produced rocket exploded in the house belonging to Mohammad Qasem Mohammad Mas’oud (53), in Bloc E of Khan Yunis Refugee Camp. 

Gaza invasion targets civilian infrastructure

29 June 2006


Israeli tanks have invaded the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, following the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants on Sunday. This comes at the end of a month during which 34 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza in Israeli military attacks or ‘targeted assassinations’ of suspected militants. This includes 10 children. Last night Israel also hit a power station which supplies 65% of Gaza’s electricity and also the water pumping station. “The message to the civilian population of Gaza could not be clearer – collective punishment is part of Israel’s military strategy.” 

Weekly Report on Human Rights Violations

29 June 2006


IOF have started to implement threats made by the Israeli prime minister, Knesset ministers and the chief of staff to launch a wide scale offensive on the Gaza Strip. The offensive, named “Operation Summer Rain”, has included incursions, air strikes and artillery shelling on civilian targets in the Gaza Strip. These attacks followed a military operation by Palestinian resistance members on 25 June 2006 in the Kerem Shalom area, southeast of Rafah, in which two IOF soldiers and two members of the Palestinian resistance were killed, and a third IOF soldier was captured by the Palestinian resistance. 

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Carry Out Reprisals against Palestinian Civilians in the West Bank

29 June 2006


PCHR strongly condemns the IOF detention of Palestinian Cabinet Ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, and legislative council members from the “Change and Reform” party, affiliated with Hamas. The Centre views these detentions as a form of reprisal against Palestinian civilians and a form of collective punishment prohibited by Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Centre calls upon the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to force IOF to respect the convention. 

UN-sponsored meeting calls on Israel to pull out of Gaza, Palestinians to stop rockets

28 June 2006


As the United Nations International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace entered its second day with events on the ground increasingly drawing world attention, participants considered the peace process and challenges ahead, hearing expert views about the “catastrophic” developments in the Gaza Strip, and the critical need to renew the peace negotiations and strictly uphold international law and United Nations resolutions. The two-day meeting brought together experts, UN member states, parliamentarians, NGO’s and the media to examine the state of the conflict. 

Annan calls on both Palestinians and Israelis to take measures to defuse crisis

29 June 2006


Voicing deep concern over developments in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on both sides to take measures to defuse the tension. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr. Annan cited the continued detention of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants; the killing by Palestinian militants of an Israeli civilian; further rocket attacks against Israel; and Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip which have resulted in a serious deterioration in humanitarian conditions. 

Secretary-General calls for ‘maximum restraint’ in Israeli-Palestinian flare-up

28 June 2006


Calling on all sides in the upsurge of violence in the Gaza Strip to exercise maximum restraint and ensure that civilians are not harmed, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today the first step towards a solution would be the release of the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants. “I’ve been following with great concern developments in the Middle East,” Mr. Annan told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, noting that he had been in touch with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syrian President Bashar al Assad. 

A Race Against Time: An interview with Sam Bahour

Christopher Brown 28 June 2006


“During the last six months specifically, the Israelis basically in my opinion have been spinning out of control. They have unleashed, literally daily attacks on Palestinians. Unfortunately, the world only sees every once in a while what’s happening there, when there is a camera taking a picture such as the incident when the whole family of civilians was killed on the beach. For the last six years, there’s been a non-stop onslaught in terms of not only killing Palestinians, but also raids into Palestinian cities where they’re actually arresting people on a nightly basis.” Christopher Brown talks to Sam Bahour in Palestine.