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Israeli Occupation Forces Destroy the Ministry of Interior Building and a School in Further Aerial Attacks on the Gaza Strip

5 July 2006


The international community is required to fulfill its legal and moral obligations to immediately stop Israeli war crimes against Palestinian civilian property, and to enforce article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. PCHR strongly condemns the targeting of the Palestinian Interior Ministry building by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) for the second time this week. In addition, the Centre condemns the military escalation against civilian property and installations, including educational and governmental institutions. 

Security Chaos and Proliferation of Small Arms

5 July 2006


PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 16:40 on Monday, 3 July 2006, the body of Amani Yousef Mohammad El-Riqib (17) arrived at Naser Hospital in Khan Yunis. After examination, it was determined that the girl had been hit by a bullet to the head that had killed her instantly. The bullet hit the victim accidentally, while a gunman was firing shots in the air during her brother’s wedding. The victim was from the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Yunis. This is the second incident of its kind in less than ten days. On 25 June 2006, Anas Mohammad Khayri Abdel Jabbar Yassin (13) was hit by a bullet to the chest during a wedding in the village of Barqa. 

Where the US media dare not go: UK Channel 4 nails Israel over Gaza

5 July 2006


In a July 4th interview on Channel 4, Jon Snow, Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK, Zvi Ravner, denied that Israeli strikes in Gaza were “collective punishment” for the capture of a 19-year-old soldier. Mr Ravner said: “This is not just about the soldier, this is not collective punishment, it’s the culmination of one-year long action since we have withdrawn fully from the ‘67 line from Gaza and since then what we have got is a day in and day out rockets being fired into Israel. Jon Snow asked if targeting civilians with “the most sophisticated bombardment ever subjected to a defenceless people” was an act of terror. Watch the interview. 

Committee formed on right of entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territories

5 July 2006


The Ad-hoc Committee for the Protection of Foreign Passport Holders Residing in and/or Visiting the Occupied Palestinian Territory, launched in June 2006, is a support group of individuals and families affected by the current Israeli occupation authorities’ policy that denies entry to foreign passport holders to the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) via the Israeli unilaterally-controlled international border crossings to the oPt. They formed in response to Israel’s intensified trend of restricting entry or re-entry to the West Bank and Gaza to residents and visitors who do not hold a Palestinian ID issued by the Israeli Interior Ministry. 

In remembrance: Ismail Shammout, 1931-2006

Samia A. Halaby 5 July 2006


Ismail Shammout’s career as an artist and popular hero of Palestine began with his 1953 exhibition of oil paintings in Gaza of the catastrophic march through wilderness. The exhibited paintings objectify and socialize a pain that had simmered on a private level. Refugees in Gaza saw themselves reflected in Shammout’s work and felt relief. An immense attendance of the general population in Gaza, including those living in refugee camps, overwhelmed Shammout, then studying in Egypt. This stunning response to the show was a hint of the bottled up hope for liberation. 

Gaza Strip Situation Report, 5pm

4 July 2006


Between 15 and 20 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) moved into the Gaza Strip from the northern border at noon today and positioned themselves in the former Nisanit settlement area. Palestinian security forces were advised to leave their positions in the area and the IDF closed Erez crossing at 11am today. The Gaza Electrical Distribution Company (GEDCO) continues to load-share the available electric supply across the Gaza Strip though power is intermittent and often not synchronised with water supply to households. Families face difficulties to secure water for personal hygiene. 

Israel's path of self-destruction

Hasan Abu Nimah 5 July 2006


The current “crisis” faced by the people in occupied Gaza is a matter of degree. Since the farce “disengagement” last summer, and particularly since they elected Hamas to lead them, Palestinians have been under a near total Israeli siege, backed fully by the so-called “international community” which has shamefully abandoned its responsibilities towards an occupied population. Now they face a more intense onslaught, with Israel bombing civilian infrastructure, including electricity, bridges and Palestinian Authority ministries. Thousands of Palestinians have fled their homes under direct threat from Israel. 

Crime in the Valley: Life on the Other Side of Palestine

Nick Dearden 5 July 2006


Beyond the barren Judean Mountain range, east from Jerusalem, lies the Jordan Valley, an area which receives almost no media coverage, despite being home to 52,000 Palestinians and accounting for 30% of West Bank territory. I am taken there by Stop the Wall campaign, in a battered mini bus with Egyptian music blaring out of the radio and the blazing heat burning our skin through the window. As we drop down from the mountains vast plantations of palm trees, citrus fruits and grape vines stretch as far as the eye can see. Every plantation is also surrounded by electrical fencing, barbed wire and “Danger” signs. 

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Bombard the Islamic University of Gaza for the Second Time in One Week

4 July 2006


PCHR condemns IOF military operations in the Gaza Strip and the targeting of infrastructure and civilian organizations, most notably educational institutions. The Centre calls upon the international community to work towards the immediate cessation of IOF war crimes against educational institutions in the Gaza Strip. The rocket targeted a student council office, destroying it completely. In addition, Atfaluna institution for children with hearing disabilities suffered damage as result of sonic booms. 

Dozens of Medical Patients and Hundreds of Gaza Strip Residents Suffering Harsh Humanitarian Conditions due to the Closure of Rafah International Crossing Point

4 July 2006


PCHR calls upon the international community, represented by governments and international governmental and nongovernmental organizations, to immediately intervene and force Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) to respect International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. The Centre requests that these parties pressure IOF to put an end to the plight of more than 3,000 Palestinians who are currently stranded on the Egyptian side of Rafah International Crossing.