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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. 

Environmental crisis will soon erupt in Gaza

4 July 2006


As part its assault on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Air Force attacked three bridges and the Gaza City power station, cutting power to much of the area. One of the bridges is that of the Wadi Gaza where some environmental non-governmental organization members of PENGON have implemented a solar energy powered lighting project in the area as a means to promote environmental friendly technology and to reduce pollution from fuel based power generation. Part of the project has been destroyed from the strike as well. 

Al-Haq's Appeal to Palestinian Political Parties and Armed Factions

3 July 2006


The risk of armed confrontation between the Palestinian resistance and Israeli occupying forces throughout the Gaza Strip has prompted Al-Haq to issue this appeal in order to ensure that armed Palestinian activists take into account the rules of international law. In order to rely on international law to give legitimacy to their resistance and struggle for self-determination, the Palestinian resistance movements must respect their obligations under international law, which regulates the conduct of combatants during war. 

Stop Collective Punishment in Gaza

3 July 2006


Physicians for Human Rights-Israel decries the collective punishment that Israel is inflicting on the civilian punishment in the Gaza Strip � this kind of punishment is forbidden by International Law and by all reasonable moral standards. Over the past week, Israel has been attacking the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, using means that are in direct violation of international conventions that call to avoid indiscriminate harm to civilians. Moreover, Israel is committed under international law to actively protecting residents of the Gaza Strip from implications of the war and separating civilians and those involved in the fighting. 

Young Woman Killed in Rafah in an "Honor Killing"

3 July 2006


At approximately 14:00 on Friday, 30 June 2006, the Criminal Investigations Department of the Rafah Police learned of the burial of Maha Akram El-Hamayda (18), after she had been killed in an “honor killing” crime. The police were able to determine the burial place in the eastern cemetery in Rafah. The father was summoned by the police and the body was removed and submitted to the pathology department of Naser Hospital in Khan Yunis. According to information from the police, the pathologist report indicates that the girl had suffered a beating with a sharp object to the head, causing extensive bleeding. 

Israel invades Gaza

Nigel Parry 27 June 2006


At 11:51PM (Palestine time) on June 27th, Israel launched a large scale military assault on Gaza, as Israeli fighter planes carried out three airstrikes on Gazan bridges. Further strikes against Gazan power plants took place at 1:42AM, sending most of Gaza into darkness. At 2:24AM, Israeli forces began moving into Gaza to take control of the open areas east of Rafah. According to Israeli PM Ehud Olmert the aim of the invasion was “not to mete out punishment but rather to apply pressure so that the abducted soldier will be freed. We want to create a new equation — freeing the abducted soldier in return for lessening the pressure on the Palestinians.” 

Four Palestinians Killed and Six Injured, including One Child, in Armed Clan and Personal Disputes

2 July 2006


Four Palestinians were killed and another six injured, including one child, during armed clan and personal disputes, which took place over the past 24 hours in Salfit, Beit Lahya and Rafah. The latest incident occurred at approximately 12:30 on Sunday, 2 July 2006, and resulted in the death of Zahir Salman Maharieqa (27) from the town of Deir Esteya near Salfit. He was in a barber shop in the El-Zaytoona building in the center of Salfit when Tha’er Suliman Madi, a 26-year-old resident of Salfit, fired at him. 

PCHR Warns of a Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip

2 July 2006


PCHR calls upon all governments and countries in the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties of the Geneva Conventions, United Nations bodies, and all international humanitarian organizations to intervene and take immediate steps to force IOF to allow the flow of basic goods, fuel, food, and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip. The Centre warns the international community of the consequences of the collective punishment imposed by IOF on the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. A food and health crisis now threatens more than 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.