Palestinian Center for Human Rights 28 October 2004
Palestinian boy looking through the rubble of his family’s destroyed home. (PCHR)
Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) have escalated attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). This week, 26 Palestinians, 11 of whom were civilians, including 2 children and a woman, were killed by Israeli troops. Of these victims, 25 were killed by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, while one of the victims was shot by an Israeli settler in the West Bank. In addition, dozens of Palestinian civilians were injured by the Israeli gunfire. Human rights violations perpetrated by Israeli occupying troops included willful and extra-judicial killings, incursions into Palestinian areas, indiscriminate shelling, land leveling and total closure imposed on Palestinian communities.
On Sunday, 24 October 2004, Israeli troops initiated a wide scale incursion into al-Nimsawi neighborhood and Baten al-Samin area in the south of Khan Yunis. This incursion continued for 2 days, during which Israeli troops killed 17 Palestinians, including 3 on-duty security men and 6 civilians, 2 of whom were children. In addition, 76 Palestinians, including 28 children, were injured. Israeli troops also destroyed 29 houses completely and 5 others partially, leaving 355 people (68 families) homeless. They also destroyed 2 brick factories and 3 animal farms. Furthermore, a number of departments of Nasser Hospital were also damaged. Since the beginning of the current Intifada, Khan Yunis has been subject to many Israeli military incursions, during which hundreds of Palestinians were killed or injured, and 592 houses were completely destroyed and 305 others were partially destroyed, leaving 10665 people homeless.
This week, 8 Palestinians, including 5 civilians, were killed in other incidents in the Gaza Strip. Two of the victims were extra-judicially killed by Israeli troops in Gaza City on 21 October 2004. A Palestinian civilian was killed by Israeli troops in Khan Yunis on 22 October 2004, as he was participating in the funeral procession of a deceased Palestinian. On the same day, a woman died from a previous injury. On 24 October 2004, 2 members of the Palestinian resistance, who are brothers, were killed when an Israeli drone fired a missile at them in Khan Yunis refugee camp. On 26 October 2004, a Palestinian civilian was killed when Israeli troops opened fire at agricultural land in Rafah. On 27 October 2004, a Palestinian died from an injury he had sustained on 2 October 2004, during the Israeli offensive on the northern Gaza Strip.
This week, Israeli troops conducted 7 incursions into Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip. In 3 incursions into Rafah, Israeli troops destroyed 7 houses, rendering 36 people homeless, and razed 31 donums of agricultural land. In the other incursions, Israeli troops destroyed a house and razed 154 donums of agricultural land.
In the West Bank, an Israeli settler shot dead a Palestinian civilian in the south of Nablus as he was cultivating olives from his agricultural land. This crime one month after another Israeli settler killed a Palestinian civilian in Salem village near Nablus. PCHR believes that the Israeli attitude towards such attacks by settlers serves to encourage settlers to perpetrate more attacks. This week, 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 2 houses in Qalqilya in the context of retaliatory measures against families of Palestinian militants. In addition, Israeli settlers continued to attack Palestinian civilians. A number of civilians were injured.
IOF have continued to construct the annexation wall inside the West Bank territory. On Sunday, 24 October 2004, Israeli troops resumed razing agricultural land in Deir al-‘Asal village, southwest of Hebron, after they had stopped it for 3 days following a temporary injunction issued by the Israeli High Court. Israeli troops razed more areas of 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 Occupied East 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, 2 Palestinian civilians were wounded. Israeli troops have also continued to close most border crossings of the Gaza Strip. These measures have negative impacts on the Palestinian economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights.
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 2nd 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.
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