This week, Israeli forces killed 8 Palestinians, including 3 children and two mentally handicapped. One of the victim was killed when the tent where he was detained in an Israeli prison burnt. Israeli forces conducted a number of incursions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Houses were raided and dozens of Palestinian civilians were arrested. Israel continued shelling of residential areas, which killed a child when she was at school. Israel continued the construction of the Wall in the West Bank. Israeli forces continued to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. They have continued to close the Karni crossing to the east of Gaza for the third week. Read more about Weekly report on human rights violations
This week, Israeli forces killed 20 Palestinians, 14 of whom were civilians, including 5 children and one woman. Two of the children were killed on the first day of Eid al-Adha. One of the victims was extra-judicially killed by Israeli forces. Israeli forces conducted a series of invasions into Palestinian areas. Israeli forces demolished three homes in Khan Yunis and razed at least 120 donums of agricultural land throughout the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces raided homes and arrested dozens of Palestinian civilians. Israeli forces destroyed a home and an apartment building in the context of retaliatory measures against Palestinian civilians. Israeli forces used two Palestinian civilians as human shields during military operations in the Gaza Strip. Read more about Weekly report on human rights violations
Israeli forces opened fire at an UNRWA elementary school in Rafah, killing an 11-year-old schoolgirl and wounding a second girl when the two were in the school yard. The school in the Brazil neighborhood in Rafah is located 600 meters away from the border. Nouran Eyad Deeb was seriously wounded by a live bullet in the head and 8-year-old ‘Aaesha ‘Essam al-Khatib was wounded by live ammunition in her right hand. The two girls were about to enter their classrooms. They were evacuated to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. Nouran died a few minutes later. According to a schoolteacher, the area was completely quiet when Israeli forces opened fire. Children in the school were terrified. Read more about Israeli forces kill another Palestinian girl inside school
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights is gravely concerned at the Israeli closure of al-Mentar (Karni) crossing, east of Gaza City, under which the flow of goods, medicines and other supplies out and into the Gaza Strip is totally prohibited. The crossing is the only commercial outlet for the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, Israel and the outside world. With this closure, Israel has completed the cycle of economic and social stranglehold of the Gaza Strip, as all border crossings, in particular, the Rafah and Erez crossing, have been closed for a long time, contrary to Israeli claims that these crossings were closed following an armed attack earlier this week. Read more about Growing concerns about humanitarian consequences of Israeli closure of Gaza Strip
Since Saturday morning, Israeli forces have launched a wide scale offensive on Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza city. Israeli forces killed 5 Palestinians and injured five others. This latest attack has come following the closure of all border crossings of the Gaza Strip and decrease the time of opening al-Matahen and Abu Houli checkpoints on Salah al-Din Street, the main road between the north and south of the Gaza Strip, as an indicator of escalation by Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territories. PCHR warns that the presence of Israeli forces in al-Zaytoun neighborhood may cause more casualties among Palestinian civilians and more damage to civilian property. Read more about Israeli forces kill 5 Palestinians in Gaza attack
On Sunday, 9 January 2005, the Palestinian electorate went to polling centers to vote in the first presidential election under the Palestinian National Authority since 1996. Despite the negative environment created by the continuous Israeli belligerent occupation and attacks launched by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians, which impacted on the electoral process over the past weeks, Palestinians insisted on participating in the election; demonstrating a spirit of determination to exercise their electoral right, despite the existence of occupation. Read more about Preliminary Evaluation of Monitoring over the Palestinian Presidential Election
On Monday at noon, 10 January 2005, the Palestinian Election Appeals Court (EAC) rejected an appeal submitted by PCHR late on Sunday night, the 9th of January 2005, to issue a final injunction cancelling a decision taken by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to allow electors to vote using identity cards instead of relying on the electoral register. A few hours before closing the polling, the CEC circulated instructions to officials of polling centers to allow citizens whose names are not registered in the electoral register to vote depending on checking their identity cards only and not relying on the electoral register. Read more about Election Irregularities: Election Appeals Court rejects an appeal submitted by PCHR against allowing identity cards
While Palestinians have continued their preparations for holding the Palestinian presidential elections on 9 January 2005, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed 7 Palestinian children, including 2 brothers, by a tank shell in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia on Tuesday morning, 4 January 2005. This report from the Palestinian Centre for Human rights provides details of this incident. Read more about 7 Palestinian children killed by Israeli tank shell in northern Gaza
Despite claims by the Israeli military, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights report that Israeli occupation forces have continued positioning forces at stable military checkpoints erected at the entrances to the major towns, and have also erected a number of sudden military checkpoints at the main crossroads on the eve of the Palestinian presidential election. In Nablus, Israeli forces maintained their presence at Beit Eiba checkpoint, Hawara and Za’tara and Beit Furik. They also continued to close several roads. Israeli forces remained also in other areas of the West Bank. Read more about Election Irregularities: Israeli Claims of Military Withdrawal from West Bank a Fabrication
Israeli forces have killed 17 Palestinians since the start of the election campaign on December 25. Palestinian rights group PCHR is gravely concerned at the escalation of attacks by Israeli occupation forces throughout the occupied Palestinian territories and the impact of this on the preparations for holding the Palestinian presidential election on 9 January 2005. PCHR calls upon the international community to pressure Israel and its occupation forces to stop such attacks in order to create appropriate conditions to allow Palestinians to exercise their electoral right and freely choose a new president for the Palestinian National Authority. Read more about 17 Palestinians killed by Israeli army since start of Palestinian election campaign