OF killed four Palestinians and wounded five others

-2009-02-17-

In the Gaza Strip, OF killed three members of the Palestinian resistance in two separate incidents in Khanyounis and Beit Hanoun towns on 5 and 9 February.

On 6 February, a Palestinian fisherman was wounded when OF naval troops opened fire at Palestinian fishing boat in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank, on 5 February, OF extra-judicially executed a member of the al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of Islamic Jihad) in Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. OF raided his family’s house one month ago and threatened to kill him if he did not surrender to them.

On 6 February, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when OF fired at a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians in Hebron.

three Palestinian civilians, including one child, were injured when OF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall.

OF conducted at least 32 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. OF arrested 30 Palestinian civilians, including 10 children.

OF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Occupied East Jerusalem.

Gaza Strip

OF have continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The OF siege of Gaza, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.

· 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.

· The majority of the civilian population lack continual access to safe drinking water.

· Hundreds of thousands of civilians continue to endue power cuts, which affects their daily quality of life.

· The Rafah International Crossing Point has been opened for a few days for a limited number of patients who received medical treatment abroad and subsequently needed to return home to the Gaza Strip.

· OF have continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israel for medical treatment, trade or social visits.

· OF have imposed additional restrictions on access of international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers to the Gaza Strip. They have also prevented representatives of international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip in order to assess the humanitarian situation.

· Health conditions in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated, and all medical facilities are being affected by chronic power shortages.

· The lives of premature babies continue to be at risk as they depend on medical equipment, such as incubators, that are electrically powered.

· Standards of living arcoss Gaza have seriously deteriorated, whilst poverty and unemployment levels have sharply increased.

· At least 900 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails continue to be deprived of all family visits. The visits were first suspended sixteen months ago, in June 2007.

West Bank

OF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.

· OF have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently prevented from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

· There are approximately permanent 630 roadblocks, manned and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank. In addition, there are some 60-80 ‘flying’ or temporary checkpoints erected across the West Bank by OF every week.

· When complete, the illegal Annexation Wall will stretch for 724 kilometers around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population. 350 kilometers of the Wall has already been constructed. Approximately 99% of the Wall has been constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating Palestinian land.

· At least 65% of the main roads that leads to 18 Palestinian communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by OF (47 out of 72 roads).

· There are around 500 kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit issued by the OF. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.

· OF continue to harass, and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.

· Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by OF in Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, including being regularly stopped and searched in the streets by OF.

· OF arrested three Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints in the West Bank.

OF have continued settlement activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT have, in violation of international humanitarian law, continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. On 6 February, Israeli settlers living in “Ramat Yishai” settlement outpost in Tal al-Rumaida neighborhood in the center of Hebron attacked Palestinian houses in the area.

Also Israeli settlers from “Taffouh” settlement, escorted by OF, razed large areas of Palestinian land in Yassouf village, northeast of Salfit. According to the local council of the village, the settlers razed at least 250 donumms of land, and then replanted 200 donumms of the same land with their own crops.

source : alqassam