IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have imposed a tightened siege on the Gaza Strip and there have been shortages of foodstuffs and fuels; IOF positioned at a various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including two girls. IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; they razed more areas of agricultural land in Qalqilya and used force to disperse a peaceful demonstration protesting the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah. Israeli settlers have continued attacks against Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT; settlers celebrated a Jewish wedding inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Read more about Weekly Report of Human Rights Violations
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed an elderly Palestinian and his son in Khan Yunis in the early morning hours of Wednesday, 16 August 2006, when an IOF plane leveled their house with a bomb. IOF did not give them sufficient time to evacuate the house; and they were killed during the evacuation. In addition, a second son and two neighbors were moderately injured by shrapnel. Read more about Elderly Palestinian and His Son Killed when IOF Bombard their House
PCHR strongly condemns the kidnapping of two international journalists, an American and a New Zealander, in Gaza City yesterday evening. The Centre views this act as a flagrant attack on freedom of expression, and a continuation of the security chaos plaguing the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The Centre reiterates its call to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), represented by the Attorney-General, to seriously investigate this crime and other kidnapping crimes, and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Read more about PNA Required to Act Against the Kidnapping of Internationals and Attacking of International Organizations
PCHR strongly condemns the killing of three Palestinian civilians and the wounding of three others by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) that fired at a crowd of civilians in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. IOF used excessive and indiscriminate force against these civilians. A number of boys living in the area moved into the school through the same hole in the fence to take the rocket launcher left by the resistance activists to sell it as scrap,[1] but a number of residents of the area attempted to prevent them. As Palestinian civilians gathered, IOF fired a missile at these civilians, killing three of them Read more about Three Palestinian Civilians Killed and 3 Others Wounded in North Gaza
PCHR condemns the re-closure of Rafah International Crossing Point when the EU observers withdrew from it after it had been opened for less than seven hours in two days for departing travelers. PCHR believes that such repeated behavior is consistent with collective punishment measures taken by IOF against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip. PCHR is concerned that this suspicious role may lead to an escalation in violations of Palestinians’ human rights in the Gaza Strip, especially the right to freedom of movement. Read more about Rafah crossing closed after being open less than 7 hours in 2 days
Twenty-five Palestinians, including six children and an old man, were killed by IOF. Three of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in the West Bank. Fifty-nine Palestinian civilians, including 26 children and women, were wounded by the IOF gunfire. IOF launched a series of air strikes on a number of houses in the Gaza Strip. Rhree houses were destroyed after their residents were warned that the houses would be attacked. IOF have continued to shell the northern Gaza Strip and al-Shouka village near Rafah, and many families were forced to leave their homes. Read more about Weekly Report on Human Rights Violations: 26 Palestinians killed, including 6 children
Since 25 June 2006, the Gaza Strip has been witnessing unprecedented deterioration in the humanitarian situation, the harshest such development since the unilateral disengagement plan in September 2005. The whole Gaza Strip is the subject of a wide scale IOF military operation. The IOF operation comes after the paramilitary operation conducted by three Palestinian resistance factions, including the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). The Palestinian operation was conducted on 25 June 2006 against an IOF outpost in the Karm Abu Salem area, southeast of Rafah. Read more about Reprisals against Civilians: Israeli violations in Gaza 25 June-31 July
PCHR strongly condemns the detention of Dr. Aziz Dweik, the Speaker of the PLC, by Israeli Occupation Forces. This detention is a continuation of Israel’s targeting of Palestinian Ministers and PLC members from the “Change and Reform List” supported by Hamas. The Centre views the detention of the PLC Speaker as a form of reprisal and collective punishment against Palestinian civilians, which are prohibited in Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Centre views this detention as another step in the attempts to undermine the results of the free and democratic elections held in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on 25 January 2006. Read more about PCHR Condemns the Detention of the Speaker of the PLC
PCHR strongly condemns the gruesome crime committed by gunmen inside Jericho Central Prison on the evening of Friday, 4 August 2006. The crime resulted in the death of six inmates, two of them by mistake, and the injury of three others. PCHR also condemns the failure of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and law-enforcement bodies to fulfill their duty to protect prisoners. The Centre views this crime as an indicator that many insist on maintaining a state of security chaos, undermining the rule of law, and practicing vigilante justice. Read more about Six Killed in Vigilante Attack on Jericho Central Prison
The victims of war crimes perpetrated by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) for the third consecutive day in Rafah has increased to 16 killed, including 10 civilians (four of them children). One of the victims was a three-day-old infant girl who fell her mother’s arm as the latter was fleeing from IOF. Two other children victims were brothers. They were killed and their mother and brother were seriously injured when they were trying to flee their house. The number of injured is up to 39, including 13 children and one woman. All were injured by shrapnel and burns, many of them were injured seriously. Read more about More children killed in Rafah