IOF killed 14 Palestinians, including 5 children, and wounded 31 civilians

25 June 2007

IOF 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

IOF have imposed a strict siege on the Gaza Strip. They have imposed severe restrictions at its border crossings as a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.

IOF have closed Rafah International Crossing Point since 25 June 2006, even though they do not directly control it. the crossing point was completely closed after Hamas’ takeover in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Palestinian security forces from the crossing point. On 18 June 2007, the Egyptian side allowed approximately 160 persons, who do not have visas to stay in Egypt, to travel back to the Gaza Strip.

IOF have also closed commercial crossings, especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. If this closure continues, a humanitarian crisis is likely to emerge in the Gaza Strip. IOF have also continued to close Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been prevented from traveling through this crossing. IOF completely closed the crossing. They prevented traders and patients from passing through. They only allowed dozens of members of Palestinian security services and their families to travel the West Bank. On 19 June 2007, OF allowed 9 patients only to travel to Israel to receive medical treatment.

IOF conducted 2 incursions into Palestinian communities. On 16 June 2007, IOF moved nearly 1,000 meters into Wadi al-Salqa village, east of Deir al-Balah town in the central Gaza Strip. On 20 June 2007, IOF moved into al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. They killed 4 members of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 5 others.

In the Gaza Strip, 10 Palestinians, including 5 children, were killed. On 14 June 2007, 5 children were killed and 3 others were seriously wounded when they played with an object left by OF in al-Shouka village to the east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. On 18 June 2007, OF killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded 3 others at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. On 20 June 2007, IOF killed 4 members of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 5 others during an incursion into al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. During the same incursion, a child was also wounded by shrapnel. On 19 June 2007, 2 Palestinian civilians were wounded by the OF gunfire at Erez crossing.

West Bank

IOF have tightened the siege imposed on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. They have isolated Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF also erected more checkpoints on the main roads and intersections in the West Bank. IOF soldiers positioned at various checkpoints and border crossings in the West Bank arrested at least 3 Palestinian civilians.

IOF have continued settlement activities and Zionist settlers living in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. On 19 June 2007, OF demolished a under-construction house in the Olive Mountain neighborhood in the east of Jerusalem, claiming that it was being built without a license. On 14 June 2006, a number of Zionist settlers burnt dozens of olive trees in Far’oun village, south of Tulkarm.

On 8 June 2007, Zionist settlers moved into Kufor Hares village, north of Salfit. They destroyed headstones of a number of graves and sanctuaries and threw stones at houses. On 9 June 2007, a number of Zionist settlers living in settlement outposts in the center and south of Hebron attacked 16-year-old Sa’id Nafez al-Atrash when was passing near the Ibrahimi Mosque. He was injured in the face. The settlers and the Zionist police prevented a Palestinian ambulance from evacuating the child to the hospital. They even threw stones at the ambulance damaging it. Later, the Zionist police took al-Atrash to an unknown destination. On the same day, a number of Zionist settlers violently beat 9-year-old Shareef Tayseer Abu ‘Eisha in Hebron. On 10 June 2007, a number of Zionist settlers from “Harish” and “Maysar” settlements near Tulkarm burnt at least 200 donums of agricultural land in ‘Akaba village, north of the town. The affected areas of land are sealed off by the Annexation Wall. On 12 June 2007, a number of Zionist settlers, escorted by OF, moved into the evacuated “Homesh” settlement near Nablus – Jenin road.

In the West Bank, OF killed 4 Palestinians in 3 separate attacks. On 14 June 2007, IOF killed a member of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 13 civilians, including 5 children and a woman, in Qalqilya. On the same day, IOF extra-judicially executed a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (an armed wing of Fatah movement) and wounded 2 civilian bystanders, including a child, in Saida village, north of Tulkarm. On 20 June 20 June 2007, OF killed 2 members of the Palestinian resistance in Kufor Dan village, west of Jenin, in an exchange of fire. Additionally, on 15 June 2007, a Palestinian child was wounded during an IOF incursion into Kufor Dan village, west of Jenin. On the same day, a Palestinian civilian and an American journalist were wounded when IOF used force against a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Zionist human rights defenders against the construction of the Annexation Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.

IOF conducted at least 32 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 50 Palestinian civilians. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 1,408. OF also transformed 2 houses in ‘Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya, into military sites.