Over the last week, Israeli forces conducted 31 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 3 others into the Gaza Strip. During those incursions, Israeli forces abducted 29 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, in the West Bank.

 

Israeli attacks in the West Bank:

 

In the West Bank, during the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted at least 31 military incursions into Palestinian communities. During these incursions, Israeli forces abducted 29 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children. Israeli forces positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank abducted 5 Palestinian civilians. Thus, the number of Palestinian civilians abducted by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the beginning of 2008 has mounted to 2,140. Israeli forces also transformed a house in Nablus into a military site.

 

6 Palestinian civilians, including a child, and an international human rights defender, were wounded by Israeli gunfire while protesting against the Israeli Annexation Wall.

 

In addition, on 9 November 2008, a Palestinian child was wounded in 'Anabta village, east of Tulkarm, when Israeli forces moved into the village and fired at a number of Palestinian civilians who threw stones at military vehicles.

 

On 11 November 2008, 4 Palestinian civilians were wounded in Hebron during clashes with Israeli forces.

 

Israeli forces 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. Israeli forces have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians were prevented from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on Friday.

 

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 Israeli forces 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 Israeli forces (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 Israeli forces. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.

 

Israeli Annexation Wall:

 

Israeli forces have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside West Bank territory. During the reporting period, Israeli forces used force against a peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the construction of the Wall in Bil’in and Ne’lin villages, west of Ramallah.

 

Following the Friday Prayer on Friday, 7 November 2008, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders gathered in the center of Ne’lin village, west of Ramallah. They moved towards the area where Israeli forces were razing land to construct a section of the Wall in the village. Immediately, Israeli forces fired rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, a journalist and an international human rights defender were wounded.

 

Israeli settlement activities:

 

Israeli forces have continued settlement activities, and Israeli settlers living in the West Bank in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

 

On Friday evening, 7 November 2008, Israeli settlers from “Kiryat Arba” settlement, southeast of Hebron, destroyed an iron fence separating the settlement from a tract of land belonging to Younis 'Abdul Hafiz Da'na. They also threw garbage on the land.

 

On Saturday, 8 November 2008, Israeli settlers from "Kiryat Arba" settlement, southeast of Hebron, attacked 6-year-old Bilal Fadel Da'na. The child was injured in the head.

 

Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip:

 

During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 4 Palestinian resistance fighters in the Gaza Strip.

 

On Thursday, November 6, at approximately 09:55, a number of Palestinian farmers, accompanied by 5 members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), were farming a tract of agricultural land located nearly 150 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Khan Yunis. Soon, 4 Israeli forces military jeeps crossed the border and Israeli forces fired warning shots into the air and then directly at the farmers and solidarity activists.

 

According to Ms. Fidaa' Qishta, ISM Coordinator in the Gaza Strip, she and 4 international members of ISM were accompanying a number of Palestinian farmers who were planting their land, a number of Israeli forces military jeeps arrived and Israeli forces fired warning shots into the air and then at us. The farmers fled from the area, while the international solidarity activists stayed and raised their hands to show Israeli forces that they were unarmed. The military jeeps withdrew from the area later.

 

On 6 November 2008, a member of the Palestinian resistance was wounded when an Israeli forces aircraft fired a missile at a resistance group that was about to launch home-made rockets at Israeli towns from Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip.

 

Israeli forces have continued to impose a siege on the 1.5 million civilians of the Gaza Strip. The border crossings of the Strip have been closed for more than two years as part of Israeli collective punishment policy, imposing severe restrictions on the movement of civilians and goods. As a result, the territory is unable to secure its basic needs of food, medicine, and other supplies, pushing the poverty rate above 80%.

 

This week, fuel shortages forced blackouts on the Palestinian population in Gaza. On Monday, 10 November 2008, Gaza's power plant was put off at 18:30 when fuel ran out from the plant. As a result, many neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip, especially in Gaza City, where approximately 570,000 people live, were rendered in complete darkness. The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company was forced to reschedule the distribution of electricity to various areas in the Gaza Strip to confront the electricity deficit resulted by the stoppage of operation of the power plant. The Gaza Strip depends on three main resources for its electricity supplies: Gaza's power plant that provides 67-70 megawatts (34% of needs), Israel that sells to Gaza approximately 120 megawatts (58.5% of needs) and 17.5 megawatts which are imported from Egypt. On Tuesday, 11 November 2008, Israeli forces allowed the delivery of 427,410 liters of energy fuel that fulfill the plant's needs for a single day, which means that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip would continue.

 

The continued Israeli ban on fuel supplies required for civilian life in the Gaza Strip has led to the paralysis of the educational sector. Healthcare facilities have registered a drop in clients due to the transport crisis, and hundreds of healthcare professionals have been unable to reach their work places. The tightened siege has led to the collapse of the Gaza Strip economic sectors. Most production facilities have ceased to operate due to the siege and restriction on movement of goods and individuals.

 

During the reporting period, Israeli forces continued to close Sofa crossing, northeast of Rafah, and Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, southeast of the town.

 

Recommendations to the international community:

 

Due to the number and severity of Israeli human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza this week, the Palestinian Center for Human rights made a number of recommendations to the international community. Among these were a recommendation that the international community pressure Israeli to enforce the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which considers the construction of the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank illegal.

 

In addition, the PCHR recommended that international civil society organizations, including human rights organizations, bar associations and non-governmental organizations participate in the process of exposing those accused of grave breaches of international law and to urge their governments to bring these people to justice.

 

For the text of the full report, click on the link below:

http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2008/13-...8.htm