Slaughterer Israeli violations of international law & humanitarian law (12 – 18 July 2012)

Shooting:

During the reporting period, IOF killed two members of the Palestinian resistance and wounded two others in the Gaza Strip. They also wounded 3 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

In the Gaza Strip, on 12 July 2012, IOF killed a member of the Palestinian resistance and wounded two others during an incursion into the east of Gaza City.

On 13 July 2012, IOF killed a member of the Palestinian resistance near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of Beit Lahia.

During the reporting period, IOF used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities in the West Bank. As a result, 3 Palestinian civilians were wounded and dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation. IOF also arrested 7 Israeli and international human rights defenders, including a journalist who was released later.

Incursions:

During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 54 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 14 Palestinian, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the former Mayor of al-Bireh.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted two limited incursions into Palestinian areas in the east of Gaza City and in the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya. During these incursions, IOF leveled areas of Palestinian land which they had already razed.

Restrictions on Movement:

Israel had 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.

The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip. The illegal closure has caused not only a humanitarian crisis but a crisis of human rights and human dignity for the population of the Gaza Strip. Measures declared recently to ease the blockade are vague, purely cosmetic and fail to deal with the root causes of the crisis, which can only be addressed by an immediate and complete lifting of the closure, including lifting the travel ban into and out of the Gaza Strip and the ban on exports. Palestinians in Gaza may no longer suffer from the same shortage of goods, but they will remain economically dependent and unable to care for themselves, and socially, culturally and academically isolated from the rest of the world.

IOF 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.

Settlement Activities:

Israel has continued its settlement activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

On 14 July 2012, Israeli settlers from “Edi Aad” settlement, north of Ramallah, attacked a Palestinian shepherd in Beer al-Hour area in the east of Turmos’iya village, nearly one kilometer away from the settlement. The shepherd was able to flee. The settlers slaughtered a sheep belonging to hiom and attacked other sheep using sharp tools and stones.

On 17 July 2012, IOF moved into ‘Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya. They handed notices to two Palestinian civilians ordering the demolition of two under-construction houses belonging to them.

On 18 July 2012, hundreds of Israeli settlers, escorted by IOF, stormed Joseph Tomb in Balata village, east of Nablus. They conducted religious rituals in the area for some and then left.

Also on 18 July 2012, IOF, accompanied by a bulldozer, moved into Farsh al-Hawa area in the west of Hebron. They demolished 3 agricultural rooms and a well.