• 6 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli forces in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
• An Israeli settler used his car to run over the body of a wounded Palestinian in Hebron.
• Israeli forces conducted 14 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and one into the Gaza Strip.
• Israeli forces arrested 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children.
• Israeli naval troops have continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.
• Israel has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
• Israeli troops positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child.
• Israeli troops positioned at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing arrested a Palestinian civilian who was on his way to Jerusalem to receive medical treatment.
• Israel has continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
• The Israeli government approved the construction of 131 housing units.
• Israeli forces issued military orders to demolish more houses in the West Bank.
• Israeli settlers took over 70 donums[1] of land in Yanoun village, east of Nablus.
• Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilians in Bourin village near Nablus.

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (25 November – 02 December 2009):

Shooting: During the reporting period, 6 Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

On 27 November 2009, Israeli forces fired a missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance in the northern Gaza Strip. Four activists were wounded.

On 02 December 2009, Israeli troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip wounded and arrested a Palestinian.

In the West Bank, Israeli troops fired at a Palestinian near a fuel station in the southeast of Hebron, and an Israeli settler then ran him over using his car. Israeli troops and medical crews were present in the area and did not attempt to stop the settlers. Israeli forces claimed that the Palestinian stabbed two female Israeli settlers.

Israeli forces used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders, to protest the construction of the Annexation Wall in the West Bank. Dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation.

During the reporting period, Israeli naval troops attacked Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip, and forced them to sail towards the beach.

Incursions: During the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted at least 14 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Israeli forces arrested 20, including 6 children.

Restrictions on Movement: Israeli forces 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 continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. 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.

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 main concern of 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs of food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.

Israel has continued to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for more than two years.

Israel has not allowed fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas, since 10 December 2008.

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

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

Poverty and unemployment rates stand at approximately 80% and 60% in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has continued to prevent the entry of spare parts form water networks and sewage systems. Losses incurred to this sector are estimated at US$ 6 million.

Israel has imposed additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip. They have prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.

Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of poverty and unemployment have sharply mounted.

At least 900 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been denied family visitation rights for more than two years.

Israeli forces have continued to attack Palestinian fishermen along the Gaza Strip coast.

West Bank

Israel has 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 are frequently prevented from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

There are approximately permanent 630 roadblocks, and 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 forces continue to harass, and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.

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

The full report is available online at: html format | pdf format

Public Document

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