Description

by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)

Summary

Israeli forces continued to commit crimes and multi-faceted violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of force, assault, abuse and attacks on civilians. This week, a civilian was killed by Israeli forces while he was walking with his friend in Kifl Hares village.

In addition, the army’s excessive use of force rendered 9 injuries among Palestinian civilians during raids and attacks on peaceful protests in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Furthermore, Israeli forces continued to arrest and raid the houses of those working with the Palestinian security services in the West Bank.

Over the past several weeks, the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, witnessed wide-scale demolitions and distribution of demolition notices of civilian houses and properties as well as confiscation of lands for establishing roads for settlements. This week witnessed an increase confiscation lands decisions, especially in al-‘Isawiya village in occupied East Jerusalem.

This week, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) documented 168 violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law (IHL) by IOF and settlers in the oPt.

Israeli military shooting and violation of right to bodily integrity: On 09 July 2020, Israeli forces shot and killed Ibrahim Mostafa Abu Ya’qoub (33) without justification while he was walking with his friend on a street, 600 meters away from the settlement street so-called “Aber al-Samerah”, in north Salfit. On 13 July 2020, Aseen Mahmoud Hamad Duhair(34), from Rafah, succumbed to wounds she sustained after Israeli warplanes targeted her uncle’s house on 04 August 2014. It should be noted that due the Israeli attack, Duhiar suffered a spinal fracture, causing paraplegia or paralysis.

Israeli forces shot and wounded 9 Palestinians, including a child, in excessive use of force against peaceful protests in the West Bank: 2 in separate incidents in Salfit, 2 in suppression a peaceful protest in Nablus; and 5 were wounded in IOF raid into al-‘Isawiya in occupied East Jerusalem.

In Gaza, 5 shootings against fishing boats were reported; and once against agricultural lands western and eastern Gaza Strip.

Israeli military incursions and detention of Palestinian civilians: The Israeli military carried out 96 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids of civilian houses and shootings, inciting terror among civilians, and attacking many of them. During this week’s incursions, 76 Palestinians were arrested, including 5 children. During raids, a Palestinian vehicle was seized.

Settlement expansion activities and settlers’ attacks: The Israeli authorities continued their settlement expansion operations in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, PCHR documented 13 violations, including:

East Jerusalem: demolition of 2 houses; 1 self-demolished, a demolition notice given to a building in Ras al-‘Amoud neighborhood, and confiscation of dozens of dunams.
Bethlehem: 2 demolition notices and 2 cease-construction notices distributed, and 3 mixers and a concrete pump confiscated.
Salfit: 1000 square meters confiscated upon a military order.

Hebron: demolition of a 2-story house comprising of 2 apartments, 70 olive trees uprooted and confiscated, 70-square-long stone chains demolished, agricultural lands levelled, and an agricultural room demolished.

Tulkarem: a barrack and a cement wall demolished.

PCHR also documented 2 settler attacks: assault and vandalization on Palestinians’ vehicles in Laban al-Sharqiyia village, and establishing a settlement road in southern Hebron.

Israeli closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement: The Gaza Strip still suffers the worst blockade in the history of the Israeli occupation of the oPt as it has entered the 14th consecutive year, without any improvement to the movement of persons and goods, humanitarian conditions and bearing catastrophic consequences on all aspects of life.

Furthermore, since the Palestinian Authority (PA) ended security coordination with Israeli authorities in May 2020, hundreds of critically ill patients whose condition cannot afford delays in treatment were denied travel. This was amplified by the restrictions put in place by Israeli forces since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic that had already had grave implications on the humanitarian and economic situation of the Gaza Strip population. Recently, a very limited number of individual cases of patients who have obtained medical referrals and financial coverage to Israel were able to travel, and some others referred to Israeli organizations working in the field of health for assistance in coordination.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued to divide the West Bank into separate cantons with key roads blocked by the Israeli occupation since the Second Intifada and with temporary and permanent checkpoints, where civilian movement is restricted, and they are subject to arrest.

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Read full report here.

The Centre is an independent Palestinian human rights organization (registered as a non-profit Ltd. Company) based in Gaza City. The Centre enjoys Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nation. It is an affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists-Geneva; the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) – Pairs; member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network – Copenhagen; member of the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC) – Stockholm

• Protect human rights and promote the rule of law in accordance with international standards.
• Create and develop democratic institutions and an active civil society, while promoting democratic culture within Palestinian society.
• Support all the efforts aimed at enabling the Palestinian people to exercise its inalienable rights in regard to self-determination and independence in accordance with international Law and UN resolutions.

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