Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestini

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Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
10 - 16 June 2004

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli occupying forces conducted 14 military incursions into Palestinian areas, during which they destroyed razed 315 donums of Palestinian agricultural land and 12 houses. They also arrested 4 Palestinian civilians in the central Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank, Israeli occupying forces launched a series of attacks against Palestinian civilians. Eight Palestinians, including a child, were killed by Israeli troops. Four of the victims were killed in 2 extra-judicial assassinations perpetrated by Israeli troops in Nablus and Jenin on 14 and 16 June 2004. Israeli troops also arrested dozens of Palestinians throughout the West Bank. They also demolished 2 houses in Bethlehem on 15 June 2004 in the context of a continuous retaliatory campaign against families of Palestinian activists.

Israeli occupying forces have continued construction of the annexation wall inside the West Bank, especially around Jerusalem. Israeli occupying forces continued to level large areas of Palestinian land for the purpose of the construction of the wall. They have isolated the northern suburbs of the city. They plan to construct a section of the wall to the west of these suburbs, which will eventually isolate them from Jerusalem. The construction of the wall in the area will isolate dozens of institutions and markets. In the same context, Israeli troops demolished 5 houses to the south of Ramallah.

Israeli occupying forces have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPTs and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have continued to close most border crossings.

In the West Bank, the spokesperson for the Israeli occupying forces claimed that his troops had dismantled 42 out of 150 checkpoints throughout the West Bank, and lifted the siege imposed on Palestinian communities, excluding Nablus. PCHR's field workers reported that they had reopened entrances to a number of villages and a number of roads, but many checkpoints remained in place. Israeli troops continued to impose restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. This claim contradicts with another statement by an Israeli military spokesman on 9 March 2004, when they talked about only 29 checkpoints being enforced throughout the West Bank.

http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2004/17-06-2004.htm