10 may 2019
According to a new report issued Friday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, up to 150 Palestinians have been rendered homeless by Israeli home demolitions in the past two weeks alone.
The report only counts the demolitions carried out in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and does not count the 130 homes destroyed and 700 damaged in the Gaza Strip during the massive Israeli bombardment of the past weekend.
An estimated 6 Israeli homes were slightly damaged by the Palestinian shells fired in response to the Israeli bombardment.
In the biweekly Protection of Civilians Report issued by UN-OCHA, in the past two weeks, Israeli forces destroyed 41 Palestinian-owned structures in occupied East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, directly displacing 38 homeowners and affecting 121 others.
Most of the demolitions took place on the pretext of construction without a permit. Palestinians have been unable to receive permits for construction of any structures on the land they own since the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem began in 1967.
Of these demolitions, 37 were in East Jerusalem and four in Area C of the West Bank (the area that has been under full Israeli control since the Oslo Accords in 1994 – despite the requirement that these lands be returned to Palestinian rule by 1998).
On April 29 alone, the Israeli authorities demolished 31 structures in multiple neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, marking the highest number of structures demolished in a single day in East Jerusalem since OCHA began systematically monitoring demolitions in 2009.
On April 25, the Israeli authorities demolished a home in Az-Zawiya village in the West Bank on punitive grounds, displacing a family of seven, including five children, the report continued.
The home belonged to the family of a 19-year-old Palestinian who was accused of killing an Israeli soldier and an Israeli settler, and injuring another soldier, near Ariel Israeli settlement on March 17, 2019. The Palestinian was subsequently killed by Israeli forces in a separate incident.
This was the fifth punitive demolition since the beginning of 2019 compared to six in 2018 and nine in 2017.
During the full month of April 2019, at least 70 structures were demolished in the occupied Palestinian Territories (including East Jerusalem) by Israeli forces, displacing at least 70 people- including 33 children- and affecting a further 313 people, according to OCHA.
All the demolitions and confiscations, other than the two punitive demolitions, were carried out on grounds of lacking an Israeli-issued building permit. Most of the demolished structures supported agricultural, herding and commercial livelihoods.
As the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions points out, as is the case in situations of armed conflict including situations of military occupation, International Humanitarian Law applies to the occupied Palestinian territories. The Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 enshrine many of those provisions most pertinent to the protection of the Palestinian population.
As per article 43 of the Hague regulations, Israel as the occupying power is obliged to provide for the well-being of the protected Palestinian population and to ensure“public order and safety, while respecting, unless absolutely necessary the laws in force in the country”. Israel must therefore refrain from altering local laws in place or extending its own legislation over the occupied territory – including extending these discriminatory planning laws.
IHL stipulates that private property must be respected. Specifically, it is forbidden for an Occupying Power to destroy property except where such destruction is rendered “absolutely necessary by military operations.”
Article 49(1) prohibits individual or mass forcible transfers. Such forcible transfers are occasioned through the establishment of a coercive environment, which encompasses practices such as home demolitions and threats of demolitions, relocations, settler violence and harassment and restrictions on movement and access, which force inhabitants to relocate to other areas.
The demolition orders infringe upon norms of international human rights law, which Israel is obliged to respect and uphold. Such rights include the right to: adequate standard of living, adequate housing, freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, non-interference with privacy, home and family, and equality and non-discrimination.
In its General Comments, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights identified legal security of tenure as one of the core factors in ensuring adequate housing and stated that “all persons should possess a degree of security of tenure which guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats”.
Under international law, the State has the duty both to refrain from forced evictions and to ensure that the law is enforced against third parties who carry out forced evictions.
Instead, Israeli occupying forces regularly carry out both punitive and ‘administrative’ home demolitions, with the stated objective of displacing Palestinians from their land in order to expand the territory of the state of Israel by force.
The report only counts the demolitions carried out in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and does not count the 130 homes destroyed and 700 damaged in the Gaza Strip during the massive Israeli bombardment of the past weekend.
An estimated 6 Israeli homes were slightly damaged by the Palestinian shells fired in response to the Israeli bombardment.
In the biweekly Protection of Civilians Report issued by UN-OCHA, in the past two weeks, Israeli forces destroyed 41 Palestinian-owned structures in occupied East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, directly displacing 38 homeowners and affecting 121 others.
Most of the demolitions took place on the pretext of construction without a permit. Palestinians have been unable to receive permits for construction of any structures on the land they own since the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem began in 1967.
Of these demolitions, 37 were in East Jerusalem and four in Area C of the West Bank (the area that has been under full Israeli control since the Oslo Accords in 1994 – despite the requirement that these lands be returned to Palestinian rule by 1998).
On April 29 alone, the Israeli authorities demolished 31 structures in multiple neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, marking the highest number of structures demolished in a single day in East Jerusalem since OCHA began systematically monitoring demolitions in 2009.
On April 25, the Israeli authorities demolished a home in Az-Zawiya village in the West Bank on punitive grounds, displacing a family of seven, including five children, the report continued.
The home belonged to the family of a 19-year-old Palestinian who was accused of killing an Israeli soldier and an Israeli settler, and injuring another soldier, near Ariel Israeli settlement on March 17, 2019. The Palestinian was subsequently killed by Israeli forces in a separate incident.
This was the fifth punitive demolition since the beginning of 2019 compared to six in 2018 and nine in 2017.
During the full month of April 2019, at least 70 structures were demolished in the occupied Palestinian Territories (including East Jerusalem) by Israeli forces, displacing at least 70 people- including 33 children- and affecting a further 313 people, according to OCHA.
All the demolitions and confiscations, other than the two punitive demolitions, were carried out on grounds of lacking an Israeli-issued building permit. Most of the demolished structures supported agricultural, herding and commercial livelihoods.
As the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions points out, as is the case in situations of armed conflict including situations of military occupation, International Humanitarian Law applies to the occupied Palestinian territories. The Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 enshrine many of those provisions most pertinent to the protection of the Palestinian population.
As per article 43 of the Hague regulations, Israel as the occupying power is obliged to provide for the well-being of the protected Palestinian population and to ensure“public order and safety, while respecting, unless absolutely necessary the laws in force in the country”. Israel must therefore refrain from altering local laws in place or extending its own legislation over the occupied territory – including extending these discriminatory planning laws.
IHL stipulates that private property must be respected. Specifically, it is forbidden for an Occupying Power to destroy property except where such destruction is rendered “absolutely necessary by military operations.”
Article 49(1) prohibits individual or mass forcible transfers. Such forcible transfers are occasioned through the establishment of a coercive environment, which encompasses practices such as home demolitions and threats of demolitions, relocations, settler violence and harassment and restrictions on movement and access, which force inhabitants to relocate to other areas.
The demolition orders infringe upon norms of international human rights law, which Israel is obliged to respect and uphold. Such rights include the right to: adequate standard of living, adequate housing, freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, non-interference with privacy, home and family, and equality and non-discrimination.
In its General Comments, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights identified legal security of tenure as one of the core factors in ensuring adequate housing and stated that “all persons should possess a degree of security of tenure which guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats”.
Under international law, the State has the duty both to refrain from forced evictions and to ensure that the law is enforced against third parties who carry out forced evictions.
Instead, Israeli occupying forces regularly carry out both punitive and ‘administrative’ home demolitions, with the stated objective of displacing Palestinians from their land in order to expand the territory of the state of Israel by force.
9 may 2019
By UN News: Millions of dollars in emergency funding is needed in Gaza to save the shattered limbs of some 1,700 people who have been seriously injured in demonstrations against Israel along the border fence, a top UN humanitarian official said on Wednesday.
In an appeal for $20 million to help victims hurt during protests dubbed the Great March of Return – weekly rallies on Fridays by Gazans that began a year ago, leaving 29,000 people injured, many by live ammunition – Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), said that more resources were urgently required.
“The health structures really are in bad shape and that’s why we have put this appeal out for $20 million to address the needs of those 1,700 people, but also to support the health system”, he said.
“Of that 29,000, 7,000 have been shot with live ammunition and those are the ones who have been treated at facilities that are under very serious stress anyway”, Mr. McGoldrick added.
To date, some 120 amputations have taken place since the beginning of the demonstrations, according to the UN official, with 20 children among the amputees.
‘Running against the clock’
“We are running against the clock for some of these cases and osteomyelitis – bone infection – will be a crisis, and the need is to treat that, prevent that, otherwise we will have amputations,” he said. “The technical abilities of doctors on the ground to carry out treatment required for the 1,700 (injured demonstrators) just doesn’t exist.”
Speaking in Geneva following a lull in deadly violence over the weekend at the Israel-Gaza border between militant groups in Gaza – which is controlled by Hamas – and Israeli security forces, Mr. McGoldrick insisted on the need for dialogue to address the dire economic and humanitarian situation there.
He confirmed that UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, was in Cairo to reinforce the fragile Gaza ceasefire deal reportedly mediated by Egypt, adding that he hoped this would allow humanitarian deliveries to resume “because we were prevented from doing work, because of the insecurity and instability”.
Today, average household debt in Gaza is $4,000, the UN official explained, noting that average salaries are $400 a month. The situation has been made worse by chronically high youth unemployment and the fact that the UN’s $350 million humanitarian appeal for 2019 is funded at only 14 per cent.
“It’s not going to get any better, it’s getting worse,” he said. “If you look at the number of shops that have closed because of debt…people are using all sorts of means, selling assets, doctors going abroad leaving the family and sending remittances back, we’re hearing that the indebted nature of some of the poorest families is quite heavy.”
During the recent military activity, hundreds of rockets were launched from Gaza by Palestinian militants into southern Israel, and hundreds of airstrikes and tank rounds were fired in return, causing 29 fatalities in Gaza and four in Israel, along with some 200 casualties on each side.
“The situation is very precarious,” Mr. McGoldrick said. “And I think the need for a political solution is all the more highlighted because of how easy it is to slip into something very quickly.”
In an appeal for $20 million to help victims hurt during protests dubbed the Great March of Return – weekly rallies on Fridays by Gazans that began a year ago, leaving 29,000 people injured, many by live ammunition – Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), said that more resources were urgently required.
“The health structures really are in bad shape and that’s why we have put this appeal out for $20 million to address the needs of those 1,700 people, but also to support the health system”, he said.
“Of that 29,000, 7,000 have been shot with live ammunition and those are the ones who have been treated at facilities that are under very serious stress anyway”, Mr. McGoldrick added.
To date, some 120 amputations have taken place since the beginning of the demonstrations, according to the UN official, with 20 children among the amputees.
‘Running against the clock’
“We are running against the clock for some of these cases and osteomyelitis – bone infection – will be a crisis, and the need is to treat that, prevent that, otherwise we will have amputations,” he said. “The technical abilities of doctors on the ground to carry out treatment required for the 1,700 (injured demonstrators) just doesn’t exist.”
Speaking in Geneva following a lull in deadly violence over the weekend at the Israel-Gaza border between militant groups in Gaza – which is controlled by Hamas – and Israeli security forces, Mr. McGoldrick insisted on the need for dialogue to address the dire economic and humanitarian situation there.
He confirmed that UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, was in Cairo to reinforce the fragile Gaza ceasefire deal reportedly mediated by Egypt, adding that he hoped this would allow humanitarian deliveries to resume “because we were prevented from doing work, because of the insecurity and instability”.
Today, average household debt in Gaza is $4,000, the UN official explained, noting that average salaries are $400 a month. The situation has been made worse by chronically high youth unemployment and the fact that the UN’s $350 million humanitarian appeal for 2019 is funded at only 14 per cent.
“It’s not going to get any better, it’s getting worse,” he said. “If you look at the number of shops that have closed because of debt…people are using all sorts of means, selling assets, doctors going abroad leaving the family and sending remittances back, we’re hearing that the indebted nature of some of the poorest families is quite heavy.”
During the recent military activity, hundreds of rockets were launched from Gaza by Palestinian militants into southern Israel, and hundreds of airstrikes and tank rounds were fired in return, causing 29 fatalities in Gaza and four in Israel, along with some 200 casualties on each side.
“The situation is very precarious,” Mr. McGoldrick said. “And I think the need for a political solution is all the more highlighted because of how easy it is to slip into something very quickly.”
by Tareq Astal
13 violations against journalists in the Palestinian territories, by Israeli occupation forces, were recorded during April.
In its monthly report on Israeli violations against journalists, published today, WAFA said that 11 journalists were injured from rubber-coated metal bullets, live bullets and tear gas canisters, fired by Israeli soldiers, as well as from severe beatings.
At the same time, one journalist was detained and another had his press papers seized.
On April 3, the Jerusalem District Court rejected an appeal filed by Mustafa Kharouf, a photographer with Turkish Anadolu news agency, to release him from prison so that he can be with his family in Jerusalem, and kept him incarcerated until May 5, the date he is to be expelled to Jordan. (Kharouf’s attorney got an injunction from the Israeli High Court on May 5, stopping his expulsion until it hears his plea.)
On April 5, Israeli forces shot Amad News Agency correspondent Safinaz al-Louh, with a teargas grenade, in her right foot, and Noor News photographer Mohammad Issa with a gas bomb, in his leg, while covering the March of Return protests, east of the Gaza Strip.
On April 10, Israeli forces raided the home of Ra’ed al-Sharif, in Hebron, holding his family in one room before embarking on a thorough search of the house and tampering with its contents.
On April 12, Israeli forces shot Filistin al-Hadath photographer and correspondent Ahmed al-Zurei, with a rubber-coated bullet, in the abdomen, while he was covering protests east of al-Bureij, in the central Gaza Strip.
On April 19, freelance photographer Abdel Rahim al-Khatib was hit with a rubber-coated bullet, in the left thigh, and Reuters photographer Bassam Massoud with a gas grenade, behind his left ear. A similar bomb injured Watan Radio reporter Mohammad al-Louh and freelance photographers Mahmoud Badr, in the left foot, and Ahmad Washah, in the head, while covering protests east of the Gaza Strip.
In the same day, Xinhua photographer Nidal Shtayeh and WAFA photographer Ayman Noubani were shot with rubber-coated metal bullets, in their thighs, while covering the Israeli army’s crackdown on the weekly protests in Kufr Qaddoum village, east of Qalqilia, in the north of the West Bank.
On April 26, Israeli forces targeted Shihab News Agency photographer Ramadan al-Sharif, with a live bullet that hit him in his right foot, while he covered protests east of Rafah, in southern Gaza.
The daily attacks on journalists in the West Bank are part of an ongoing Israeli policy against their activities and their role in covering the practices and violations committed by these forces, against Palestinian civilians and property.
13 violations against journalists in the Palestinian territories, by Israeli occupation forces, were recorded during April.
In its monthly report on Israeli violations against journalists, published today, WAFA said that 11 journalists were injured from rubber-coated metal bullets, live bullets and tear gas canisters, fired by Israeli soldiers, as well as from severe beatings.
At the same time, one journalist was detained and another had his press papers seized.
On April 3, the Jerusalem District Court rejected an appeal filed by Mustafa Kharouf, a photographer with Turkish Anadolu news agency, to release him from prison so that he can be with his family in Jerusalem, and kept him incarcerated until May 5, the date he is to be expelled to Jordan. (Kharouf’s attorney got an injunction from the Israeli High Court on May 5, stopping his expulsion until it hears his plea.)
On April 5, Israeli forces shot Amad News Agency correspondent Safinaz al-Louh, with a teargas grenade, in her right foot, and Noor News photographer Mohammad Issa with a gas bomb, in his leg, while covering the March of Return protests, east of the Gaza Strip.
On April 10, Israeli forces raided the home of Ra’ed al-Sharif, in Hebron, holding his family in one room before embarking on a thorough search of the house and tampering with its contents.
On April 12, Israeli forces shot Filistin al-Hadath photographer and correspondent Ahmed al-Zurei, with a rubber-coated bullet, in the abdomen, while he was covering protests east of al-Bureij, in the central Gaza Strip.
On April 19, freelance photographer Abdel Rahim al-Khatib was hit with a rubber-coated bullet, in the left thigh, and Reuters photographer Bassam Massoud with a gas grenade, behind his left ear. A similar bomb injured Watan Radio reporter Mohammad al-Louh and freelance photographers Mahmoud Badr, in the left foot, and Ahmad Washah, in the head, while covering protests east of the Gaza Strip.
In the same day, Xinhua photographer Nidal Shtayeh and WAFA photographer Ayman Noubani were shot with rubber-coated metal bullets, in their thighs, while covering the Israeli army’s crackdown on the weekly protests in Kufr Qaddoum village, east of Qalqilia, in the north of the West Bank.
On April 26, Israeli forces targeted Shihab News Agency photographer Ramadan al-Sharif, with a live bullet that hit him in his right foot, while he covered protests east of Rafah, in southern Gaza.
The daily attacks on journalists in the West Bank are part of an ongoing Israeli policy against their activities and their role in covering the practices and violations committed by these forces, against Palestinian civilians and property.
6 may 2019
Pregnant Woman and Baby Girl Killed,,, Residential Buildings Targeted … and Israeli Aggression Continues – The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)
The Israeli forces escalated their attacks against the Gaza Strip and continued to carry out intense airstrikes and shelling throughout the Gaza Strip. Moreover, the Israeli warplanes continue until the moment to target residential buildings in central Gaza neighborhoods in a serious escalation forewarning of more casualties.
This wave of escalation came after a bloody day in which the Israeli forces killed four Palestinians. Two of them were civilians, including a person with a disability, who were targeted with live ammunition during their participation in the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege, east of Khan Younis and al-Bureij refugee camp.
Meanwhile, the other two were members of the Palestinian armed groups who were in a military site that was targeted in eastern Maghazi refugee camp shortly after the Israeli forces announced that two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a Palestinian shooting, east of al-Bureij.
According to PCHR’s fieldworkers, the Israeli airstrikes began at 09:45 on Saturday, 04 May 2019, in an airstrike on Al-Qarman Street in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, under the pretext of responding to a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip and fell on an open area in the Israeli”Shaar HaNegev” compound adjacent to the Gaza Strip, According to the Israeli forces’ Statement.
The Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling then continued across the Gaza Strip. According to our fieldworkers (until 21:30), the Israeli forces fired 50 artillery shells and 78 missiles at 76 targets, including two residential buildings, 11 agricultural plots, and the Palestinian armed groups’ military sites and checkpoints that were previously targeted more than once.
At approximately 17:55 on the same day, an explosion of still-undetermined origin occurred in al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City. As a result, a 14-month-old toddler, Saba Mahmoud Hamdan Abu ‘Arar , and a 5-month pregnant woman, Falastine Saleh Abu ‘Arar (37) as well as her fetus were killed. Moreover, Ma’azouzah Mohammed Abu ‘Arar (72) and Hussam Adnan Abu ‘Arar (2 years) were wounded. Meanwhile, PCHR’s staff is still investigating the circumstances of the explosion.
The airstrikes also resulted in the killing of a member of the Palestinian armed groups in the northern Gaza Strip while 12 other Palestinians were wounded, including a woman.
Simultaneously with the preparation of this press release, the Israeli forces destroyed two buildings, which included residential apartments, offices and media offices in Al-Remal neighborhood in Gaza City. As a result, the building was completely destroyed and the residents were displaced.
In addition to the destruction caused by the Israeli airstrikes against the targeted locations and the damage to nearby houses and facilities, the explosions caused widespread panic and fear among the Gaza population, especially women and children, recalling their harsh experiences in the 3 last offensives on Gaza (2008-2009, 2012 and 2014.)
While preparing this press release, the Israeli airstrikes and shelling continued to target residential buildings in densely-populated neighborhoods, inflicting more casualties and destruction. All of this has been followed up by PCHR’s staff spread all over the Gaza Strip to document and investigate the circumstances of those crimes.
As part of their ongoing policy of collective punishment, the Israeli forces declared the closure of the Kerem Abu Salem Crossing, east of Rafah, the only commercial crossing in the Gaza Strip, and Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing for individuals in the northern Gaza Strip. It also announced completely closing the Sea, and prevented fishermen from sailing and fishing, starting at 16:30 today, depriving thousands of fishermen of their livelihoods.
In light of the continued strikes and indicators of escalating the aggression, PCHR warns that civilians are paying dearly and the successive airstrikes have turned more than two million Palestinians into hostages to aggression, fear, anxiety and direct targeting.
PCHR condemns the ongoing wave of escalation and fears the possibility of further deterioration. PCHR emphasizes that the Israeli ongoing airstrikes against the densely-populated areas and use of weapons on the basis of collective reprisal constitute grave violations of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949,and amount to war crimes.
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
The Israeli forces escalated their attacks against the Gaza Strip and continued to carry out intense airstrikes and shelling throughout the Gaza Strip. Moreover, the Israeli warplanes continue until the moment to target residential buildings in central Gaza neighborhoods in a serious escalation forewarning of more casualties.
This wave of escalation came after a bloody day in which the Israeli forces killed four Palestinians. Two of them were civilians, including a person with a disability, who were targeted with live ammunition during their participation in the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege, east of Khan Younis and al-Bureij refugee camp.
Meanwhile, the other two were members of the Palestinian armed groups who were in a military site that was targeted in eastern Maghazi refugee camp shortly after the Israeli forces announced that two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a Palestinian shooting, east of al-Bureij.
According to PCHR’s fieldworkers, the Israeli airstrikes began at 09:45 on Saturday, 04 May 2019, in an airstrike on Al-Qarman Street in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, under the pretext of responding to a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip and fell on an open area in the Israeli”Shaar HaNegev” compound adjacent to the Gaza Strip, According to the Israeli forces’ Statement.
The Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling then continued across the Gaza Strip. According to our fieldworkers (until 21:30), the Israeli forces fired 50 artillery shells and 78 missiles at 76 targets, including two residential buildings, 11 agricultural plots, and the Palestinian armed groups’ military sites and checkpoints that were previously targeted more than once.
At approximately 17:55 on the same day, an explosion of still-undetermined origin occurred in al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City. As a result, a 14-month-old toddler, Saba Mahmoud Hamdan Abu ‘Arar , and a 5-month pregnant woman, Falastine Saleh Abu ‘Arar (37) as well as her fetus were killed. Moreover, Ma’azouzah Mohammed Abu ‘Arar (72) and Hussam Adnan Abu ‘Arar (2 years) were wounded. Meanwhile, PCHR’s staff is still investigating the circumstances of the explosion.
The airstrikes also resulted in the killing of a member of the Palestinian armed groups in the northern Gaza Strip while 12 other Palestinians were wounded, including a woman.
Simultaneously with the preparation of this press release, the Israeli forces destroyed two buildings, which included residential apartments, offices and media offices in Al-Remal neighborhood in Gaza City. As a result, the building was completely destroyed and the residents were displaced.
In addition to the destruction caused by the Israeli airstrikes against the targeted locations and the damage to nearby houses and facilities, the explosions caused widespread panic and fear among the Gaza population, especially women and children, recalling their harsh experiences in the 3 last offensives on Gaza (2008-2009, 2012 and 2014.)
While preparing this press release, the Israeli airstrikes and shelling continued to target residential buildings in densely-populated neighborhoods, inflicting more casualties and destruction. All of this has been followed up by PCHR’s staff spread all over the Gaza Strip to document and investigate the circumstances of those crimes.
As part of their ongoing policy of collective punishment, the Israeli forces declared the closure of the Kerem Abu Salem Crossing, east of Rafah, the only commercial crossing in the Gaza Strip, and Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing for individuals in the northern Gaza Strip. It also announced completely closing the Sea, and prevented fishermen from sailing and fishing, starting at 16:30 today, depriving thousands of fishermen of their livelihoods.
In light of the continued strikes and indicators of escalating the aggression, PCHR warns that civilians are paying dearly and the successive airstrikes have turned more than two million Palestinians into hostages to aggression, fear, anxiety and direct targeting.
PCHR condemns the ongoing wave of escalation and fears the possibility of further deterioration. PCHR emphasizes that the Israeli ongoing airstrikes against the densely-populated areas and use of weapons on the basis of collective reprisal constitute grave violations of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949,and amount to war crimes.
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
3 may 2019
Israeli soldiers attacked, Friday, the weekly Great Return March processions in the Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinian, and injuring 82 others, including 34 children, two journalists and three paramedics.
Update: One Palestinian, identified as Ramzi Rawhi ‘Abdo, 31, died from serious wounds he suffered, Friday, after the soldiers shot him with a live round in the head, east of al-Boreij in central Gaza.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) has reported that the soldiers killed Ra’ed Khalil Abu Teir, 19, after shooting him with a live round in the abdomen, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
It is worth mentioning that the slain Palestinian was still recovering from an in injury he suffered, last Friday, when the soldiers shot him with a live round in the leg, and was not near the fence when he was killed.
Abu Teir was among hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children, who were near the tents of the Great Return March encampments, hundreds of meters away from the fence.
The PCHR stated that there were only a few incidents where a limited number of protesters attempted to approach the fence, and threw stones at the soldiers.
The PCHR added that the soldiers resorted to the excessive use of force against the unarmed protesters, on the 57th Friday of the Great Return March and Breaking the Siege, killing Abu Teir, and wounding 82 others.
It also confirmed that among the wounded are 34 children, five women, three paramedics and two journalists, who were all injured in several areas in the eastern parts of the coastal region.
Four of the injured Palestinians, including one girl, suffered serious wounds.
The soldiers were stationed in their sniper posts, and armored military jeeps across the perimeter fence, and fired a barrage of live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and high-velocity gas bombs at the unarmed protesters.
The soldiers injured the three paramedics while trying to provide treatment to wounded Palestinians east of Jabalia in northern Gaza, in addition to al-Boreij in central Gaza, and in Gaza city.
In addition, the soldiers also targeted a Palestinian ambulance with a high-velocity gas bomb east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The PCHR denounced the systematic Israeli policy of targeting medical personnel and obstructing their humanitarian wok in direct violation of International Law.
According to PCHR data and documentation of the ongoing Israeli excessive use of force against the Great Return March processions, which started on Palestinian Land Day March 30th 2018, the soldiers killed 204 Palestinians, including 44 children, 2 women, 3 medics, 2 journalists and 8 persons with disabilities.
The following table shows the number of civilian casualties due to the Israeli forces’ suppression of the Great March of Return as published by the PCHR in its report this Friday: (This report was issued before Ramzi Rawhi Abdo died from his wounds, therefore, the number of slain Palestinians is now 205)
Killed Wounded
Total 204 12350
Children 44 2424
Women 2 375
Journalists 2 201
Medical personnel 3 201
Persons with disabilities 8 Undefined
Note: Among those wounded, 548 are in serious condition and 137 had their lower or upper limbs amputated; 123 lower-limb amputations, 14 upper-limb amputations, and 25 children had their limbs amputated according to the Ministry of Health. The number of those wounded only include those wounded with live bullets and directly hit with tear gas canisters, as there have been thousand others who suffered tear gas inhalation and sustained bruises.
Update: One Palestinian, identified as Ramzi Rawhi ‘Abdo, 31, died from serious wounds he suffered, Friday, after the soldiers shot him with a live round in the head, east of al-Boreij in central Gaza.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) has reported that the soldiers killed Ra’ed Khalil Abu Teir, 19, after shooting him with a live round in the abdomen, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
It is worth mentioning that the slain Palestinian was still recovering from an in injury he suffered, last Friday, when the soldiers shot him with a live round in the leg, and was not near the fence when he was killed.
Abu Teir was among hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children, who were near the tents of the Great Return March encampments, hundreds of meters away from the fence.
The PCHR stated that there were only a few incidents where a limited number of protesters attempted to approach the fence, and threw stones at the soldiers.
The PCHR added that the soldiers resorted to the excessive use of force against the unarmed protesters, on the 57th Friday of the Great Return March and Breaking the Siege, killing Abu Teir, and wounding 82 others.
It also confirmed that among the wounded are 34 children, five women, three paramedics and two journalists, who were all injured in several areas in the eastern parts of the coastal region.
Four of the injured Palestinians, including one girl, suffered serious wounds.
The soldiers were stationed in their sniper posts, and armored military jeeps across the perimeter fence, and fired a barrage of live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and high-velocity gas bombs at the unarmed protesters.
The soldiers injured the three paramedics while trying to provide treatment to wounded Palestinians east of Jabalia in northern Gaza, in addition to al-Boreij in central Gaza, and in Gaza city.
In addition, the soldiers also targeted a Palestinian ambulance with a high-velocity gas bomb east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The PCHR denounced the systematic Israeli policy of targeting medical personnel and obstructing their humanitarian wok in direct violation of International Law.
According to PCHR data and documentation of the ongoing Israeli excessive use of force against the Great Return March processions, which started on Palestinian Land Day March 30th 2018, the soldiers killed 204 Palestinians, including 44 children, 2 women, 3 medics, 2 journalists and 8 persons with disabilities.
The following table shows the number of civilian casualties due to the Israeli forces’ suppression of the Great March of Return as published by the PCHR in its report this Friday: (This report was issued before Ramzi Rawhi Abdo died from his wounds, therefore, the number of slain Palestinians is now 205)
Killed Wounded
Total 204 12350
Children 44 2424
Women 2 375
Journalists 2 201
Medical personnel 3 201
Persons with disabilities 8 Undefined
Note: Among those wounded, 548 are in serious condition and 137 had their lower or upper limbs amputated; 123 lower-limb amputations, 14 upper-limb amputations, and 25 children had their limbs amputated according to the Ministry of Health. The number of those wounded only include those wounded with live bullets and directly hit with tear gas canisters, as there have been thousand others who suffered tear gas inhalation and sustained bruises.
The Jerusalem Center for the Study of Israeli Affairs documented 53 settlement projects implemented by Israel in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the month of April.
The center’s report, which was issued on Thursday, said the Israeli settlement projects and activities included the confiscation of Palestinians land, sending out demolition notices to Palestinian structure, and the actual demolition of tens of residential and commercial establishments, as well as the construction of thousands of settlement housing units in the West Bank settlements.
According to the report, the Israeli measures have also affected facilities owned by Arab-Israelis as part of a policy aimed at displacing them.
The center’s director, Imad Abu Awad, said the Israeli demolition and settlement process is growing on an almost monthly basis, which suggests that the Israeli occupation plan aims to use it as political aesthetic to counter any Palestinian movement.
The report added that occupied East Jerusalem remains the first target of these measures but where almost 50% of the demolition orders were issued inside Jerusalem.
The report pointed out that the construction of illegal Israeli settlement housing units has increased in 2018 by 9% compared to 2017.
The report confirmed that Israel built nearly 1,800 settlement units per year during the last 10 years before 2018, however, in 2018, the number increased to 2,000 housing units.
It added that the figure is likely to increase in 2019 ahead of the United States’ announcement of the so-called “Deal of the Century” and the entry of the right-wing parties into the newly elected Israeli government.
The center’s report, which was issued on Thursday, said the Israeli settlement projects and activities included the confiscation of Palestinians land, sending out demolition notices to Palestinian structure, and the actual demolition of tens of residential and commercial establishments, as well as the construction of thousands of settlement housing units in the West Bank settlements.
According to the report, the Israeli measures have also affected facilities owned by Arab-Israelis as part of a policy aimed at displacing them.
The center’s director, Imad Abu Awad, said the Israeli demolition and settlement process is growing on an almost monthly basis, which suggests that the Israeli occupation plan aims to use it as political aesthetic to counter any Palestinian movement.
The report added that occupied East Jerusalem remains the first target of these measures but where almost 50% of the demolition orders were issued inside Jerusalem.
The report pointed out that the construction of illegal Israeli settlement housing units has increased in 2018 by 9% compared to 2017.
The report confirmed that Israel built nearly 1,800 settlement units per year during the last 10 years before 2018, however, in 2018, the number increased to 2,000 housing units.
It added that the figure is likely to increase in 2019 ahead of the United States’ announcement of the so-called “Deal of the Century” and the entry of the right-wing parties into the newly elected Israeli government.
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