Medics: Israeli forces injure 3 near Erez with live fire

Gaza – Ma’an – Three Gaza workers collecting stone aggregates from rubble near the Erez crossing were hit and injured by Israeli fire in two separate incidents shortly after 9a.m. on Saturday, medics told Ma'an.

Officials said the shots were fired from watch towers near the border crossing in the northern Strip, with the number injured by Israeli fire for the day rising to 13 following a series of air strikes and artillery fire that reportedly targeted "terrorist infrastructure."

Director of ambulance and emergency services for Gaza Strip hospitals Muawiya Hassanein said two workers collecting in the same area were targeted, in addition to a solitary worker collecting aggregates to be recycled into cement in a Gaza City plant, or used for construction.

Hassanein identified the first injured workers as 16-year-old Mahdi Hammadin, who was evacuated to the Beit Hanoun Hospital with gunshot wounds, while 25-year-old Muhammad Shalabi was evacuated to the Kamal Udwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya.

A third man was shot not long after, identified by coordinator of the Gaza Strip police medical services Adham Abu Silmiyya as 21-year-old Muhammad Hasan Sa’dallah. The officials said Sa’dallah was also collecting aggregates when he was shot.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers fired at a group of men after patrols "identified a group approaching the security fence," classified by Israeli officials as a "combat zone," which includes 6.25 percent of Gaza land and an estimated 20 percent of arable lands.

She said soldiers fired warning shots into the air in an attempt to drive away the men from the area, then fired toward their lower bodies, at which point she said two hits were identified. Only one group of individuals was targeted, she added.

As Israel's siege on Gaza continues, construction materials remain prohibited for commercial and personal use. Materials like aggregates and cement have been transported into Gaza only for construction projects under the UN and other international aid agencies, even as hundreds of homes remain in ruins a year and a half after Israel's last war on Gaza.

According to the UN, at least 6,000 homes in Gaza were either destroyed or severely damaged.

IOF Fire at Civilians Collecting Rubble in Beit Hanoun; Injure One

31-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 8:30am on Saturday 31 July 2010, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire on Palestinian civilians who were about 500 meters from the border fence in the vicinity of Erez Crossing. As a result, Khalid Madi Hammadeen, 17, who lives in Beit Hanoun, was injured in the thigh. Medical sources at Beit Hanoun Hospital described his injures as moderate. These civilians were collecting rubble from the destroyed building in the vicinity of Erez crossing.

IOF Fire at Civilians Collecting Rubble near Erez Crossing; Injure One

31-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 7:50am on Saturday 31 July 2010, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire on Palestinian civilians who were about 500 meters from the border fence in the vicinity of Erez crossing, in the North Gaza district. As a result, Mohammed Khamis Shalabi, 21, was injured in the left leg. Medical sources at Beit Hanoun Hospital described his injures as moderate. Shalabi lives in the Al Maghazi refugee camp in Middle Gaza district. These civilians were collecting rubble from structures destroyed by IOF in the vicinity of Erez crossing.

More than 200 demonstrate against the buffer-zone near Gaza’s Nahal Oz crossing

Nahal Oz demonstration Wed. 28th July (Photo: TILDE DE WANDEL)

29 July 2010 | ISM Gaza
Five International Solidarity Movement volunteers participated in a demonstration against the bufferzone near Nahal Oz border crossing, east of Gaza City on Wednesday (July 28th).
The march had a big turn out of over 200 people and was organised by the Popular Campaign for the Security in the Buffer Zone, an umbrella group which includes organisations representing farmers and local people living near the border. Members of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF), a grass-roots organisation heavily involved in the protests against the buffer-zone, waved prominent large white flags.
An Israeli army jeep and a large armoured Israeli vehicle were already in position as the demonstrators approached a ridge 150 metres from the fence, where they stood, waving flags and chanting well inside the ‘no go area’ or ‘buffer-zone’ unilaterally imposed by Israel, covering land 300m from the border fence along the entire frontier with Israel. Violent attacks by the Israeli military on anyone in the area have been a consistent occurrence – frequently live ammunition has been used against peaceful demonstrators and even farmers harvesting crops. According to the Palestine Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) the ‘buffer zone‘ contains over 30% of Gaza’s most useful arable land.
As the demonstration progressed three more jeeps and two tanks arrived. Five soldiers in firing positions were visible outside the vehicles.

Nahal Oz demonstration Wed. 28th July (Photo: TILDE DE WANDEL)

In the beginning of the demonstration the majority of participants marched to about 300 metres to the border where the speeches were made, with demonstrators that included a large group of women, carrying banners condemning the occupation and the siege.
Although in the previous demonstration in Nahal Oz the protesters there were heavily fired upon, this time the watching Israeli snipers did not fire. Some youths advanced to within 100m of the border fence, near to where 21 year old Ahmed Deeb was shot and killed by an explode-on-impact bullet or ‘dum dum’, at a Nahal Oz demonstration on the 28^th April this year. That demonstration was non-violent as was Wednesday’s but the continuous use of live ammunition by the Israeli Occupation Forces has caused frequent deaths and numerous injuries for farmers and their families, scrap collectors and demonstrators.
Abu Walid Mahmoud Al-Zaq of the Popular Struggle Front and coordinator of the Popular Campaign for the Security in the Buffer Zone was pleased with the turn-out and helped re-group the crowd when the demonstration had finished, fortunately without injuries.
He explained the importance of continuing to demonstrate despite the risk of live fire: “We will support the farmers who have to work their own land in the buffer-zone in spite of the regular violent attacks on them and their families – we will refuse to let the access to our land be controlled by the brutal policies of the Israeli Occupation Forces.” He also said he invites anyone who can to join a buffer-zone demonstration.

Nahal Oz demonstration Wed. 28th July (Photo: TILDE DE WANDEL)

The Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) report that the fertile farmland located around the buffer zone was in recent times the source of half of the food needs of Gaza’s population. Purely due to Israel’s siege of Gaza’s borders and their continuous attacks, farming has now become a very unproductive industry. Of the 175,000 dunams of cultivable land, PARC reported that 60 to 75,000 dunams have been destroyed during Israeli invasions and operations.
The level of destruction from the last Israeli war on Gaza alone accounted for the destruction of 35 to 60 percent of the agricultural industry, according to the UN and World Health Organization. Gaza’s sole agricultural college, in Beit Hanoun, was also destroyed. Oxfam notes that the combination of the Israeli war on Gaza and the buffer zone renders around 46 percent of agricultural land useless or unreachable.
Between January and April this year there have been 50 people injured and 14 killed in attacks on the buffer zone. In the past twelve months there have been at least 220 Israeli attacks with 116 coming since the beginning of 2010 (PCHR, as of April 30th).

Updated on July 30, 2010

PCHR weekly report 22/7 - 28/7/2010: 1 Palestinian civilian injured

extracts from PCHR weekly report 22/7 - 28/7/2010

Wednesday, 28 July 2010 


At approximately 06:30, Israeli troops stationed at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip fired at Akram Tayseer Sa'ada, 19, from Beit Hanoun, when he was on a tract of land belonging to his grandfather, nearly 150 meters away from the crossing. He was seriously wounded by a bullet to the chest.

Palestinian woman seriously injured in explosion of object left by IOF

[ 28/07/2010 - 04:13 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian young woman was seriously injured Wednesday morning in the explosion of ordnance left by Israeli forces in the vicinity of the Gaza International Airport, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical sources said that 21-year-old Massouda Raba Abu Shalouf was seriously injured by the explosion of a suspicious object left by Israeli forces and transported to the Abu Saif al-Najjar hospital in Rafah. In a separate context, a Palestinian worker was shot by Israeli forces while on site near Erez, east of Beit Hanin in the northern Gaza Strip. Medical sources said he is in a fair condition. Israeli occupation forces have from time to time stepped up aggression in the border areas along the eastern Gaza Strip border, targeting agricultural land and private property and employing snipers to pick off laborers.

Official: Gaza no-go zone eats up 6.25% of land

Correction appended 
Gaza – Ma'an – Gaza farmers gathered in Beit Hanoun on Wednesday demanding access to arable lands currently under Israeli control as part of a unilaterally imposed no-go zone.

"The issue is not a humanitarian case, it is purely political," said organizer Amjad Al-Shawa of the Palestinian International Campaign To End The Siege On Gaza stressing that the absence of farmland prevented residents from perusing their livelihood.

Conference organizer Sabir Za’anin said the policed zone along the Gaza-Israel border has reached some 22,500 dunums (22.5 square kilometers), equal to 6.25 percent of the Gaza Strip, and taking up what officials estimate to be 20 percent of arable land.

Israeli patrols of the area have become more frequent since 2008 limiting access to agricultural lands near the Gaza border and preventing farmers from planting, maintaining, and harvesting crops, Za'anin explained during the conference.

"For many farmers, trying to make a living or to stop relying on Israeli or smuggled in goods is risking their lives," Za'anin said, accusing Israel's latest easing of the siege to be symbolic. "Without access to land, how can we live?" he asked, reiterating a common complaint from Gaza residents who say they are tired of receiving aid and would prefer to regain jobs back in the shut-down factories.

Member of the International Solidarity Movement Adi Marmash estimated that at least one-third of the arable lands of Gaza were in fact under Israeli control in the no-go zone. With the outskirts of cities taken up by camps of displaced persons, and with farmers reporting an ever-wider area of lands policed by Israeli forces, Mormech said he was sure the percentage had exceeded 20.

Za’anin, the conference organizer, told participants that the committee would make a renewed effort to bring the issue to the international community saying, "We will continue to oppose Israeli plans [to confiscate land]; we will stick to our rights despite it all."

Kamal Sweilem, a farmer from northern Gaza who has access to only a small portion of his lands due to the no-go zone, said he and his friends and neighbors wanted only "to cultivate our lands, to keep them green," and added that it was a tragedy that the weight of the international community must be behind Gaza farmers if they are to successfully water their trees.

The farmer, joined with union and committee organizers, issued a joint appeal to the international community to demand that Israel relinquish its hold on the no-go zone and allow farmers to access and cultivate their lands.

*** An earlier version of this article misidentified Adi Marmash, who works with the International Solidarity Movement

Limited IOF Incursion in the Vicinity of Erez Crossing

28-7-2010

Al Mezan 

At app. 12:30am on Wednesday 28 July 2010, twelve Israeli tanks and six armored bulldozers moved under heavy fire into the northwest of the town of Beit Hanoun in North Gaza district. They advanced about 250 meters into the town. According to Al Mezan's field investigations, bulldozers leveled the rubble of the destroyed buildings in the area and covered it with sand to prevent the Palestinian civilians from collecting rubble. Bulldozers also dug deep holes in the area.

Young Man Injured as IOF Open Fire at Palestinian Civilians Collecting Rubble near Erez Crossing

28-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 6:50am on Wednesday 28 July 2010, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), who are positioned at the northern border fence in the vicinity of Erez crossing, opened fire at the Palestinian civilians who were about 600 meters from the fence. As a result, Akram Taysir Mohammed Sa'ada, 18, was injured in the abdomen. According to medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital, his injury was moderate These civilians were attacked while they were collecting rubble from the destroyed structures in the vicinity of Erez crossing, in North Gaza district. Sa'ada is a resident of the town of Beit Hanoun.

Two dead and four children injured in Israeli nail bomb attack in Beit Hanoun, Gaza

Posted on the ISM webpage: July 22, 2010 | ShareThis 

Sammah Eid El-Massry, 9, in a 'semi-critical' condition in hospital

“She came in through and it wasn’t clear she was injured. Suddenly a lot of blood came from her nose and she vomited. All of the family saw this – her little brothers were very scared. She had just been playing in the front of the house.”
This is a mother describing to us her daughter, 9-year-old Sammah as she came in to her home at 4pm after the Israeli army reportedly shelled and fired four bombs into and around a residential area in Beit Hanoun, Northern Gaza. She is now in a semi-critical condition in hospital, suffering extensive blood loss and very low haemoglobin. She was hit by shrapnel and ‘flechettes’ from a nail bomb that landed 100m away, causing internal bleeding to the chest, severe head trauma and nails embedded in her body. Shells containing flechettes are illegal under international law if fired into densely populated civilian areas and SamahEid El-Massry is one of four children injured in the attack yesterday, July 21st.
Two young men were killed: Mohammad Al-Kafarneh, 23, from severe shrapnel injuries in his back and chest and Kasim Al-Shinbary, 19, caused by injuries from nails embedded in his skull and shrapnel wounds to the back. It was unclear earlier whether they were resistance fighters or if they were civilians – the Israeli Occupation Force called them ‘militants’ – just as they called the four children, aged between 4 and 11, who were left hospitalised by their injuries ‘militants’. Their parents could be found weeping over their loved ones in Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City last night.
We first visited Haitham Thaer Qasem a four year old boy and a first and only child. He was sleeping on the hospital bed, occasionally gasping for breath through the strapping around his nose. He had suffered deep nasal trauma, and flechette darts from the nail bomb were still embedded in his tiny body, where they had pierced his back, right elbow and right leg. He was 200m from the impact of the bomb.
In his hospital ward his mother was standing to one side crying quietly and another relative at Haitham’s bedside explained what had happened.
“We had asked Haitham to get shopping for her from the market…then we heard the bombings and somebody came to our home and told our family that he was in the hospital and was injured in the bombing. We came quickly to the hospital.”

Four-year-old Haitham Thaer Qasem, injured by an Israeli nail bomb

 In a nearby ward we then visited 9-year-old Sammah Eid El-Massry who was in a worse state. The doctor told us she was in a ‘semi-critical’ condition with severe chest, head and abdominal pain. Her blood-loss was a major concern, arriving at the hospital with 7.5 haemoglobin levels, 4-6 below the normal levels, the problem exacerbated by the fact that she, like three of her brothers, already suffered from a blood condition known as Thalassemia for which the drug Exjade is in extremely short supply due to the Israeli blockade. She was clearly in pain and confused, trying to remove the nasal tubes. Her mother showed us the bandages on her chest.
“She was in a very bad condition when she arrived – it’s difficult for children and very traumatic to insert a chest tube. Very painful. Blood was mainly coming from the chest. We will have to perform surgery and we will further explore her abdominal pain”, the doctor tells us.
This is not the first time the family was attacked, Sammah’s 4-year-old brother Ryad Eid El-Massry was injured during Operation Cast Lead, the three week Israeli assault over the New Year of 2009 period, during which over 400 Palestinian children were killed.
“Our house was hit during the war, a neighbour sheltering inside was killed and our son suffered severe head injuries. He wasn’t able to access the care he needed and because of this his sight is now permanently damaged.”
As we left Sammah, she had begun to cry, moaning in serious discomfort and confusion. There were two more injured children in the hospital following the attack:  Azzam Mohammed El-Massry (aged 11) has a severely fractured left elbow and Ebrahim Wasseem El-Massry (aged 4) has light injuries to his abdomen.
It’s not just the siege. Criminal Israeli violence continues unabated, resulting in Palestinians in Gaza – children like Sammah, Haitham, Azzam and Ebrahim – and their families experiencing horrific pain and suffering. Last week it was the Abu Said family, attacked in their home on the border East of Gaza city; they lost Nema, a 33-year-old mother of five as she went outside to look frantically for her youngest son. Three more family members were also injured, again by the thousands of ‘flechette’ darts unleashed by the nail bomb assault. Many of these darts will remain permanently embedded in their bodies.
Palestinians remain incredulous to the idea of justice. They will remain so as long as they’re allowed to be dismissed as footnotes by those supporting, or blindly ignoring, what has happened to them and is being done to them. But those who meet them like we did yesterday will never forget what they go through. And people of conscience around the world are beginning to open their eyes instead of turning their backs and acting against these ongoing atrocities.

The Abu Said family house, scarred after a nail bomb attack.

Updated on July 22, 2010

PCHR weekly report 15/7 - 21/7/2010

extracts from PCHR weekly  report 15/7 - 21/7/2010

During the reporting period, IOF killed two activists of the Palestinian resistance and wounded eight civilians, including five children and a woman, in the Gaza Strip. 

In the Gaza Strip, on 21 July 2010, IOF killed two activists of the Palestinian resistance and wounded eight civilians, including five children and a woman, when they fired flechette shells at the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. 


In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted five limited incursions into Palestinian areas, during which they searched the areas. 

Thursday, 15 July 2010


At approximately 09:00, IOF moved nearly 400 meters into al-Qarara village, east of Khan Yunis. There they leveled areas of Palestinian land.

Saturday, 17 July 2010




At approximately 21:30, Israeli troops stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya fired three artillery shells at Abu Safiya area. No casualties were reported. 

Sunday, 18 July 2010  


At approximately 13:00, IOF moved nearly 500 meters into al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis, where they leveled areas of Palestinian land and fired at Palestinians in the area. No casualties were reported. 

Monday, 19 July 2010


At approximately 12:15, IOF moved nearly 400 meters into Bourat Abu Samra area in the north of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia. They leveled areas of Palestinian land and opened fire. They pulled back towards the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel at approximately 13:00 and no casualties were reported. 


At approximately 18:30, IOF moved nearly 400 meters into al-Shouka village, east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, where they leveled areas of Palestinian land. They then moved northward, where they leveled areas of previously-razed Palestinian land.

Wednesday, 21 July 2010


 

At approximately 12:15, IOF moved nearly 200 meters into al-Amal quarter in the northeast of the northern Gaza Strip of Beit Hanoun. They opened fire and leveled areas of previously-razed Palestinian land. At approximately 15:45, they fired two flechette shells at a group of activists of the Palestinian resistance. One activist was killed immediately and another was seriously wounded and died of his wounds a few hours later. The two Palestinian activist killed are as follows:

1. Mohammed Hatem al-Kafarna, 23; and

2. Qassem Mohammed Kamal al-Shanbari, 20. 

At the same time, IOF fired three flechette shells at various areas in Beit Hanoun. As a result, eight Palestinian civilians, including five children and a woman, were wounded:

1. Haitham Tha'er Qassem, 4, wounded by shrapnel to the head;

2. Samah 'Eid al-Masri, 9, seriously wounded by shrapnel to the chest and the head;

3. Ibrahim Wissam al-Masri, 6, wounded by shrapnel to the back;

4. 'Imad Taha al-Kafarna, 35, wounded by shrapnel to the right hand and the back;

Mohammed 'Azzam al-Masri, 9, sustained a fracture to the right hand when he fell down as he  was attempting to escape;

5. Shadia al-Kafarna, 35, wounded by shrapnel to the head;

6. Mohammed al-Za'anin, 30, wounded by shrapnel to left knee; and

7. Baraa' Rajab, 8, wounded in the head.

Five houses were also damaged.

Army Invades Khan Younis

Tuesday July 20, 2010 23:09 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli soldiers, accompanied by a number of armed vehicles, tanks, and military bulldozers, invaded on Tuesday evening Abasan Al Jadeeda town, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

File - Israeli Tank invading Gaza

The army fired rounds of live ammunition at a number of homes causing damage, no injuries.

Local sources reported that the invasion was carried out by five tanks, four armored bulldozers, and a number of armored vehicles.

The soldiers advanced 400 meters in Abasan Al Jadeeda and uprooted farmlands.

This invasion is one of several similar invasions and attacks targeting areas along the border.

Limited IOF incursion north Beit Lahyia

19-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. midday on Monday 19 June 2010, four Israeli tanks moved amid heavy fire about 400 meters inside the northern separation fence west of the Burit Abu Samra area, north of Beit Lahyia, in the North Gaza District. The sound of an explosion was heard in that area. At app. 1:20pm on the same day, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) withdrew from the area. No causalities or injuries were reported.

IOF incursion reported in Khan Younis

[ 19/07/2010 - 10:11 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in armored vehicles escorted bulldozers that combed land lots east of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, on Sunday night, witnesses said. They said that the IOF soldiers opened random fire at the civilians' homes in the area but no casualties were reported. The armed wing of Islamic Jihad movement, the Quds Brigades, announced its fighters fired five mortar shells at the advancing troops late last night. It affirmed that it would continue to resist any IOF incursion and vowed to maintain the resistance path until liberation of all occupied lands.

Al Mezan Condemns IOF Escalating its Attacks on Civilians Collecting Rubble, 27 Injured; 10 Children, since the Beginning of 2010

15-7-2010

Al Mezan 

59/2010

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) increased its attacks on Palestinian civilians who collect the rubble of the destroyed buildings and roads near the border fence between Gaza and Israel. Since the start of 2010, 27 persons have been injured; including ten children. Eight of the 27 were injured in July alone. The number of persons injured in 2010 has tripled since 2009 during which nine persons were injured.

According to Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights’ documentation, the IOF, which is positioned at the border fence, regularly opens fire on Palestinian civilians who collect rubble. Some of the attacks have occurred close to the border fence, while many other attacks occurred when civilians were as far as 800 meters from it. On many occasions, the IOF also opened fire on these civilians more than once during the same day. The IOF attacks have become a daily reality for these civilians.

Dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children, collect and remove rubble and gravel from structures located along the border fence inside what the IOF has declared as a “security buffer zone”. In effect, this zone extends up to one kilometer inside the Gaza Strip. The IOF claims it goes as deep as 300 meters. The collected rubble is sold to the brick factories which recycle it into bricks, or people to use for construction. Since last year’s offensive on Gaza, this has been the only source of construction materials needed for making bricks and concrete for construction that is available in the Gaza Strip, which suffers from acute shortage of materials due to the Israeli siege.

Al Mezan has documented the following violations against Palestinians who were collecting the rubble during the five day period from 10 to 15 July:

• At approximately 6:30am on Saturday 10 July 2010, the IOF opened fire at civilians collecting rubble as they were a few meters from the border fence. As a result, ‘Arafat Abdel Karem Sha’ban, 16, was injured in his left leg. According to medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital his injuries were moderate. Sha’ban was among a group of civilians collecting rubble from destroyed structures close to the border fence north of the Um An-Nasser village in North Gaza district.
• At approximately 6:30am on Saturday 10 July 2010, the IOF opened fire at Palestinian civilians who were 200 meters from the border fence near the evacuated settlement Eli Sinai, northwest of Beit Lahyia town in the North Gaza district. As a result, Nu'man Hasan As-Sous, 14, was injured in his right leg and Maher Fayiz Ghabin, 20, was injured in his right thigh. Medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital reported that their injuries were moderate.
• At approximately 9:20am on Monday 12 July 2010, the IOF opened fire at Palestinian civilians who were about 450 meters from the border fence in the vicinity of Erez Crossing. As a result, Mohammed Othman Al Kafarneh, 23, was shot in his left leg. His injuries were described as moderate.
• At approximately 7:30am on Wednesday 14 July 2010, the IOF opened fire at Palestinian civilians who were about 500 meters from the border fence in the vicinity of Erez Crossing. As a result, Ihmeed Ahmed ‘Ubaid, 13, was injured moderately in the shoulder.
• At approximately 8am on Thursday 15 July 2010, the IOF opened fire at Palestinian civilians who were 200 meters from the border fence near the evacuated settlement Eli Sinai, northwest of Beit Lahyia town in the North Gaza district. As a result, Mahdi Fayiz Mqatt, 19, was injured in the legs. Medical sources at Kamal Odwn Hospital described his injures as moderate.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli continuous and escalated attacks on Palestinian civilians near the border fence. These attacks come in the context of IOF’s accelerated attempts to enforce the security buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip. The IOF previously had killed Ahmed Sulaiman Salem Deeb, 19, when he was participating in a peaceful demonstration against this zone. Another seven solidarity activists were also injured; including the peace activist, Bianca Zimmit from Malta.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights calls on the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop its violations of human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

Al Mezan strongly deplores the continuous Israeli attacks against Palestinians even in the absence of any hostilities and when civilians pose no threat to the IOF. The IOF's attacks violate Israel’s legal obligations under IHL, particularly the principles of distinction and proportionality.

Al Mezan also calls on the international community to act against enforcing the security buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip. Like the separation Wall in the West bank, enforcing this zone means slicing large parts of the Palestinian land and forcibly displacing the farmers and other civilians who live and own land in that area. The international community should ensure respect for international law and take effective actions to protect civilians in the oPt.

IOF Fired Artillery Shells and Flares on east of Jabalia

17-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 9:35pm on Saturday 17 July 2010, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), positioned near  the separation fence, between Gaza and Israel, , fired flares and three artillery shells onto  agricultural land. The land is located near the separation fence east of the Islamic Martyrs cemetery, east of Jabalia, in the North Gaza District. No casualties or injuries were reported. 

IOF Opens Fire on Palestinian Civilians Collecting Rubble north Beit Lahyia; One Person Injured

15-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 8am on Thursday 15 July 2010, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), positioned at the northern separation fence border between Gaza and Israel, continued their sporadic fire on Palestinian civilians who were 200 meters away from the border fence near the Eli Sinai evacuated settlement northwest of Beit Lahyia, in North Gaza District. As a result, Mahdi Fayiz Mqat, 19, was shot in the legs. According to medical sources at Kamal Odwn Hospital, his injures are described as moderate.

PCHR weekly report 7/7 - 14/7/2010

extracts from PCHR weekly report 7/7 - 14/7/2010

A Palestinian was killed and three civilians, including two women, were wounded by IOF in the Gaza Strip. 

 IOF continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in border areas of the Gaza Strip.

Six Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted three limited incursions into Palestinian areas, during which they searched these area.  

 

 Thursday, 08 July 2010

At approximately 09:00, Israeli troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at Palestinian workers who were collecting construction aggregates from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" once stood. As a result, Nidal Sha'ban al-Hsoumi, 25, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the left foot and shrapnel to the right foot; he was approximately 500 meters away from the border when he was injured. 


Saturday, 10 July 2010  

At approximately 06:30, Israeli troops positioned on observation towers at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the Erez industrial zone. As a result, 'Arafat 'Abdul Karim Sha'ban, 16, from Jabalya town, was wounded by a bullet to the left ankle. 

Also at approximately 06:30, Israeli troops stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting construction aggregates from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" once stood. As a result, two workers, including a child, were wounded:

1. No'man Hassan al-Sous, 14, from Beit Lahia, wounded by a bullet to the right foot; and

2. Maher Fayez Ghanem, 20, wounded by a bullet to the right thigh. 

Sunday, 11 July 2010

At approximately 09:00, IOF moved nearly 300 meters into the east of al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. There they leveled areas of Palestinian land which they had previously been razed. They pulled back towards the border four hours later. 

Monday, 12 July 2010

At approximately 07:50, Mohammed 'Othman al-Kafarna, 23, from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, was admitted into Kamal 'Edwan Hospital in Beit Lahia after he was wounded by a bullet to the left foot. Al-Kafarna was wounded when Israeli troops stationed on observation towers at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing opened fire at Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials in the Erez industrial zone.

At approximately 10:00, IOF moved nearly 300 meters into al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis, where they opened fire and leveled areas of land. As a result, 'Ammar 'Abdul Mon'em 'Ammar, 26, was wounded by a bullet to the left foot when he was farming his land nearly 700 meters away from the border.

At approximately 14:00, IOF moved nearly 300 meters into the Bourat Abu Samara areas in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia. There they searched the area and opened fire. In the evening, IOF pulled back towards the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. No casualties were reported.

Tuesday, 13 July 2010

In the evening, IOF killed a Palestinian woman and wounded another three civilians (an elderly man and two women) of the same family, when their house was bombarded by artillery shells.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR and statements given by a member of the victims' family, at approximately 20:45 on Tuesday, 13 July 2010, a number of women from the Abu Sa'id family from Gaza Valley village, in the central Gaza Strip, were sitting near their home, which is approximately 400 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. At this time, Israeli troops stationed at the border fired two artillery shells at the house; the attack was unprovoked and the witness could think of no reason for the attack. As a result, Amira Jaber Abu Sa'id, 30, was wounded by shrapnel to the shoulder and her sister-in-law, Sana'a Ahmed Abu Sa'id, 26, was wounded by shrapnel to the feet. Members of the Abu Sa'id family phoned the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to send ambulances to the area. Ambulances arrived at the area fifteen minutes later, but were not able to reach the targeted house because IOF continued to fire on the area. The ambulances were forced to drive back to Deir al-Balah. Meanwhile, Ne'ma Yousef Abu Sa'id, 33, remembered that her three-year-old child was still outside the house. She went to find her child, and IOF fired a third shell at her. She was instantly killed by shrapnel to the head and the abdomen. Her father-in-law, Jaber Abu Sa'id, 65, was also wounded by shrapnel wounds to the right thigh. The family continued to call the PRCS. Approximately one and a half hours later a PRCS ambulance arrived at the scene after coordination with the Israeli authorities through the Palestinian Liaison Office. The ambulance transferred the victims to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al- Balah. Medical sources at the hospital affirmed that Ne'ma Abu Sa'id died of shrapnel wounds from an artillery shell. The wounds of the other persons were described as moderate.

 Wednesday, 14 July 2010

At approximately 08:00, Israeli troops stationed on observation towers at Bei Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the debris of destroyed buildings in Erez industrial zone. As a result, 14-year-old Hmaid Ahmed 'Obaid, from Beit Hanoun, was wounded by a bullet to the left elbow.

Israeli Forces Kill One Palestinian Woman and Wound Another Three Civilians, Including Two Women, in Central Gaza

Wednesday, 14 July 2010 10:00

PCHR
Ref: 60/2010

On Tuesday evening, 13 July 2010, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed a Palestinian woman and wounded another three civilians (an elderly man and two women), all of the same family, after bombarding their home with artillery shells. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns this crime, which constitute the highest degree of disregard for Palestinian civilians' lives. PCHR stresses that failure to open investigations into the actions of suspected Israeli soldiers officially encourages them to commit further crimes. 

According to investigations conducted by PCHR and statements given by a member of the victims' family, at approximately 20:45 on Tuesday, 13 July 2010, a number of women from the Abu Sa'id family from the Gaza Valley village, in the central Gaza Strip, were sitting near their house, which is approximately 400 meters from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. At this time, Israeli troops positioned at the border fired two artillery shells at the house; the troops were unprovoked and the witnesses could not suggest any reason for the attack. As a result, Amira Jaber Abu Sa'id, 30, was wounded by shrapnel to the shoulder and her sister-in-law, Sana'a Ahmed Abu Sa'id, 26, was wounded by shrapnel to the feet. Members of the Abu Sa'id family phoned the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to send ambulances to the area. Ambulances arrived at the area fifteen minutes later, but were unable to reach the targeted house because IOF continued to fire on the area. The ambulances were forced to drive back to Deir al-Balah. At this time, Ne'ma Yousef Abu Sa'id, 33, remembered that her three-year-old child was still outside the house. She went to find her child, but IOF fired a third shell at her. Ne'ma was killed instantly by shrapnel to the head and the abdomen. Her father-in-law, Jaber Abu Sa'id, 65, was also wounded by shrapnel wounds to the right thigh. The family continued to call the PRCS. Approximately one and a half hours later, a PRCS ambulance arrived at the scene after coordination with the Israeli authorities through the Palestinian Liaison Office. The ambulance transferred the dead woman and the wounded to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al- Balah. Medical sources at the hospital affirmed that Ne'ma Abu Sa'id died of shrapnel wounds from an artillery shell. The wounds of the other persons were described as moderate. 

PCHR condemns this crime, and:

1. Stresses that this crime is a part of a series of continuous crimes committed by IOF in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) with total disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians. 
2. Calls upon the international community to immediately intervene to stop such crimes, and calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War to fulfill their obligation under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, as well as their obligation under Article 146 to search for and prosecute those who are responsible for perpetrating grave breaches of the Convention as such breaches constitute war crimes according to Article 147 of the Convention and the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I).

IOF Opens Fire on a Residential House; Woman Killed and Others Injured; Al Mezan Condemns the Attack and Calls on the International Community to Intervene

14-7-2010

Al Mezan 

At approximately 8:30pm on Tuesday 13 July 2010, Israeli occupation forces (IOF), positioned at the separation fence east of Gaza Valley, south east of Gaza City, fired three artillery shells on a residential house. As a result, a woman was killed and two other women were injured as well as the landlord. The house belongs to Jabir Ismail E'alian Abu Sa'eed, 64. 

In his affidavit to Al Mezan, the landlord said that at approximately 8:30pm on Tuesday 13 July 2010, he was sitting outside his house when he heard an explosion near his house. He ran inside the house. Then he heard another two consecutive explosions and gun shots.

As a result of the attack, Ni'meh Yousif Abu Sa'eed (An-Nabaheen), 32, was killed as she sustained injures in the head, the front side of the abdomen and cuts in the thighs. She was injured while she was looking for her children around the house. Sa'eed was married and had five children. Three other persons were also injured in the attack. Al Mezan identified their names as follows:

·         Sanaa’ Ahmed Abu Sa'eed (Abu Maraheel), 25, who is married and has two children, sustained injuries in the lower parts of her body;

·         Amira Jabir Abu Sa'eed, 30, who sustained injuries in the right shoulder; and  

·         Jaber Abu Sa'eed, the landlord who sustained injuries in the right thigh.

 The house was also physically damaged as a result of the attack.  

The house which was attacked is located south east of the Gaza Valley cemetery. It is 400 meters away from the eastern separation fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Al Mezan believes that the location of the house is an important reason for its attack as the house is located in an area which the IOF usually attacks as part of enforcing the security buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip. The IOF hindered, as usually in this area, the arrival of ambulances to evacuate the injured persons. Ambulances waited for almost an hour and a half until the International Committee of the Red Cross coordinated with the Israeli side to allow them to enter the area and to evacuate the injured to Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir Al Balah.  

Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the continuous Israeli flagrant violations of human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL). Al Mezan deplores the continuous Israeli attacks against Palestinians even when they are not in the security buffer zone and there are no acts of hostility in the area. The IOF's attacks violate its legal obligations under IHL, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention and the principles of discrimination and proportion.

Al Mezan calls on the international community to promptly intervene to stop the IOF from enforcing the security buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip. Enforcing the security buffer zone means taking up considerable parts of the Palestinian lands and forcibly displacing the Palestinians who live in that area. Al Mezan also calls on the international community to take prompt actions to ensure due protection of Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). 

Ends

Rights groups investigate Israeli fire death

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Investigations by two rights groups in Gaza found the death of a woman on Tuesday was caused by Israeli fire, in an incident that the Israeli military has yet to comment on.

A document with sworn affidavits and a second report based on an independent investigation were released by two Gaza rights organizations on Wednesday, and both said the death 32-year-old Ni'meh Yousif Abu Sa'eed An-Nabaheen was caused by fire from soldiers manning the unilaterally-declared buffer zone on the Gaza border.

At the time, an Israeli military spokesman said he was unfamiliar with the report of the deaths, said he would look into the report but did not respond further.

In its initial report, Ma'an quoted medics saying that one woman was killed and five others injured, while the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights as well as the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said three others were injured.

The Al-Mezan report said the home targeted by Israeli fire belonged to Jabir Ismail, who told rights workers that he was sitting outside his house when he heard an explosion nearby. He said he got up and heard an additional two blasts.

According to PCHR Israeli troops positioned at the border fired two artillery shells at the house, then later fired a third round. The report said "the troops were unprovoked and the witnesses could not suggest any reason for the attack."

An-Nabaheen was said to have been killed after she sustained head wounds as well as injuries to the abdomen. The Al-Mezan report said she was outside the home looking for her five children.

In its report, PCHR said the incident "constitute[s] the highest degree of disregard for Palestinian civilians' lives [and]... stresses that failure to open investigations into the actions of suspected Israeli soldiers officially encourages them to commit further crimes."

The rights groups identified the others injured in the incident as:
Sanaa’ Ahmed Abu Sa'eed (Abu Maraheel), 25
Amira Jabir Abu Sa'eed, 30
Jaber Abu Sa'eed, 65

The reports said that the home, 400 meters away from the no-go-zone, was physically damaged in the incident, and said that continued Israeli fire prevented a Red Crescent ambulance from accessing the scene.

The first ambulance could not access the home, and turned back to Gaza City, the PCHR report said, noting a second ambulance arrived an hour and a half after the first, and was permitted to pass due to "coordination with the Israeli authorities through the Palestinian Liaison Office."

IOF shelling kills Palestinian woman, injures seven others

[ 14/07/2010 - 08:24 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian woman was killed and seven other civilians injured when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened artillery fire at central Gaza Strip at a late hour on Tuesday night. Dr. Muwiaya Hasanein, the director of ambulance and emergency, told the PIC that Nima Al-Nabahin, 46, was killed in the shelling that targeted residential neighborhoods east of Breij refugee camp. He said that the casualties were evacuated to the Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital where their conditions were described as moderate to serious. The shelling followed an IOF incursion into the area, Hasanein said. IOF troops blocked arrival of ambulance vehicles to the scene of the incursion, which left the woman unattended and later arrived in hospital a dead body.

IOF shoots a child in Gaza

Gaza, July 14, (Pal Telegraph) A child was shot by Israeli occupation forces today near the Beit Hanoun crossing in northern Gaza Strip.
The director of emergency sector in Gaza’s hospitals, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, said that the child Ahmaid Ahmed Obaid (13 years) was shot in the hand, following the open fire that was conducted by Israeli soldiers when they fired a hail of bullets at workers collecting scrap metal near the crossing.
He pointed out that the child was taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital for medical procedures needed.
Life’s hardship and difficult economic conditions push residents of the Gaza Strip, including boys to collect scrap and aggregates in areas near to the border to sell them and provide a living for themselves and their families, risking their lives.

Limited IOF Incursion North Beit Lahyia

12-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 2pm on Monday 12 July 2010, seven Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved about 350 meters inside the Burat Abu Samra area, north Beit Lahyia in the North Gaza District. Bulldozers leveled lands that had been frequently razed before. At app. 6pm on the same day, the Israeli occupation forces withdrew from the area. No casualties or injuries were reported.   

IOF Open Fire on Palestinian Civilians Collecting Rubble in North Gaza; One Person Injured

12-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 9:20am on Monday 12 July 2010, Israeli occupation forces positioned at the northern separation fence opened sporadic fire on Palestinian civilians who were 450 meters away from the separation fence. As a result, Mohammed Othman Al Kafarna, 23, was shot in the left leg. According to medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital, his injuries are described as moderate. These civilians were collecting rubble from the destroyed buildings in the vicinity of Erez crossing.

IOF Continues to Attack Palestinian Civilians Collecting Rubble; Two Persons Injured

10-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 6:30am on Saturday 10 July  2010, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), positioned at the northern separation fence  between Gaza and Israel, continued their sporadic fire on Palestinian civilians. Palestinian civilians   were 200 meters away from the border fence near the Eli Sinai evacuated settlement northwest of Beit Lahyia, in North Gaza District. As a result, Ni'man Hasan As-Sous, 14, was shot in the right leg and Maher Fayiz Ghabin, 20, was injured. According to medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital, their injuries are described as moderate

IOF Open Fire on Palestinian Civilians Collecting Rubble; One Person Injured

8-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 9:15am on Thursday 8 July 2010, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), positioned at the northern separation fence  between Gaza and Israel, continued their sporadic fire on Palestinian civilians. The Palestinian civilians  were 500 meters away from the border fence near the Eli Sinai evacuated settlement northwest of Beit Lahyia, in North Gaza District. As a result, Nidal Sha'ban Al Husomi, 25, who lives in Beit Hanoun was shot in the right leg. According to medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital, his injuries are described as moderate.

PCHR weekly report 1/7 - 6/7/2010

extracts from PCHR weekly report 1/7 - 6/7/2010 

Israeli forces continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in border areas of the Gaza Strip and fishermen at sea. 

- Two children were injured, one of them at sea and the other while collecting raw construction materials. 

 Monday, 05 July 2010

At approximately 13:00, Israeli forces positioned on observation towers near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials. On of the workers, Ahmed Nafez Khader Hamdan, 13, from Beit Hanoun, was wounded by a bullet in the abdomen as a result. Ahmed was approximately 700 meters far from the border when he was shot. His brother Hazem, 21, carried him to the Customs Checkpoints of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, which is located approximately 1,700 meters to the south of Beit Hanoun crossing. Ahmed was then transported by an ambulance to Kamal Odwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. 

Doctors in Kamal Odwan Hospital reported that the bullet hit Ahmed's colon and caused blood to gather in the back. They also reported that the nerves of Ahmed's back may be affected as Ahmed was suffering from severe pains in the left foot. Doctors at the hospital described Ahmed's wounds as moderate. It should be noted that during the firing the horse which Ahmed and his brother Hazem used to arrive at the sight was killed.