PCHR weekly report 23/9 - 29/9/2010: 2 workers injured by IOF fire, 1 incursion

 extracts from PCHR weekly report 23/9 - 29/9/2010:

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

- Two workers were wounded.

During the reporting period, two Palestinian workers were wounded when Israeli troops stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel fired at them while collecting raw construction materials. 

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted one limited incursion into al-Qarara village, east of Khan Yunis. They leveled areas of Palestinian land.  

At approximately 11:20 on Sunday, 26 September 2010, Israeli soldiers stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of 'Abassan village, east of Khan Yunis town in the southern Gaza Strip, fired at dozens of Palestinian civilians who organized a peaceful demonstration against the establishment of a security fence at the border. As a result, Suleiman Ziad Abu 'Anza, 20, was seriously wounded by a bullet to the abdomen.

 Monday, 27 September 2010 


At approximately 08:30, IOF moved nearly 400 meters into the east of al-Qarara village, south of Khan Yunis town in the southern Gaza Strip. They leveled areas of Palestinian land along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. They withdrew from the area at 15:00. 

Tuesday, 28 September 2010


At approximately 07:45, Israeli soldiers stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of Beit Lahia town fired at a number of Palestinian workers, who were collecting raw construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Fadi 'Essam Tanboura, 21, from Beit Lahia, who is deaf, was wounded by a bullet to the right thigh. 

Wednesday, 29 September 2010



At approximately 08:00, Israeli soldiers stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the north of Beit Lahia town fired at a number of Palestinian workers, who were collecting raw construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Mohammed Yousef Ma'rouf, 23, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the left foot.

Medics: Israeli tanks shell Gaza overnight

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli artillery shelling was reported overnight Tuesday in two Gaza districts near the border area, medics told Ma'an.

Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Silmiyya said tanks stationed along the northern border close to the Karni crossing opened fire toward homes, reporting no injuries.

Abu Silmiyya also said tanks opened fire at homes east of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the Joher Ad-Dik neighborhood, again reporting no injuries.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the Israeli army was not familiar with either incident.

Gazans rally against buffer zone

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Marking the 10th anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Gaza's Popular Committee organized a rally to voice dissent against Israel's separation wall in the West Bank and no-go zone in Gaza.

Marching toward the border area, through an Israeli-declared "buffer zone" that reaches up to one kilometer in width according to UN surveys, demonstrators said several young men managed to install a Palestinian flag on a gate in the border fence.

Popular Committee coordinator Mahmoud Az-Zaq said the event was a chance to reflect on the Al-Aqsa Intifada, and realize that there are options beyond peace talks to confront the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

"It is impossible to talk about a peace and a political track under this settlement blitz," he said, calling for factional unity for Palestinians and a uniting of national goals and strategies.

Fatah official Zakarieyah Al-Agha, who participated in the rally, took the gathering as an opportunity to speak to protesters, calling on the Palestinian leadership to request that the Arab Follow-up Committee to mandate an end to peace talks.

"There must be no talks with continued settlements," he said, adding that national conciliation was the next logical step in achieving a Palestinian state.

Israeli forces injure worker in northern Gaza

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian worker was injured by Israeli fire on Wednesday near the northern no-go area in Beit Lahiya.

Medical services spokesman Adham Abu Silmiyya said Muhammad Yousif Ma'rouf, 23, was injured as he collected scrap in the area.

Ma'rouf was transferred to the Kamal Odwan Hospital for treatment.

A spokeswoman for Israel's army said a force in the area identified "four suspects" approaching the area, calling on them to leave and firing warning shots. The representative said they failed to leave the area, and the force opened fire at their feet, identifying a hit.

On Tuesday, a Palestinian worker collecting stone aggregates near Gaza's northern border was injured when Israeli forces stationed near the Erez crossing opened fire.

The worker said he was collecting rubble from an evacuated settlement before the incident.

Palestinian worker injured in IOF shooting

extract from PIC article

GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian worker was hit with an Israeli bullet while collecting debris in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, medical sources reported.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman of the military medical services, told the PIC that Mohammed Marouf, 23, was hit with a bullet in his foot.
He added that the young man was taken to hospital with a light to moderate injury.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) daily target Palestinian workers in northern areas of Gaza and more often than not inflict casualties.

Medics: Gaza worker shot at northern border

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A Palestinian worker collecting stone aggregates near Gaza's northern border was injured Tuesday when Israeli forces stationed near the Erez crossing opened fire.

The worker said he was collecting rubble from an evacuated settlement before the incident.

Palestinian medical services official Adham Abu Silmiyya identified the victim as 21-year-old Fadi Tamboura from the northern Gaza Strip. The official said Tamboura was being treated for a gunshot wound to the right thigh at the Kamal Udwan Hospital in Jabalia

An Israeli military spokesman soldiers had identified a man approaching the border area, fired warning shots toward him, and when he did not retreat, soldiers aimed at the lower body of the man and "identified a direct hit."

Palestinian citizen wounded in IOF shooting

[ 28/09/2010 - 11:12 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian civilian was hit with a bullet in his right thigh on Tuesday when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stationed near Erez crossing fired at him. Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for the military medical services, told the PIC that Fadi Tanbura, in his twenties, was rushed to hospital in light to moderate condition. Many Palestinians have being either killed or wounded in similar incidents, which became routine practice on the part of the IOF troops deployed around the Gaza Strip borders with 1948 occupied Palestine.

Three protests in Gaza: Israeli sniper shoots Palestinian man, leaving him in critical condition

Posted on ISM webpage: September 27, 2010

A 20-year-old Palestinian man, Sliman Abu Hanza, is in a critical condition in hospital after being shot in the abdomen with a ‘dum dum’ bullet at a demonstration in Al-Faraheen, Khan Younis, on Sunday.
The injury was inflicted during one of three non-violent demonstrations which took place on Sunday; in Beit Hanoun, Maghazi and Faraheen near Khan Younis – four members of the International Solidarity Movement also attended. The explode-on-impact ‘dum-dum’ bullet which hit Abu Hanza is the same type that was shot into the leg of Ahmed Deeb, 20, during a demonstration in Nahal Oz in April this year – severing his femeral artery and killing him.
All three demonstrations occurred at locations that have seen frequent protests against the Israeli-imposed ‘buffer zone’. This large area of land, along the Gazan side of the border, makes 35% of Gaza’s arable land, inaccessible to farmers because of the dangers of Israeli fire. The devastating effects on farmers and fisherman of these additional restrictions are outlined in a recent United Nations and World Food Programme report: ‘Between the fence and a hard place’ (opens as pdf).
The protests on Sunday targeted Israel’s continuous settlement building, which is in violation of international law and is further used to annex Palestinian land, a key tactic that accompanies the relentless ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs from the region. Organiser and National Committee Secretary A’tah Abu Zarqa said the rallies were organised to show Palestinians’ vehement opposition to the Israeli policies that have expropriated Palestinian land on a continuous basis since Israel was created in 1948 on the ruins of Palestinian refugees. He said that the international community should never accept Israel’s attempts to unilaterally change the geography and demography of Palestine and that in light of this, Abbas should withdraw from negotiations immediately.
At the demonstrations in the Beit Hanoun and Maghazi, although live ammunition was used by Israeli occupation forces in the latter, there were no reported injuries. The demonstration in Maghazi was the first there since three protesters were shot and injured 5 months ago, including the International Solidarity Movement activist Bianca Zammit.
In Faraheen. over 200 people attended the demonstration, which began as a procession towards the border with speeches and chanting, and a large women’s group was also present. A group of young men headed towards the border fence, still on Palestinian land. Sliman and a friend Kamal, also 20, planted flags near to the border fence. Kamal described what happened:
“I was with Sliman and we both put a flag near to the fence – just a flag. When the Israel Jeeps came they opened fired on us and I ran back for cover in a ditch. Suddenly I saw Sliman shot in his abdomen. It was clear it was a single shot intended to hit him. I helped carry him back over the fields with many others. He lives in the area near to the border.”
One of the major concerns for Sliman is the fact that he had to be carried over 500 metres across fields by many of the other demonstrators and then driven off in a ‘Tuk Tuk’ bike trailer to reach medical attention. This way of transporting casualties echoed the horrific scenes during the 3 week Israeli assault on Gaza over the New Year of 2009 when over 1400 people were killed including over 400 children. Because the medical services were so overwhelmed – and were often shot at when approaching the injured – many of the casualties were transported in the boots of cars or on donkey carts. A Press TV team captured the protest on film and interviewed ISM activist Adie Mormech about the shooting.
According to the Doctors at Europa hospital where he was taken, Sliman suffered extensive internal damage to his abdomen, 3 injuries to the small bowel, the left iliac vein, rectum and some intestinal damage. He has had a series of operations been given blood transfusions – the next 24 hours are crucial. Like Ahmed Deeb, the immediate threat to his life was from loss of blood sustained from his injuries. When ISM volunteers left the hospital after visiting Sliman yesterday, he was in a critical but stable condition and was about to be moved to the intensive care unit.
Sliman is another victim of the frequent attacks on civilians near to the border, many of which ended in fatalities such as the three farm workers killed in Beit Hanoun two weeks ago, and last Friday the fisherman Mohamed Bakri killed only 2 miles out at sea by an Israeli Gunship, a month before his wedding.
Besides the crippling and internationally condemned siege, Palestinian life in Gaza is littered with such tragedy, lives ended in a flicker in accordance with the whims of the Israeli sniper on duty and who he or she chooses for execution. If Sliman survives his injuries, he’s sure to join the thousands of Palestinians who must continue the rest of their imprisonment in the Gaza ghetto with permanent debilitating disabilities.
Despite this, people continue to demonstrate in large numbers across Gaza, preferring to face Israeli violence with nothing but flags and a desire to walk on their land, despite the risks that this shooting – all too common a story – exemplifies.

Updated on September 27, 2010

IOF Limited Incursion East of Wadi As-Salqa Village Disrupts Olive Harvest

27-9-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 5:30pm on Sunday 26 September 2010, two Israeli tanks and two bulldozers moved about 150 meters inside the fields in east of the Wadi As-Salqa Village. The village is in Middle Gaza district. The force withdrew in the early morning hours on Monday 27 September 2010. No gun fire was reported during this incursion. With the start of the olive harvest season, residents of areas that are located near the southern separation fence; especially in the east of the Al Buriej and Al Maghazi refugee camps and the Wadi As-Salqa Village, have been facing difficulties working in their fields due to the frequent IOF incursions into their lands.

IOF Limited Incursion east of Khan Younis

27-9-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 8am on Monday 27 September 2010, Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved around 300 meters to the southeast of Al Qarara town, in the east of Khan Younis district. Bulldozers leveled agricultural land that had been razed previously. At app. 2pm on the same day, the Israeli force withdrew from that area.

Hamas source: Israeli incursion near Khan Younis

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Several Israeli military vehicles crossed the Gaza border near Al-Qarara in the southern district of Khan Younis on Monday, a Gaza government security source told Ma'an.

The source said three thanks, three bulldozers and a troop carrier entered Gaza through the Kissufim gate and began combing the area. "The invading troops opened fire toward Palestinian land and no injuries have been reported."
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she would look into the report.
On Sunday, Israeli forces shot a Palestinian near Khan Younis at one of several peaceful anti-settlement protests held in Gaza as the rally approached the imposed buffer zone.
The injured was described as in critical condition after being shot as he tried to place a Palestinian flag on the border area, which Israel considers a live combat zone.

Limited IOF incursion in Gaza

extract of PIC article

GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in armored vehicles entered east of Khan Younis on Monday and bulldozed cultivated land lots, PIC reporter said.

He said that the soldiers were firing intermittently at civilian houses and property in the area as they erected sand barriers.

Palestinian man shot during peaceful anti-wall march south of Gaza

[ 26/09/2010 - 12:16 PM ]

KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- A Palestinian man was shot by Israeli troops east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources said on Sunday.
A 20-year-old man was shot in the torso by Israeli soldiers stationed at the east Khan Younis city line while participating in a peaceful march against the separation wall in the town of Absan east of Khan Younis, Palestinian medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya told the Palestinian Information Center.
Sources said he was taken to the hospital for treatment while in moderate condition.
The march, which was kicked off by the popular campaign against the wall blockade, was set off in part by representatives of the national labor committee, foreign supporters, and dozens of Palestinians.
In a separate incident, Israeli forces cracked down on an anti-settlement march in the south Nablus town of Burin on Sunday. Several Palestinians sustained minor suffocation after inhaling tear gas soldiers fired at them.
The army fired stun grenades and gas at marchers as the military declared the town of Burin a closed military zone.
Burin residents stage the weekly march to voice out against settler attacks and Israel’s seizure of the village’s land to expand settlement areas.

Palestinian shot at anti-settlement rallies in Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian at one of several peaceful anti-settlement protests held in Gaza on Sunday, rally organizers said.

Gaza's National Action Committee organized rallies in Al-Faraheen, east of Khan Younis in the southern Strip and in Al-Maghazi in central Gaza. A third rally headed to the separation wall north of the coastal enclave.
The Israeli army opened fire on the rally in Al-Faraheen, and one protester was seriously injured when soldiers shot him as he tried to place a Palestinian flag on the separation fence, organizers said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said forces opened fire on protesters in the area as they approached the fence, which the Israeli military considers a combat zone. Demonstrators failed to respond to warning shots, she said, after which soldiers fired at the protesters' feet, injuring one.
Committee secretary A'tah Abu Zarqa said the rallies were organized to show the international community that Palestinians opposed Israel's settlement policy which confiscated lands, and attempted to change the geography and demography of Palestine.
Abu Zarqa said settlement activity would directly affect negotiations, and that peace in the Middle East could not be reached while Israel continued building on occupied land.
A 10-month slowdown in settlement expansion expired on Sunday, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far ignored requests from Palestinian negotiators, the UN, US and EU to extend restrictions.
President Mahmoud Abbas said he would walk out of peace negotiations, recently resumed after a 20-month hiatus, if Israeli did not extend the freeze on construction.
As the freeze expired, Israeli settlers installed mobile homes on Palestinian land near Bethlehem, and laid foundations for a new school at an illegal outpost near Hebron. On Saturday, settlers installed 20 caravans on a hilltop outside the Revava settlement in the northern West Bank.
In light of the resumed construction, Abu Zarqa called on President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from talks, and asked the international community to pressure Israel to approve Palestinians' right to establish a state.
Palestine Peoples' Party representative Nafeth Ghuneim called for greater conciliation efforts to restore national, and said that if land confiscation continued, through settlement expansion and the imposition of a buffer zone along Gaza's border, there would no Palestinian land left to negotiate for.

IOF soldiers shoot at Rafah farmers

[ 21/09/2010 - 05:48 PM ]

RAFAH, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened machinegun fire at Palestinian farmers and shepherds near Gaza airport to the east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, eyewitnesses reported. They said that the IOF shooting was indiscriminate and intensive and aimed at citizens in the area, adding that no casualties were reported. IOF troops daily raid or shell those areas in a bid to hamper tunnel smuggling other than destroying cultivated land.

Daily Incursions into North Gaza District; IOF Expands Base East of Cemetery

20-9-2010

Al Mezan

At approximately 8am on Monday 13 September 2010, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) started unusually active works in the vicinity of its military site on the separation fence northeast of the Gaza Strip. The military site is located east to the Islamic Martyrs Cemetery in Jabalia town. Eight Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers moved about 250 meters inside the Gaza Strip. Bulldozers leveled lands in that area and made sand mounds to cover the IOF activities there. At approximately 5pm on the same day, the IOF withdrew from the area. Similar activities were carried out in this area over the past seven days, starting on 14 September 2010.



According to Al Mezan's field investigations, the IOF incursions were expanded, reaching over 300 meters inside the same area. These incursions aimed at expanding the military site, which included erecting a large gate on the separation fence in the same military site. Israeli tanks and bulldozers were still working in the area when this piece of news was being drafted.

Medics: Gaza resident injured by Israeli fire

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A Palestinian was injured on Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire while he collected aggregate near the border area in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, medical sources told Ma'an.

The source said Nader Ghubun, 23, was injured in his right leg during the incident and was transferred to the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said she would look into the report.

The Israeli imposed buffer zone around Gaza, estimated to annex up to 20 percent of the Strip's arable land, is considered a live combat zone by the Israeli army, which bars Palestinian access to the area.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military is conducting an investigation into the killing of three Gaza shepherds last Sunday in northern Gaza, including a 91-year old, his grandson and a teenager.

Following a Ma'an inquiry, Brig.-Gen. Eyal Eisenberg said in a statement that while the investigations into the incident have not yet concluded "we understand from a re-creation that we undertook that the three casualties were not involved in act of terror."

An Israeli military spokesman said at the time that forces identified a number of suspects attempting to fire an RPG toward an Israeli position in the Beit Hanoun area. He said forces fired on the Palestinians, apparently hitting them. The RPG, the army said, had been left behind "by a terrorist cell."

Palestinian worker wounded in IOF shooting

[ 19/09/2010 - 11:27 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian citizen was wounded on Sunday morning when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired at him north of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip. Adham Abu Salmiya, a spokesman for the military medical services, told the PIC that Nader Ghaban, 23, was working in collecting debris of destroyed buildings when the IOF soldiers shot and wounded him. He added that Ghaban was in a stable condition, describing his injuries as moderate. The IOF troops regularly target Palestinian workers in this area where a number of them were killed and others were wounded.

IOF Injures Civilian Collecting Rubble North of the Bedouin Village

19-9-2010

Al Mezan

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued to fire at Palestinian civilians who collect rubble and scrap from the destroyed structures near the separation fence between gaza and Israel. At approximately 6:30am on Sunday 19 September 2010, the IOF opened fire at a group of Palestinian civilians who were collecting rubble close to the fence. As a result, Nader Ismail Ali Ghaben, 23, who is a resident of Beit Lahyia town, was injured in the right leg. According to medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital, his injuries were moderate. The incident took place north of the Bedouin village in North Gaza district.

Cases of children shot by IOF close to the Green Line

16 September 2010 Voices from the Occupation Arafat S. (16) was shot in his ankle whilst collecting building material 50 metres from the border in Gaza.

15 September 2010 Voices from the Occupation Ibrahim K. (16) was shot in the right leg whilst collecting building material 400 metres from the border in Gaza.

08 September 2010 Voices from the Occupation Abdullah M. (16) was shot above the right ankle whilst collecting building material 60 metres from the border in Gaza.

Gaza deaths protest comes under heavy live fire from Israeli snipers

15 September 2010 | ISM Gaza
Over 100 rounds of live ammunition were fired at peaceful protesters in a Tuesday demonstration in the Gaza strip. The protest at the Erez border area near Beit Hanoun yesterday included Palestinian activists from the Local Initiative group, local residents and 4 members of the International Solidarity Movement who marched into the site of the recent fatal Israeli incursion. The demonstrators had a view of the area where only a few days earlier, a Grandfather Ibrahim Abu Sayed and his 17 year-old grandson were killed by Israeli tank shelling.



The peaceful demonstration was joined by several young Palestinians, who were also protesting their right to their land, much of which is now lost or out of bounds by the Israeli imposed “buffer-zone.” This buffer-zone is 300 metres wide and stretches along the entire border fence on the frontier with Israel. According to the recent United Nations Report “Between the Fence and a Hard Place” the violence used to restrict Palestinians from accessing their land covers areas up to 1500m from the border fence, meaning that over 35% of Gaza’s most agricultural land is in a high risk area causing severe losses of food production and livelihoods.
On a previous demonstration, the activists had managed to partly remove a barbed wire fence, which had prevented them from entering their own farm land. This was met by an Israeli incursion days later, in which tanks and bulldozers unearthed a huge trench in front of the fence, about one kilometre long, three meters deep and two meters wide.
Having marched to the wire fence, 100 metres from the border wall, the demonstrators chanted and waved flags, planting one Palestinian flag beyond the wire fence. They had brought shovels and begun to refill the trench, when the Israel army suddenly opened fire around them. Under heavy shooting with life ammunition, the participants stood their ground, communicating through a megaphone, some crouching low for cover amidst the gunfire that came within 5 metres.
“We attend these demonstration because of the huge border area that takes Palestinian land”, eighteen year-old Hussam told us. “We don’t want it to be separated from our own land, it’s farmland and people are killed for trying to harvest it. Because of that we came to make them feel secure again.”
The shooting created an atmosphere of terror and fear among the demonstrators, as they had no safe place to hide around in the forcibly neglected area. Nevertheless they managed to hold up their message to the world: “Boycott Israel”. The ongoing attacks against civilians in the buffer zone, destroying livelihoods and wiping out land, have continued for too long despite the awareness of the criminally silent international community.
“We call upon the International community not to stay idle any more, but to take their responsibility to stop the ongoing crimes against humanity, and the violation of International law”, Saber Al Za’anin, the General Coordinator of the Local Initiative stated.
The security situation in the area has been deteriorating. The three innocent civilians were murdered about 700 meters away from the fence while doing their daily check on their land and animals which graze next to the remains of his former home. They were killed instantly, Ibrahim suffered severe shrapnel injuries to his face, chest and stomach and his grandson Hossam had the back of his head blown away.
The Abu Sayed family had been victims of the violent attacks in the “buffer-zone” for decades, culminating in their death. The last decade had been the hardest as their house was destroyed in 2000 by Israeli bulldozers and their rebuilt house destroyed in the 3-week Israeli war on Gaza over the New Year of 2009 that killed a further 1400 Palestinians.
While all the inhabitants of Gaza are victims of Israel’s ‘collective punishment’, a crime against humanity according to article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (of which Israel is a signatory), these people are the latest to be murdered with complete impunity.
Today’s demonstration, met with the same violence, was a message to the world which shows the unbreakable public resistance. “We will keep supporting the farmers here, who are suffering from ongoing attacks on their land, olive trees, thyme and lives, despite the terrorist power we are facing”, announced Saber Al Za’ain.
“We are going to return back to our farms and hold on to our rights on this land.”

Photos from the demonstration in Beit Hanoun 14-9-2010

PCHR weekly report 8/9 - 15/9/2010: 3 civilians including 2 children killed in northern Gaza Strip, 2 incursions

extracts from PCHR weekly report 8/9 - 15/9/2010:


Friday, 10 September 2010


At approximately 22:00, Israeli troops stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at agricultural areas to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip. They also fired 4 flash bombs at the area. Shooting at the area lasted for approximately 45 minutes. No casualties or damages were reported. 


Sunday, 12 September 2010 


In a new crime and that included excessive use of lethal force, in the evening, IOF killed three Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza Strip: an old man; his grandchild and another child. The victims were killed when IOF fired five shells towards a group of Palestinian farmers and shepherds in Abu 'Eida land in the northeast of Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip. The attack resulted into killing about 30 sheep as well.

According to investigations conduced by PCHR, at approximately 16:45 on Sunday, 12 September 2010 (the third day of Eid al-Fitr), IOF stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast of Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip fired five shells towards a group of Palestinian farmers and shepherds, who were on Abu 'Eida land, 600 meters away from the border, in the northeast of Beit Hanoun. As a result, three persons were killed in the area; an old man and two children, including his grandson. They are:

1. Ibrahim Abdullah Mousa Abu Es'ayed, 91, from Block 7 in Jabalya refugee camp, hit by shrapnel to different parts of his body;

2. Hosam Khaled Ibrahim Abu Es'ayed, 16, from Block 7 in Jabalya refugee camp, hit by shrapnel to different parts of his body; and

3. Isma'il Waleed Mohammed Abu 'Oda, 17, from al-Amal neighborhood in Beit Hanoun, beheaded by shrapnel.

According to PCHR's investigations, the old man, Abu Es'ayed, daily heads to the area where the crime took place to graze sheep and farm that land, which was abandoned years ago and was bulldozed by IOF several times during al-Aqsa Intifada. The said old man took his grandson, Hosam, to assist him in grazing. Hosam met his friend, Abu 'Oda, on a land belonging to the latter's uncle, Mohammed Abu 'Oda. At approximately 16:45, five shells were fired at the farmers and shepherds. Following the sound of shelling, Palestinian ambulances headed to the area and found two bodies belonging to the old man Abu Es'ayed and Abu 'Oda, whose head has not been found so far. The two bodies were transported to Beit Hanoun Hospital. At approximately 17:15 of the same day, some persons informed medical crews about a body in the area close to the crime's scene. The ambulances headed to area and found the body of the child Abu Es'ayed, and then transported the victim to Beit Hanoun Hospital.

In addition, 30 sheep were killed, as Abu Es'ayed and his grandson were going to graze them in the area. 

Tuesday, 14 August 2010

At approximately 14:00, IOF moved nearly 300 meters into Gaza Valley village in the central Gaza Strip. They leveled areas of Palestinian land, which they had already razed. At approximately 17:00, IOF fired 4 artillery shells at an area located 600 meters away from the stormed area. As a result, a member of the Palestinian resistance was seriously wounded. Additionally, some electricity wires were cut, and 3 windows of two stores belonging to the Municipality of Gaza were broken.

Wednesday, 15 September 2010

At approximately 09:00, IOF moved nearly 400 meters into al-Fukhari area in the southeast of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis. They leveled areas of Palestinian land along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. They pulled back towards the border 4 hours later.

Another Israeli Limited Incursion into the Wadi Gaza Village

15-9-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 9am on Wednesday 15 September 2010, four Israeli tanks and two armored bulldozers moved about 300 meters into the northeast of the Wadi Gaza Village. Bulldozers leveled land in the area. The forces took position in the vicinity of the solid waste dump and withdrew at 5:30pm on the same day. 

In the same context, at app. 2pm on Tuesday 14 September 2010, two Israeli tanks and three armored bulldozers moved about 300 meters into the west of the same village. The force took position near the same dump. At app. 5pm on the same day, the force, backed by two helicopters and a reconnaissance drone, fired four artillery shells at the village. As a result, one person was critically injured. Stores belonging to the Gaza municipality in north of the village were partially damaged in the same attack. At 6pm on the same day, the IOF force withdrew from the area.

IOF Fires at Peaceful Demonstration and Shells Agricultural lands, Killing 3 Farmers and 43 Goats

14-9-2010

Al Mezan

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed three farmers, one of whom was an elderly man with his child grandson as they worked in their land in the north-Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, and the third was a child. The IOF fired artillery shells at the farmers who were in their land less than 500 meters from the northern separation fence between Gaza and Israel. In a separate attack, in the morning of Tuesday 14 September 2010, the IOF opened fire on a peaceful demonstration against the 'security buffer zone'. As Al Mezan Center for Human Rights has frequently asserted, the IOF enforcement of the 'security buffer zone' inside the Gaza Strip has been carried out by means and methods that gravely violate international law. Al Mezan condemns these Israeli violations and calls on the international community to protect civilians and stop the IOF deadly enforcement of the 'security buffer zone' in Gaza.

According to Al Mezan's field investigations, at approximately 11:40am on Tuesday 14 September 2010, an IOF force positioned at the northern separation fence opened heavy fire on a peaceful demonstration organized by the Local Initiative in Beit Hanoun. The demonstrations are organized weekly to protest the imposition of the so-called “security buffer zone”. Demonstrators were about 300 meters from the separation fence when the IOF opened fire on them. They were trying to fill a trench in the ground, which the IOF had dug on Thursday on 2 September 2010 during its incursion into that area. The trench was two meters wide, tree meters deep, and about 800 meters long. It was located about 300 meters from the northern separation fence, which suggests it marked the Israeli declared “security buffer zone” inside the Gaza Strip.

In a separate attack at approximately  5:10pm on Sunday 12 September 2010, the IOF fired three artillery shells at three Palestinian farmers who were in their land in the Shurab area northeast of Beit Hanoun town. They were approximately 500 meters from the separation fence. As a result, an elderly farmer, Ibrahim Abdullah Suleiman Abu Es'ayid, 91, his child grandson Hussam Khalid Abu Es'ayid, 16, and Ismail Waleed Mohammed Abu Owda, 16, were killed.

According to Al Mezan's field investigations, Abu Es'ayid and his grandson were gazing sheep in their lands west of the Shabat land in the area. Abu Owda was also grazing sheep in his land west of the Abu Es'ayid family’s land when the IOF fired artillery shells at them. Thirty minutes after the attack, the elderly Abu Es'ayid and Abu Owda were admitted to the hospital. Abu Owda's head was separated from his body and medical teams could not find it. Medical teams found the dead body of the child Abu Es'ayid more than an hour after the attack. On the next day, people found the head of the Abu Owda. 25 goats belonging to the Abu Owda family and 18 goats belonging to the Abu after family were also killed in the attack.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns these Israeli flagrant violations of the international law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 1949. Al Mezan calls on the international community to take prompt and urgent actions to ensure protection of Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Al Mezan calls on the international community to intervene to stop the IOF enforcing of the security buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip. This conduct contradicts international law. The means and methods employed by Israel to enforce it are lethal and gravely violate international law. The enforcement of this zone has had serious humanitarian impacts on the population of the Gaza Strip, but especially for the farmers communities who live or have lands near the border. 

Rights group condemns 3 Gaza killings

 

Published yesterday 20:18

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A rights group on Wednesday called on the international community to protect Palestinian civilians after Israeli forces killed three farmers Sunday in northern Gaza.

On Sunday night Israeli forces fired shells at a 91-year-old man and two 16-year-olds as they grazed sheep in their land. Medical teams found the dead body of one of the teenagers and took it to hospital, but his head was not found until the next day.

The dead body of the elderly man was also taken to hospital, but the dead body of his grandson, Abu Es’ayid, 16, was not found for one hour after the attack. During the attack 43 goats were also killed, the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights reported.

There are conflicting reports on the age of one of the two younger victims, with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights estimating the age at 17, while a medical representative at the time said one of the victims was 21.

An initial statement by the Israeli military said forces had identified a number of suspects attempting to fire an RPG toward an Israeli position in the Beit Hanoun area. Later, Brig.-Gen. Eyal Eisenberg said in a statement that while the investigations into the incident have not yet concluded "we understand from a re-creation that we undertook that the three casualties were not involved in act of terror."

Eisenberg said one of the men had apparently picked up a weapon hidden by a terrorist cell, leading forces to believe their lives were in danger.

The Al-Mezan Center condemned Israel's "flagrant violations" of international law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, which protects civilian populations in times of war. 

Three Palestinians killed in Israeli shelling of Beit Hanoun

[ 13/09/2010 - 08:29 AM ]

BEIT HANOUN, (PIC)-- Three Palestinians, including an elderly man and his grandson, were killed in an Israeli artillery shelling Sunday night on Beit Hanoun, north Gaza Strip. Military medical services media coordinator Adham Abu Salmiya told the PIC that victims Ibrahim Abdullah Abu Assad, 91, his grandson Hossam Khalid Abu Assad, 17, and Walid Abu Awda, 21, were killed in Israeli artillery shelling targeting the Al Sharab region, northeast of Beit Hanoun. The victims were transported to the hospital, said Abu Salmiya, adding that no other injuries were reported. Israeli military announced that two mortar shells were fired at west Negev from the Gaza Strip Sunday morning, but no damages or injuries were reported. Hamas leader, Dr. Salah al-Bardawil said Sunday’s events came as part of the “Zionist doctrine” to hold massacres against Palestinians during the holidays. The shelling took place on the second day after the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday that concludes fasting the holy month of Ramadan. “This massacre is part of a Zionist doctrine, as on every [Islamic] holiday, occupation forces commit massacres against the Palestinian people,” Bardawil told Al-Quds Press Sunday. “If we look back in history, we will find over decades that on every holiday there has been an Israeli massacre against the Palestinian people to spoil our holidays as Muslims and Arabs,” he said, adding: “We do not have as Palestinian people but to bite wounds, and to continue resistance and steadfastness, until the occupation is defeated and the Zionist presence is removed from the land of Palestine.”

Israeli shelling kills 3 in north Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli shelling killed three people including an elderly man in the northern Gaza Strip late Sunday, witnesses said.

The bodies of shepherds Ibrahim Abu Said, 91, and Ismail Abu Odeh, 21, were taken to a hospital in Beit Hanoun, medics said.

Earlier reports said only two were killed.

An Israeli military spokesman said forces identified a number of suspects attempting to fire an RPG toward an Israeli position. He said forces fired on the Palestinians, apparently hitting them.

Two projectiles landed in the western Negev hours earlier, officials from the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council said. The Israeli military said three projectiles landed in Israel on Sunday.

The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed to have launched six mortars toward Israel on Saturday. The Israeli military described the incident as a light exchange of fire.

Six airstrikes hit Gaza on Friday, the first day of Eid Al-Fitr, destroying three municipal buildings in Gaza City and two smuggling tunnels in the southern Strip at Rafah near the Egyptian border.

Israeli military officials said the strikes were in retaliation for projectiles.

Israeli shelling kills 2 in north Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli shelling killed two people including an elderly man in the northern Gaza Strip late Sunday, witnesses said.

The bodies of shepherds Ibrahim Abu Said, 91, and Ismail Abu Odeh, 21, were taken to a hospital in Beit Hanoun, medics said.

Reuters, quoting medical officials, reported that three Palestinians were killed rather than two.

An Israeli military spokesman had no immediate comment.

Israeli artillery bombs east and north of Gaza

[ 12/09/2010 - 09:25 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The Israeli artillery bombed on Sunday morning agricultural lands east and north of the Gaza Strip forcing dozens of farmers to abandon their lands. Eyewitness said that two shells were fired at the lands located east of Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza and two others exploded  east of Beit Hanoun town in northern Gaza. The Israeli occupation forces also opened fire at Palestinian farmers east of Al-Shuhada cemetery, north of Jabaliya town, forcing them to leave.

IOF Fire Artillery Shells north east of Beit Hanoun; Three Farmers Killed

12-9-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 5:15pm on Sunday 12 September 2010, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired five artillery shells at three Palestinian farmers who were in their lands at the Shurab area north east of Beit Hanoun, 300 meters from the separation fence. As a result, an elderly farmer, Ibrahim Abdullah Abu Es'ayid, 91, his grandson Hosam Khalid Abu Es'ayid, 17, and Ismail Waleed Abu Owda, 20, were killed.

According to Al Mezan's field investigations, Abu Es'ayid and his grandson were in their lands west of the Shabat family land which northern borders are located in the Israeli declared security buffer zone (an area that extends to 300 meters from the border alongside the separation fences between Gaza and Israel). Abu Es'ayid was 350 meters from the separation fence and Abu Owda was in his land, west of the Abu Es'ayid family’s land, when the IOF fired artillery shells at them. Thirty minutes later, Abu Es'ayid and Abu Owda were admitted to the hospital. Medics found the dead body of the child more than an hour after the shelling.

IOF Fire Flare Bombs and Artillery Shells northwest of Beit Lahyia

10-9-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 8:10pm on Friday 10 September 2010, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired eight artillery shells and four flare bombs at the agricultural area east of the As-Siafa area northwest of Beit Lahyia town. The area is only 500 meters from the separation fence between Gaza and Israel. No casualties or injuries were reported.   

PCHR weekly report 2/9 - 7/9/2010: 2 workers injured, 1 incursion, airstrike

extracts from PCHR weekly report 2/9 - 7/9/2010:

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

- Two Palestinian workers were wounded in the northern Gaza Strip. 

During the reporting period, two Palestinian workers were wounded when IOF fired at a number of workers who were collecting raw construction materials in the northern Gaza Strip.

Thursday, 02 September 2010


At approximately 00:45, IOF moved nearly 300 meters into al-Shouka village, east of Rafah. They searched the area along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. They fired flash bombs at the area, while Israeli drones and helicopters were seen hovering over the area. IOF withdrew from the village at approximately 06:00. 

Saturday, 04 September 2010  


At approximately 22:30, Israeli warplanes fired a missile at an agricultural area in the east of 'Abassan village, east of Khan Yunis. The missile made a large crater, but no casualties were reported. 

Sunday, 05 September 2010  


At approximately 08:30, Israeli troops stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel fired at Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the debris of the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai." As a result, Mousa Eyad 'Olayan, 20, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the left foot.

Palestinian shot as Israeli forces enter north Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot a Palestinian in northern Gaza Thursday, following earlier reports that Israeli patrols and bulldozers entered the area.

Taha Shedeh Taha, 18, was admitted to Kamal Edwan Hospital with gun shot wounds to his leg, medics said. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that soldiers shot a Palestinian close to the border fence.

She said forces saw a group of people close to the border and fired warning shots, adding that the group continued to approach the fence and soldiers opened fire, injuring one Palestinian. The spokeswoman noted that Israel considers the area a combat zone.

Earlier on Thursday, locals said Israeli patrols and bulldozers entered Beit Hanoun and opened fire on farmers. The soldiers entered through the Erez crossing, witnesses said, speculating that forces were in the area to rebuild the border fence which locals destroyed weeks earlier.

An Israeli military spokeswoman could not confirm the report.

PCHR weekly report 26/8-1/9/2010: 2 Palestinian workers injured, 1 incursion

 The security fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel- Palestinian works have the risk collecting construction aggregate, whose entry banned by Israel

extracts from PCHR weekly report 26/8-2/9/2010:

IOF continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in the Gaza Strip’s border areas. Two Palestinian workers were wounded in the northern Gaza Strip.  

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted one limited incursion into al-Boreij refugee camp. They clashed with members of the Palestinian resistance. During the clashes 3 resistance activists were lightly wounded. 

Saturday, 28 August 2010

 
At approximately 06:00, Israeli troops stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting taw construction materials on a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand in the northern Gaza Strip. As a result, two workers were wounded:

1. Rami Ibrahim Ghaben, 19, wounded by a bullet to the left foot; and

2. Sharif Sa'id Ghaben, 25, wounded by a bullet to the right leg.
Israeli troops also fired at animal carts belonging to the two civilians. As a result, a donkey was killed and another one was injured.

Sunday, 29 August 2010 


At approximately 01:30, an Israeli infantry unit moved nearly 150 meters into the east of al-Boreij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Armed clashes erupted between Israeli soldiers and members of the Palestinian resistance. Soon after, IOF sent backups and shelled the area. Three members of al-Quds Brigades (the military wing of Islamic Jihad) were lightly injured. 

Wednesday, 01 September 2010  


At approximately 09:30, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip fired at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the debris of destroyed buildings in the industrial zone. The workers fled and no casualties were reported.  

IOF target Gaza airport, raid eastern Rafah

[ 02/09/2010 - 10:58 AM ]

RAFAH, (PIC)-- Israeli warplanes used heavy machineguns to fire at Palestinian areas east of Rafah to the south of the Gaza Strip in a pre-dawn raid on Thursday, security sources said. They told the PIC reporter that the warplanes targeted the Gaza airport buildings and nearby suburbs and agricultural fields. The sources noted intensified moves for the Israeli occupation forces' (IOF) armored vehicles along the border fence between Gaza and 1948 occupied Palestinian lands. The vehicles were seen advancing into eastern Rafah amidst random shelling, they said, adding that no casualties were reported. Media sources in Rafah said that Egyptian security men were seen retreating from the border area fearing Israeli aerial raids on the borders at the pretext of targeting tunnels.

Limited Israeli Incursion in North Gaza District

2-9-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 8:30am on Thursday 2 September 2010, an Israeli tank and a bulldozer moved about 100 meters into the southwest of Erez crossing in North Gaza district. The bulldozer leveled the lands near the separation fence north of Beit Hanoun town.

Young Man Injured as IOF Open Fire at Palestinian Civilians Collecting Rubble Northwest of Beit Lahyia

2-9-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 8am on Thursday 2 September 2010, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire on a group of Palestinian civilians who were about 350 meters from the border fence in the As-Siafa area in North Gaza district. As a result, Mossa Iyad E'alyan, 20, was injured in the left leg. According to medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital his injuries were light. These civilians were attacked while they were collecting rubble from the destroyed structures in north Gaza district.