Al Haq
During
the past week, Al-Haq documented the case of a 18-year-old Palestinian
youth who was shot by the Israeli army while he was working
approximately 600 metres from the border with Israel. This case is the
most recent in a long series of incidents involving farmers who were
targeted by the Israeli army while working in proximity to the buffer
zone.
The
buffer zone is a no-go area extending along the Gaza Strip’s border
with Israel as well as at sea. This area has been enlarged over the
years by the Israeli authorities without properly informing the occupied
Palestinian population about its extension, and its current size and
depth remain uncertain due to the fact that they are not physically
demarcated. At present, it is estimated that the buffer zone restricts
access to land up to 1,500 metres from the Israeli border. This area
also extends over 17% of the territory of the Gaza Strip, including 35%
of its total agricultural land, severely weakening the potential for
economic and agricultural development in the Gaza Strip.
Muhammad Sidqi al-Qarra (18 years old)
Muhammad
lives in the al-Zannah area, Bani Suhayla, east of Khan Younes,
approximately two kilometres from the border with Israel. On 11 August
2012, at 5.15 am, he went to the family-owned farm with his older
brother Ahmad and two cousins to help gather tomatoes and zucchini. The
farm extends over 30 dunums and is some 600 meters from the border.
When
Muhammad and his relatives arrived at the land, they saw other farmers
working in the neighbouring farm. At around 5.40 am, while Muhammad was
collecting some empty buckets to gather the crops, he saw an Israeli
military jeep moving on the other side of the border. A few moments
later, Muhammad heard gunshots coming from beyond the border,
specifically from the place where the jeep had stopped.
At
that point, Muhammad realised he had been hit and he fell to the
ground. He started shouting and his relatives, along with the farmers
from the neighbouring property, brought Muhammad to a car and drove him
to the school ‘Abasan al-Jadida, two kilometres from the scene of the
incident. There, an ambulance of the Palestinian Ministry of Health
arrived and took him to the European Gaza Hospital. At the hospital,
Muhammad was informed that he had sustained injuries caused by two live
bullets in his left elbow and right thigh. Muhammad was operated upon
and is still receiving medical treatment at the hospital. He was
informed that he would require further surgery on his elbow. (Al-Haq
Affidavit No. 7625/2012)
Besides
farmers, fishermen and rubble-collectors are also affected by the
buffer zone restrictions and systematically targeted by the Israeli
forces. According to Al-Mezan’s
documentation, since the beginning of 2012 the Israeli army’s shelling
and live fire in the buffer zone on land resulted in the killing of 19
persons, including 3 children, and the wounding of 87 people. In
addition, the Israeli army has arrested 18 persons in the maritime
buffer zone and seized 12 boats.
Al-Haq
expresses its grave concern about the continuous restrictions imposed
on the Gaza Strip’s population and firmly condemns the unnecessary and
disproportionate use of lethal force by the Israeli army against
civilians.
-Ends-
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Medical official: Farmer shot by soldiers in Gaza
Published Saturday 11/08/2012 (updated) 12/08/2012 20:02
A man was shot while tending his land along the Gaza border on
Saturday, a medical spokesman said. (MaanImages/File)
GAZA CITY (
Ma'an) -- A young man was injured by Israeli gunfire in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, a medical official said.
Spokesman
for the ministry of health in Gaza Ashraf al-Qidrah told Ma'an that a
man was shot in his right hand by Israeli soldiers stationed in a
watchtower along the Gaza border.
The man was tending his land, east of Khan Younis, and sustained moderate wounds, al-Qidrah said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was unfamiliar with the incident.
--------------------------------------
Israeli snipers injure young farmer with live fire in Gaza
13-08-2012,10:29
Al Qassam (Agencies)-
Gaza-In the northern part of the Gaza Strip Saturday, Israeli snipers
stationed in a guard tower at the border shot and injured a farmer who
was tending his land and allegedly got too close to the 'no man's land'
established by Israeli troops.
The 'no
man's land' is a wide stretch of land in the crowded Gaza Strip that
stretches up to 300 meters from the border fence, and encompasses a lot
of Palestinian farmland. Palestinians who enter the area are subject
to be shot without warning by Israeli troops stationed along the
border.
According to the Gazan Health Minister Ashraf al-Qidrah,
the as-yet unidentified young man was shot in his right hand and taken
to a nearby hospital.
Palestinian officials have long called
on Israel to stop shooting Palestinian farmers along the border, and
consider the 'no man's land' to be an infringement on their
sovereignty. In the past, children, mentally-disabled adults and dozens
of farmers have been shot and killed in this zone.
