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.