The second Intifada: 4950 Palestinians killed including 945 children

Thursday October 18, 2007 15:27 by Ameen Abu Wardah - IMEMC News

In its monthly newsletter entitled "People under Occupation", the Department for National and International relations of the Palestine Liberation Organization, reported that during September, the Israeli army had killed 37 Palestinians, including seven children, while fourteen others were assassinated

It added that 105 residents were injured during military operations carried out in Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps. A total of 550 civilians were abducted after their homes had been broken into and at military checkpoints. Fifteen houses were demolished and 350 dunums of agricultural land were bulldozed.

The newsletter notes that in September, Israel had declared the Gaza Strip a "hostile entity", thereby escaping the legal and humanitarian responsibilities imposed on it by international law and the 4th Geneva Convention. By doing so, Israel challenges international legitimacy and is paving the way for a comprehensive attack on the Gaza Strip, heralded by a series of invasions and air attacks during which several people have been killed.

It shows how Israeli violations, in the same month, in East Jerusalem mainly concerned al Aqsa mosque after the Israeli army had transformed the area into a military post and prevented Muslims from reaching it during the month of Ramadan. It added that the Israeli authorities had opened a synagogue under al Aqsa mosque. It also noted the closure of the Ibrahimi mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron, preventing Palestinians from praying there. Israeli extremist settlers in the city of Hebron and its surroundings had continued their attacks against Palestinian residents, their belongings and their land, under the protection of the army

The newsletter also documents the main Israel violations which were committed during the seven years of the second Intifada when 4,950 Palestinians were killed including 945 children. Assassinations were carried out against 674 people including 300 women. Another 156 were killed at checkpoints. An estimated 40,000 were injured.

During the same period, the Israeli army abducted approximately 60,000 Palestinians. 11,000 people are detained in harsh conditions in Israeli jails. Many prisoners, like Amenah Muna, are held in solitary confinement for long periods.

The report notes that 7,512 homes have been completely demolished, either on the pretext that there is no building permit or to make way for the construction of the Wall. The Israelis have constructed more than 420 kilometers of Wall out of a total 760 in the Palestinian territories and has confiscated more land, violating the international law and ignoring the ruling of the International Court which deems the Wall illegal.

In its opening article entitled 'The Success of the Fall Conference Depends on a Fixed Timetable", the newsletter states that " The international conference is to be held next November in order to push the peace process in the Middle East and to reach an agreement of principles, thereby paving the way for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel" adding that " since calling for the conference, Palestinian, Arab and international diplomacy has tried to involve all those concerned, in the hope that it will be a success with outcomes that will bring results on the ground which past conferences and agreements have failed to achieve.

The article goes on to set out the conditions for success. These involve the preparation of a joint Palestinian-Israeli statement of principles, with clear contents based on international legitimacy, which includes a timetable for the implementation of what has been agreed and international sponsorship and guarantees for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. There is a warning that the failure of the conference would draw the region into a new cycle of violence which will have a serious and negative impact on international security and stability.

Translated by Manar Jibrin

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