Israeli violations increase during August in spite of ‘official truce’

Wednesday September 03, 2008 10:16 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The National and International Department in the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) issued a press release documenting the Israeli violations during the month of August. It stated that the Israeli army killed 2 Palestinians, shot and wounded 131, including 26 children, demolished 5 homes in addition to 22 patients that died in Gaza due to the ongoing Israeli siege.

In its report, the department stated that soldiers shot and killed 18 year old Ahmad Younis Amira from Nil’in, a village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Amira was killed by a live round fired by an Israeli soldier while she joined hundreds of residents and peace activists in a protest against the Annexation Wall. Also, an Israeli contractor shot and killed a Palestinian youth working for him. Furthermore, soldiers shot and wounded 131 Palestinians, including 26 children, all in the month of August.

The ongoing illegal Israeli siege of Gaza claimed the life of an additional 22 Palestinian patients who were barred from receiving medical treatment in Israel or abroad. Most of the casualties were children and infants in addition to patients who could have been saved if they were allowed to receive the needed medical treatment which was not available in Gaza as a result of the siege that devastated all hospitals and medical centers in Gaza.

The department also said that while Israel released 198 detainees in August as part of its “good will” gesture towards President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli soldiers kidnapped 344 Palestinians during the same month.

The department added that Israel is ongoing with its home demolishing policies against the Palestinians, especially in the Jerusalem area, as soldiers demolished five homes and issued orders for demolishing an additional 50 homes.

Regarding settlement construction and expansion, the department pointed out a report published by the Israeli Peace Now movement, which said that Israel built nearly 2600 housing units in different settlements in the occupied West Bank. Most of these units are in Jerusalem and around it.

Even more, Israel decided to construct 400 additional units in Neve Yaakov settlement, north of Jerusalem, and issued bids for the construction of additional 416 houses for settlers in Beitar Elite, and Jabal Abu Gneim (Har Homa).

The Israeli army confiscated 37 Dunams of Palestinian lands in the Palestinian Plains area, 6 Dunams from the village of Rummana, near Jenin, 1000 Square meters in Halhoul village near Hebron, and 1500 square meters in the center of Hebron to pave a settler-only road. Israel also plans to pave a 4 km long settler-only road that will link to Itamar settlement in the northern part of the West Bank and will uproot nearly 100 Dunams planted with olive trees.

Israel also started razing nearly 100 Dunams north west of Jerusalem in order to expand Jaf’on Hadsha settlement.

Attacks carried out by the settlers continue and have significantly increased in several areas of the occupied West Bank. Settlers of Keryat Arba’ settlement in Hebron carried repeated attacks using iron bars, clubs, empty bottles and stones. Settlers of Yitzhar settlement near Nablus carried similar attacks and wounded a Palestinian woman and her child.

Settlers of Beitar Elite harvested grapes that belong to residents of Husan village, near Bethlehem, and uprooted several vines.

The report also revealed that the Israeli attacks against reporters and media outlets witnessed a sharp increase while soldiers kidnapped one reporter and attacked several media outlets causing excessive damage.

Soldiers shut down Wan FM radio station, and BBB service in Hebron, which is broadcasted in cooperation with Radio Bethlehem 2000. The PLO department appealed the International Journalists Syndicate to intervene and stop the Israeli violations against the reporters and their media agencies.

The department also stressed on the important role of international peace activists and added that the Liberty Ship which sailed to Gaza in spite of the siege and delivered humanitarian aid to the residents carried a great significance in highlighting the suffering of the residents in Gaza, living under an unjust and deadly siege for over two years.

The department slammed the Israeli army for their use of excessive violence against peaceful Palestinian, Israeli and International protestors against the Wall in the West Bank, especially in Bil’in, a village that remains the primary role model of nonviolent resistance against the Wall.

palestine | human rights | news report saed at imemc dot org