August 2004

In This Issue

1- Israel up against International law.

2- Summary of the Israeli violations against Palestinian Human rights (July 2004).

3- Assassination in cold blood.

4- Palestinian children are Israeli Occupation Army targets.

5- Demolition of houses as collective punishment.

6- The Apartheid Wall… Land Confiscation.

7- Prisoners and Detainees.

8- Violations against Palestinian Institutions.

9- Violations against Islamic and Christian holly places.

10- International and Israeli stands.

1** Israel up against International law

People who attack the World Court for its July 9 opinion on the Israeli Apartheid Wall in the Occupied Territories should beware.

In doing so, they are calling into question the United Nations Charter, and the whole foundation of international law and humanitarian conventions and treaties: which in the end are the legal basis of the state of Israel's international recognition, and, in a broader sense, everyone else's best hope for a global order that does not rely on anarchistic violence and double standard basis in judgment.

The court in the Hague said in its ruling that the 600-kilometer wall, about a third built “severely impeded” Palestinian rights to self-rule. It curves at points deep into the West Bank around Jewish illegal settlements built on land occupied in the 1967 war. The court said the Wall violated international humanitarian law and called on the UN Security Council and General Assembly to stop its construction.

In reality, it would be difficult to get a more authoritative decision, not least since this opinion is being delivered to the General Assembly of the UN – with part of the opinion being that states party to the various conventions have a duty to enforce them on Israel.

Israeli leaders usually justify their government actions with one sentence “Israel is in deep need to protect itself against terrorism”, but this sentence turned to become a cliché used by the Occupying power to justify state terrorism practiced against the occupied Palestinian people.

We should all remember that the combination of the court and the General Assembly is the route that led to the independence of many countries around the world like Namibia, and sanctions against South Africa. It is the route that led to the eventual independence of East Timor – and a route that has kept Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara unrecognized by any other country in the world. It may be slow – but such opinions are binding on all law-abiding countries.

All states are under an obligation not to recognize the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by such construction; all states party to the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949, have in addition the obligation, while respecting the United Nations Charter and international law, to ensure compliance by Israel with international humanitarian law as embodied in that convention.

However, we do reiterate focus on the court's finding that states have a duty to apply international law when it is flouted, and this typically the situation of Israel.

After all, the nightmare for Israel is of course South African-style sanctions, but the way to avert that is simple and mandated by the court.

2- Summary of the Israeli violations against Palestinian Human rights (July. 2004)

During July 2004, Israeli Occupation Army (IOA) killed 81 Palestinians; 19 of the martyrs were children and 25 were assassinated in cold blood. 686 Palestinians were injured by the (IOA); 193 of them were children; 586 Palestinians were detained.

The (IOA) demolished 452 Palestinian houses and 115 industrial sites, they swept away 3612 Dunums of Palestinian Agricultural lands and uprooted 8986 fruit trees, 3612 Dunums were confiscated to be annexed to the Apartheid Wall. 200 vehicles had been destroyed.

The above figures bring the Palestinian toll records of causalities and losses since the 28 Sep. 2000 to the following:

Palestinians killed toll records 3088; 780 of the martyrs were children, 145 were women, 732 were students and teachers, 314 were members of the Palestinian National Forces, 116 of the martyrs were killed on Israeli Military chick points, 448 were assassinated in cold blood operations, 44 were killed by Jewish settlers and 66 of the martyrs were disabled.

28 of the martyrs were members of the medical services, 418 of those members were injured, 40 Ambulances were totally destroyed, 31 infants and 115 patients died while being held on checkpoints. 59 deliveries took places on such checkpoints.

Of the 55138 Palestinians injured, 16000 were treated from minor injuries and recovered, 15406 of the injured were children and 2540 were women, while 6280 were left with permanent disabilities; 3010 of the disabled were children.

Among the total of 29675 detained Palestinians, 7300 are still in the Israeli jails.

Total number of the affected Palestinian houses is 45752; 4250 of which were demolished. 862731 fruit trees had been uprooted.

**3- Assassination in cold blood:

2/7/2004: Mohammed Ahmed Kareem, 55 years old, was killed when an Israeli force opened fire on him near “Nitser Hizani” settlement near Khan Younis.

4/7/2004: The IOA killed Mohammed Nassar Mohammed Al Shawahin, 26 years old, at his work in Jerusalem.

6/7/2004: Israeli Special Forces targeted Dr. Khaled Salah and his son Mohammed, 19 years old, in their house in Nablus city.

6/7/2004: Yamin Ali Teib Faraj, 25 years old, and Amjad Arar Abu Watan, were killed when an Israeli Apache fired two missals on their house in Nablus city.

7/7/2004: Israeli Special Forces targeted Isam Ali Said Mahamid , 30 years old, and shot him dead in Balata Camp/ Nablus.

8/7/2004: Jamila Abdul Hadi Hamad, 44 years old, died when IOA opened fire blindly during incursion into Beit Hanon area/ Gaza.

9/7/2004: IOA targeted Marwan Ali Al Qawasmi, 33 years old, and shot him dead in Hebron city.

10/7/2004: Along with the Israeli policy of assassinating members of Palestinian resistance movement, the Israeli Apache targeted 4 Palestinians in Gaza city. The Palestinians are: Mohammed Mahdi Abed Rabu Abu Zarw, 22 years old, Mahmood Odeh Abu Namous, 23 years old, Hassan Nafez Abu Dalal, 24 years old and Mahmoud Yosef Nassar, 23 years old, The citizen Mahmoud Fakhri Ghonim, 24 years old was seriously injured in this incident. In another accident, the IOA targeted the Palestinian young woman Halima Odeh Abu Samhadaneh, 16 years old, and shot her dead at Al Shabora area/ Rafah.

12/7/2004: The Palestinian disabled Mahmoud Khalaf Allah, 75 years old, died under the ruins when the Israeli bulldozers swept away his house in Khan Younis.

15/7/2004: Israeli Special Forces targeted Malik Musbah Naser Al Dein , 32 years old, and shot him dead in Hebron city.

18/7/2004: Alia Abdul Rahman Manna', 55 years old, died of a heart attack when the IOA raided into Bezarya village/ Nablus.

25/7/2004: The IOA targeted 6 Palestinians in Tulkarm city and shot them dead. The 6 Palestinians are: Hani Oweda, 27 years old, Mahdi Tanbouz, 25 years old, Ahmed Brouq, 26 years old, Said Abu qamar, 24 years old, Abdul Rahim Sahadid, 34 years old, and Mohammed Al Shanteer, 18 years old.

26/7/2004, Ghalia Hammad Younis, 50 years old, was killed inside her house when IOA raided into her town in Khan Younis district.

** 4- Palestinian children are targeted by (IOA):

Among the Palestinian children killed during July, the following were recognize;

1/7/2004, Omar Mohammed Zar'an, 9 years old from Rafah city, was shot dead near his house.

3/7/2004, Tariq Jamal Hasan Ghannam, 9 years old, was killed and his brother was seriously injured when a land mine exploded in the farm where they were playing in Qalqilya city.

3/7/2004, Ihab Abdul Karim Shatat, 8 years old from Jabalya refugee camp/ Gaza, was shot dead near his house.

5/7/2004, Hana' Hasan Al sha'er, 4 years old, died of the injuries she had in 1/7/2004.

19/7/2004, Samar Foujo, 4 years old, was shot dead near her house in Rafah.

26/7/2004, Sara Mahmoud Zo'rob, 12 years old, was killed while she was playing in the yards of her house in Khan Younis.

** 5- Demolition of Houses:

1/7/2004, The (IOA) swept away 19 tents for Palestinians' Bedouins in the area Deir Baloot / Salfit district.

1/7/2004, The (IOA) demolished 15 houses in the area of Qizan to the south east of Khan Younis, such measure left tens of people without shelter.

5/7/2004, The (IOA) demolished the house of the Palestinian martyr Tha'er Helmi Ramadan, in the village of Tel to the west of Nablus city.

8/7/2004, The Israeli bulldozers swept away 3 residential houses near Khan Younis/ Gaza.

8/7/2004, The (IOA) demolished 25 residential houses in Khan Younis camp, and pertly damaged 10 other houses in the camp.

9/7/2004, The (IOA) demolished 3 Houses in Khan Younis area/ Gaza.

12/7/2004, Along with the Israeli policy of collective punishment for families of members of Palestinian resistance movement, IOA demolished 2 houses in Qabatya village/ Jenin.

20/7/2004, The (IOA) demolished 18 stores in the village of Bart'a Al Sharqiya/ Jenin.

** 6- The Apartheid Wall… Land confiscation:

International court rules against The Apartheid wall:

9/7/2004, The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled Friday that the Apartheid Wall Israel is building in the West Bank is contrary to international law and said that it should be torn down and compensation should be paid to Palestinians cut off from their land and livelihoods.

21/7/2004, UN General Assembly adopted the (ICJ) advisory opinion which considered the building of the Apartheid Wall in the Occupied Territories illegal according to the International Law.

** The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, said that “the advisory opinion of the court is clear” and demanded Israel to tear down the wall.

* * The Vatican spokesman said that the ICJ opinion is very important since the UN General Assembly had asked the court for an opinion about the legal consequences of the Wall's construction after it voted in October to demand that Israel tear it down.

** “The ICJ opinion about the Wall is clear, the wall should be torn down, EU should take a stronger line against Israel's behavior”.

(Irish parliament Members, Brussels, 20/7/2004)

16/7/2004, The Israeli Peace Movement declared in a statement about the advisory opinion of the ICJ about the wall that “ even the judges of the ICJ condemned Israel for the segregation Wall built by our government, such a wall segregate us from the rest of the world, prevent peace and enforce hatred”.

The Israeli government against the International Law

**In a step shows the Israeli violation of International Law, the Israeli PM Ariel Sharon ordered a special budget for the construction of the remaining parts of the Apartheid Wall which was described by the ICJ as illegal.

7/7/2004, Israel's expansion of illegal settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories continued; a group of fanatic settlers confiscated 150 Dunums to construct a new outpost on the lands of Fqiqis village/ Hebron.

12/7/2004, Some fanatic settlers turned fire on more than 100 Dunums of agricultural lands near the illegal settlement “ Avni Hefets” near Tulkarm; more than 150 trees were burned in this incident.

16/7/2004, IOA put electric cameras along some parts of the Apartheid Wall near “Kharsina” settlement/ Hebron.

16/7/2004, An engineering unit in IOA started to procedures on the lands of Artas village/ Bethlehem to build new parts of the Apartheid Wall in this area.

18/7/2004, The IOA handed Naji Taher Qabaha and Mohammed Ahmed khader fro Tora village/ Jenin military orders to demolish their houses to make room for the Wall erection.

20/7/2004, The IOA swept away many agricultural and industrial sites in the village of Bart'a to the south of Jenin city because they located near the Apartheid Wall.

20/7/2004, Israel's expansion of illegal settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories continued, some settlers added 4 residential units to the outpost called “Avigamil”, and another 3 residential units to another outpost 300 meters to the east of “Bni Hefer” settlement/ Hebron.

22/7/2004, The Israeli “Peace Now” movement said that the scores of the illegal outposts (28) are incorrect, and that the correct scores are 51 since March 2001.

24/7/2004, IOA uprooted more than 30 fruitful trees from the lands of Hable village/ Qalqilya.

*** 7- Prisoners… and detainees:

Hundreds of Palestinians were detained by the IOA, some were released without charge, tens were charged with security offences against Israel and dozens were held in administrative detention without charge or trial. Trials before military courts don't meet international standards. Allegation of torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees are widespread.

2/7/2004, The Palestinian detainees Isma'el Abu shekshek, Ali Abu Jarideh, and jamal Zeino were seriously burned when an Israeli prisoner threw hot oil on them inside “Kfar Youna” Israeli jail.

10/7/2004, The IOA arrested Aya Mohammed owes 17 -year-old girl from Jenin refugee camp.

12/7/2004, The Israeli military court in sentenced the Palestinian disabled Ali Rayeq Bsharat, 28 years old, 8 years imprison.

14/7/2004, The administration of Jalbo' jail in Israel prohibited Palestinian prisoners from getting out to the yard and threw gas bombs on them.

** 8- Israeli violations against Palestinian Institutions:

1/7/2004, The IOA blew up the gate of “Al Buhtory Elementary School” in Jericho.

8/7/2004, IOA held an Ambulance delivering an injured child for several hours at the area of Beit Hanoon.

10/7/2004, The IOA prevented an Ambulance from saving the lives of three Palestinian injured women during clashes in Beit Hanoon/ Gaza. One of the injured is Latifa Abu Isha.

10/7/2004, The IOA opened fire blindly towards a Palestinian Ambulance and injured the driver Mohammed Juha seriously in his chest.

10/7/2004, The IOA opened fire randomly towards “Naser Hospital”, the fire injured the child Bayan Abu Al Saied, 15 years old, and the patient Abdulah Abu Mustafa.

25/7/2004, An Israeli tank shelled Al Khalidiya School at Khan Younis Refugee Camp. Some parts of the school were severely damaged.

25/7/2004, The IOA targeted the Palestinian employee Ali Abdul Salam Abu Odeh, 25 years old, at “Kamal Odwan Hospital” in Beit Lahya and injured him in his chest.

27/7/2004, The IOA bulldozers swept away the wall of “ Beit Hanoon Secondary School” and some agricultural land near the school.

** 9- Violations against Islamic and Christian holy places:

1/7/2004, The IOA demolished a mosque at Al Qarar area in Khan Younis.

1/7/2004, IOA bulldozers swept away the wall of Jericho mosque on the southern part the city, then raided into the mosque and searched it carefully.

2/7/2004, the IOA prohibited hundreds of Palestinian worshipers from prying at Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

6/7/2004, some fanatic settlers beaten up on one of Al Aqsa mosque guards called Mohammed Al Dwik, the guard was seriously injured.

8/7/2004, The IOA raided at Beit Al Mal society in Jenin and issued a military order to close it for two years.

8/7/2004, The IOA closed “Al Qur'n and Al Sunna Society” in Qalqilya for two years and confiscated computers and some furniture.

21/4/2004, Special Israeli Force from the IOA raided into Al Mahd Yard and arrested 6 Palestinian young men.

21/7/2004, IOA opened heavy fire towards Al Rahma mosque at Beit Hanoon area in Gaza, many parts of the mosque were damaged and affected.

**10- Israeli and International stands:

** “The PM Ariel Sharon's unilateral withdrawal plan from Gaza, is just another play to draw public opinion's attention of the his crimes against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories”.

(Louisa Morgantini, European Parliament)

** The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, said that “the best way to end the unprecedented hardship for Palestinians is to end the Israeli Occupation”.

** “ What can we say when we watch the Israeli F-16 war planes shell civilian men and women and children in their livelihoods in Palestine, we can only say that this is “state terrorism””.

(Rajab Tayyeb Ardogan, Turkish PM)

** Scores of Jewish Israelis who refuse to perform military service to serve in the Occupied Territories were sentenced to terms of imprisonment up to six months. The Israeli citizen Haiem Veldman one those who refuse to serve in the IOA said “ I don't intend to serve in such an organization (IOA) since it practiced al kinds of crimes against another nation”.

** Amnesty international reported that Un committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the UN committee called upon Israel to revoke a law, passed in July, which banned family reunion since it prevents Israelis marrying Palestinians from the Occupied territories from living with their husbands in the same town and eventually in the same house.

** UNRWA accused the Israeli Army of shooting fire on one of their vehicles near Beit Hanoon area in Gaza.

** “The American writer and journalist James Raymond said that the Israeli PM policy stands against the International law and against the worlds' well in achieving last peace in this region.

** For more information you can see:

Arab Studies Society: www.ircj.org/

Palestine Red Crescent Society: www.palestinercs.org/

Mezan Organization: www.mezan.org/

Palestinian Human Rights Center: www.pchrgaza.org/

Palestine News Agency: www.wafa.pna.net/

Ministry of Health: www.moh.gov.ps/