13 - 19 September 2002 - Palestine Monitor

The prolonged curfew regime in the West Bank was not eased during the last week; in Nablus the curfew has been imposed consecutively for 89 days; in this period the curfew was only lifted for 79 hours. In other West Bank towns the curfews were only lifted occasionally. This ongoing siege severely disrupts the economy and all other daily-life activities, including the
education of children. In Nablus and Jenin children have not been able to go
to school at all this year due to the Israeli military presence inside the
cities.

There were almost daily incursions into the Gaza Strip last week followed by
the demolition of homes and destruction of agricultural land.

In Tulkarem, hundreds of fruit and olive trees were uprooted and cultivated
land bulldozed in Israeli army preparations for constructing the “separation
wall”; the Israeli government have illegally confiscation Palestinian land
and property in the attempt to unilaterally separate Israel from the West
Bank.

Other means of collective punishment were carried by the Israeli army when
bulldozers and explosives demolished two homes in Abu Dis on September 19.

This was the first time the Israeli government demolished homes in East
Jerusalem as retaliation for Palestinian attacks. The army’s intended goal
of this brutal policy is to deter future attacks threatening consequences to
the families. This policy and other means of collective punishment are
illegal and continue to be condemned by local and international human right
organisations.

Israeli attacks on the Palestinian civilian population continued when two
Palestinian children were killed last week. A 15-year-old refugee boy was
killed in Tulkarem by what is believed to be a mine left behind by the
Israeli army. In Ramallah a 10-year old boy was shot and killed by soldiers
patrolling the city with tanks.

Number of Palestinian homes demolished this week: 7
Total number of Palestinians killed since September 2000: more than 1880

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