LAW Weekly Roundup
12 - 18 September 2002

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Explosion at Zaif School in Hebron
Israeli troops fire upon Palestinian children in Askar refugee camp near Nablus
Palestinian worshippers in Nablus beaten, three wounded
More incursions into Palestinian areas, homes destroyed
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Israeli forces continued their unabated assault and occupation of the 1967 Palestinian Occupied Territories this week, opening fire upon children in the Askar refugee camp near Nablus, beating and wounding worshipers in Nablus, destroying farm lands, killing, wounding and arresting civilians. Israeli forces wounded 32 Palestinians this week, including four children.

3 Palestinians killed this week. They are:
- Riyad Alayan
- Subhi Zeno, 26 yrs
- Tareq Bsharat, 24 yrs 2

Shelling:

Wednesday, September 18: Jamil al-Musa, 24 yrs, was wounded in the left shoulder after Israeli troops in the illegal Israeli Kfar Darom settlement shelled Deir al-Balah. Fida al-Trabin, 26 yrs was wounded in her home after similar shelling in Beit Hanoun. Israeli troops opened fire on an ambulance arriving to evacuate al-Trabin.

Israeli troops incursions into Palestinian areas:

Tuesday, September 10: Israeli troops raided Betunia, west of Ramallah, besieging a building. Eyewitnesses stated that Israeli troops imposed curfew on the area using loudspeakers and then opened fire at the building. Troops broke into the building, wounding two Palestinians, taken away in an Israeli ambulance. A third Palestinian, Mahmoud Harfoush was killed in the attack. Riyad Alayan was critically wounded in the Israeli attack, passing away on Thursday, September 12. On the same day, Israeli troops raided Tulkarem and arrested Ahmad al-Awees, 25 yrs.

Thursday, September 12: A home belonging to Mohammad Halas was blown up after Israeli troops raided Gaza. The explosion devastated several nearby homes. Israeli troops also made an incursion into Rafah during the morning.

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), based in Gaza, Subhi Zeno, 26 yrs, was killed in an Israeli attack when gun ships and tanks opened indiscriminate fire in Rafah. Six other Palestinians were wounded. Israeli troops raided several homes, also blowing up three metal workshops. More than a dozen nearby homes were severely damaged.

Friday, September 13: Israeli troops made an incursion into Tubas, arresting 17 Palestinians. Hussein al-Sawa'da, 52 yrs, head of military intelligence in Ramallah, was also arrested on the same day. Mrs. al-Sawa'da told LAW that the Israeli troops severely beat her husband before arresting him.

Palestinian worshippers in Nablus were also attacked by Israeli troops early Friday morning, wounding four. Israeli troops also attacked Palestinians in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, wounding three.

Saturday, September 14: Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers raided Jenin. Indiscriminate fire upon civilians critically wounded Farouk Nazal, 40 yrs, in the abdomen.

At midnight Saturday, Israeli forces bulldozed and destroyed approximately 6 acres of Palestinian farmland in an incursion into Deir al-Balah.

Sunday, September 15: Israeli troops raided and took over an apartment block in Ramallah, turning it into a military post. Some residents were locked up, while others were forced out of their homes.

Mohammad Abu al-Heija, 28 yrs, from Jenin was critically wounded in the neck and Rola Mansour, 16 yrs, from Tulkarem was moderately wounded in the hand when both West Bank towns came under Israeli attack.

Israeli troops made an incursion into Deir al-Balah on Sunday evening, bulldozing and destroying an acre of Palestinian farmland. Israeli troops broke into Suleiman Abu Muneifi's house. All ten family members were locked into one room while troops raided the house. The roof was turned into a military outpost until Monday evening, September 16.

Israeli troops made a 300-meter incursion into agricultural land north of the illegal Israeli Kfar Darom Settlement, razing four acres of land belonging to Suleiman Abu Sha'ban and Abed Abu Mgheiseb.

Tuesday, September 17: According to information gathered by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza (PCHR), at around 2:30am, Israeli troops reinforced with heavy machinery and helicopters invaded al-Satr al-Sharqi and al-Gharbi, reaching the outskirts of Khan Yunis. Residents were used as human shields.

Israeli troops besieged the house of Bara' al-Agha. Loudspeakers were used to order residents to evacuate the house, where nineteen people lived. Explosives were set inside and detonated from a distance, causing total destruction and severe damage to three adjacent residential houses. Six residents were arrested. Four were released at 8:00 am, and two are still in detention.

Heavy Israeli weapon machinery stationed on the Jamal Abd al-Nasser route northeast of the area besieged a home belonging to Ramez al-Farra. Residents were ordered to evacuate. Al-Farra's son, Ra'fat, 24 yrs, was used as a human shield while Israeli troops stormed the house. Ra'fat was then driven to a repair workshop belonging to his father, which was blown up. Ramez al-Farra, Ra'fat, two other sons and a cousin were arrested and interrogated before being released at 8:00 am.

Meanwhile, another two homes were raided and residents evacuated into nearby yards. The soldiers arrested six residents, releasing two later in the morning. Four are still in detention:
· Ibrahim al-Dirbashi, 33
· Khalil al-Dirbashi, 39
· Ahmad al-Dirbashi, 38
· Jamal al-Namrouti, 52

In the same area, Israeli troops dynamited an iron workshop belonging to Khaled Baker. Israeli troops then broke into a Fatah office, rummaging through contents and demolishing its western front, causing severe damage to the building.

Israeli troops also dynamited and completely destroyed a repair workshop belonging to Muhammad al-Astal. Mr. Al-Astal was then arrested and an agricultural equipment store close to his house was bulldozed.

Israeli troops broke into two homes, one belonging to Yunis al-Astal, a Hamas leader, who was not present at the time. The houses were evacuated and eight were arrested. Three are still under detention:
· Ismail al-Astal, 50, lecturer at the Islamic University
· Yusef al-Astal, 50, teacher
· Abdullah al-Astal, 22, university student

In the morning, Israeli troops made a 700m-incursion into al-Badawiyeh village, south of the Nesanit settlement. Seven Palestinians working inside the settlement were arrested and driven to an unknown destination.

Palestinian children playing in front of their houses at the Askar refugee camp, east Nablus were opened fire upon by Israeli troops inside a tank. There were three injured children:
· Jarras Salameh, 13, shrapnel in the legs
· Mazen Salameh, 15, shrapnel in the right hand
· Muhammad Ibrahim, 14, shrapnel in the abdomen

At around 6:00pm, Israeli troops made 100m-incursion into al-Salam quarter at the border with Egypt, south of Rafah. A home belonging to Daoud Abu Muhsen was demolished.

At around 12 midnight, Tareq Bsharat, 24 yrs, was killed and Muhammad Bani Odeh, 23, was injured by Israeli troops in Tamon, east Jenin, when Israeli troops opened fire on the car they were driving in, near the western entrance of the village. Muhammad Bani Odeh was taken by troops to an unknown destination.

Wednesday, September 18: At around 2:00am, Israeli troops reinforced with heavy machinery made a 300m-incursion into the 'Ireibeh area north Rafah. Homes were broken into, residents were evacuated and an outside wall and irrigation network was destroyed.

Collective Punishment:

Wednesday, September 18: Israeli troops dynamited the houses of Nabil Halabiyeh and Usama Bahar from Abu Dis village, who undertook suicide bombings in West Jerusalem on December 1, 2001.

Abdullah Bader, 32, from Abu Dis stated to LAW that twenty-five families living near Halabiyeh's house were ordered to evacuate. Israeli troops dynamited four floors. The explosion damaged four nearby homes and cut off electricity in the village.

Usama Bahar's father, Mr. Muhammad Bahar, stated to LAW that on Wednesday evening, Israeli troops bulldozed his two-story house. 15 people, including five children, lived there.

Blast at Zaif Primary School in Hebron

Tuesday, September 17: An explosive device went off at Zaif Primary School in Hebron at 10 am. Eight students, mostly first graders, were wounded after shrapnel hit classrooms. Two other explosive devices were found in the school and safely detonated. There are 400 students at Zaif school and 20 teachers.

Residents of Zaif, south of Hebron, stated to LAW that Israeli troops raided the town late Monday night (September 16) and imposed a curfew on the town, which is under Israeli control. A road that connects south Hebron settlements with Bethlehem settlements crosses Zaif. According to the Israeli Yediot Ahronot newspaper, Israeli sources believe a Jewish cell is responsible for the operation.

Demolition & Bulldozing:

Tuesday, September 18: On Tuesday afternoon, Israeli troops demolished 34 residential clusters in a housing project belonging to the General Union for Workers of Palestine in Ein Sinya, north Ramallah.

The union head, Mahmoud Ziyadeh told LAW that at around 1:30pm on Tuesday Israeli troops carried in five jeeps and two bulldozers to carry out the demolition. Ziyadeh stated Israeli troops claimed the clusters were located three meters inside Area C, under Israeli total control.

Detention & Maltreatment:

Thursday, September 12: Israeli troops at the Huwara checkpoint south Nablus arrested a 24-year-old Aziz Souf from Hares village while with his brother's wife in an ambulance on the way to hospital.

Saturday, September 14: At around 2:00am, Israeli troops attacked Bir al-Basha village, south Jenin and broke into Fu'ad Ghawadri's house and drove him to an unknown destination.

Sunday, September 15: At around 4:00pm, Israeli troops stationed at Za'tara checkpoint south Nablus arrested a 21-year-old Firas Abdul Rahim from Hares village, returning home from Jericho, and was driven to an unknown destination.

At around 5:00pm, Israeli troops arrested brothers Munir, 25, and Muhammad Zuhdi Ayyoub, 27, from Yasouf village in Salfit while working in their lands southwest the village and drove them to an unknown destination.

In light of multiple and repeated human rights violations consistently undertaken by Israel, the occupying power in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights & the Environment demands signatories of the Fourth Geneva Convention ensure respect for the Convention, through the following:
· To convene a conference for all signatories of the Fourth Geneva Convention in order to ensure Israel's compliance with international agreements, specifically regarding their actions in the occupied Palestinian territories of 1967;
· Demands that the Israeli government, as a high contracting party to the Fourth Geneva Convention immediately halts all grave violations against Palestinian civilians;
· That international protection forces are immediately dispatched to the occupied Palestinian territories
· To investigate, search for and bring to justice the perpetrators of all grave breaches of Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (i.e., war crimes) committed against Palestinian civilians, based upon article 146 of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention;
· The creation of an international war crimes tribunal to investigate, search for and prosecute all perpetrators of war crimes committed by successive Israeli governments;
· That the international community and its respective organizations undertake immediate effective action to stop these crimes, to end the occupation of Palestinian territories, and to ensure compliance of international resolutions including comprehensive economic & trade sanctions, and arms embargoes.