• Introduction.. 2

• A.      Chronology. 4

1.    In Jerusalem.. 4

2.    In the West Bank. 6

2.1.    Bethlehem.. 6

2.2.    Ramallah / al-Bireh. 7

2.3.    Hebron. 7

2.4.    Nablus. 8

2.5.    Other 9

3.    In the Gaza Strip. 11

3.1.    Netzarim / Martyrs’ Junction. 11

3.2.    Rafah. 11

3.3.    Other 12

• B.      Overview of Violations. 13

1.    Civilian persons and population. 14

1.1.    Type of weapons. 15

1.2.    Targeting the upper part of the body. 18

1.3.    The case of children. 20

2.    Protection of wounded persons, medical personnel and ambulances. 25

3.    Journalists and press freedom.. 28

4.    Civilian infrastructure. 33

5.    Violence perpetrated by Israeli civilians. 37

6.    Freedom of movement 39

• Conclusion.. 42

  Introduction

  On Thursday, 28 September 2000, Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon (Likud) conducted a controversial and – according to the United Nations Security Council – provocative visit to al-Haram al-Sharif, a holy site in the Old City in Jerusalem, sovereignty over which is bitterly disputed between Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Muslims. The visit was followed by a series of clashes in Jerusalem, which soon spread to the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and even in Arab towns inside the territory of Israel and in the occupied Golan Heights.

  The purpose of this interim report is to analyze in some detail these ongoing events with respect to human rights and humanitarian law. As of 10 November 2000, in just over 40 days of clashes, the uprising has already claimed the lives of 180 Palestinians and 19 Israelis, and over 7000 Palestinians have been injured. It is this tremendous violence that has prompted the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) to temporarily shift its focus from the Palestinian Authority to the policies and actions of the Israeli security forces in the Palestinian territories. In our view, the high number of casualties suggests a consistent pattern of excessive and disproportionate use of force by the Israeli security forces.

 

The report is divided into two parts. In the first part, the PHRMG has attempted to give an account as extensive as possible of the events, in each of the different “hot spots” in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This task is particularly difficult given the limited information available and the sometimes contradictory reports of the same events. Because of limited means and the difficulties our field researchers encountered in traveling across the Palestinian territories to gather testimonies at a time of tight internal and external closure, the PHRMG had to rely more heavily than usual on secondary sources, such as newspaper reports or press releases from other human rights organizations, whose accuracy we were sometimes unable to verify. Although incomplete, we decided nevertheless to include this chronology in the present report, to give the reader a better picture of the overall situation. Nonetheless, the chronology is focused on the Palestinian experience and does not claim to be complete. In particular, it does not attempt to address the complex question of who started the violence, to attribute blame for this or to adjudicate who is reacting to whom.

 

The second part of the report presents a catalogue of particularly grave violations  of human rights that have been investigated and are supported by evidence and testimonies. First to be analyzed since it involves loss of life and contradicts the very basic human right to life enshrined in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) is the excessive and disproportionate use of force by the Israeli security forces against Palestinian demonstrators. The report analyzes both the means (types of weapon) and the methods (shooting at the upper part of the body) that have been used, and a special section deals with child casualties. Other sections then go on to deal with the protection of wounded persons, medical personnel and ambulances, with violence committed against journalists and infringements upon the press freedom, with damages to civilian infrastructure including houses, places of worship and agricultural land, with violence committed by Jewish settlers, and finally with measures of collective punishment imposed upon the Palestinian territories, especially the internal and external closures and the curfews. However, it should be borne in mind that this report does not aim to be comprehensive, and it does not cover all the human rights violations that have been committed in the past weeks.

 

The clashes have spread far beyond the Palestinian territories occupied after 1967. Confrontations have also taken place in predominantly Arab towns inside Israel – Jaffa, Haifa, Akko, in the Galilee and the Negev, as well as in the occupied Golan Heights. The PHRMG is equally concerned by the violations of human rights that occurred in these areas but decided for lack of means to focus on its traditional area of concern, and this report will therefore concentrate on the events that took place in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

 

Similarly, the PHRMG has decided not to investigate here the human rights violations that motivated the riots. Although the visit by Ariel Sharon sparked off the Intifada, the continuation of the confrontations to this day is motivated by a much deeper resentment, originating in the numerous human rights violations committed daily by the occupying power in the Palestinian territories since 1967: the building of settlements and bypass roads, restrictions on the freedom of movement, on the freedom of worship, on political freedoms, discrimination on the basis of race and religion, continuing detention of political prisoners, etc.

 

Although the PHRMG is a Palestinian organization, we are not affiliated to any political party or movement. We have tried our best to keep the present report as objective as possible.  However, the picture presented here is necessarily incomplete as our mandate clearly states that the organization monitors human rights committed against Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Violations of human rights have also been committed against Israelis by the Palestinian side, who have damaged holy sites, attacked Jewish settlers, and hindered the evacuation of wounded Israelis. These findings do appear in the report whenever we deemed it relevant to the report as a whole, but the bulk of the violations investigated are those committed by the Israeli side. On the basis of the report and the testimonies examined, we believe that the evidence points to an excessive use of force by the Israeli security forces. The Israeli army has been invited to comment on our findings. These comments will be published alongside the report.

 

A.        Chronology

 

The present chronology was compiled based on information gathered from press releases received from various human rights organizations including Al-Haq, PCHR and DCI-Palestine, from Israeli, Palestinian and foreign newspapers, and from PHRMG’s own field researchers. It is not exhaustive, since our field workers could not travel freely across the Palestinian territories to gather information due to the total closure imposed by Israel. This forced us to rely more than usually on newspaper articles, increasing the danger of falling prey to the disinformation spread by both sides. However, this chronology is intended to give the reader a picture as complete as possible of the events before focusing on particular types of violations of human rights.

 

This section is divided according to the major locations of the clashes in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It covers the time-span starting with the riots that took place on al-Haram al-Sharif on 29 September 2000, until the publishing of this report on 7 November 2000, 40 days later. Not all individual incidents are reported since clashes tend to follow the same pattern: funerals are held in the morning, and after the funeral the demonstrators move on to well-known points of friction to express their anger at Israeli security forces. If the Israeli soldiers are formally forbidden to shoot unless they are being shot at first, some report indicate that these guidelines are not always follow and that Israeli soldiers sometimes shoot at small crowds chanting slogans and throwing stones. New victims fall during the clashes, whose funerals will fuel the violence of the coming day. When Israelis were killed, Israel launched retaliatory attacks, generally firing rockets from combat helicopters onto specific targets. If the first of these attacks, on 12 October, caused considerable emotion in Palestine and throughout the world, gradually the use of combat helicopters or tanks became routine and such attacks went almost unnoticed. Some Israeli officers even complained about the ineffectiveness of strikes that were preceded by warning shots and hence provoked very few or no injuries [1] .

 

1.      In Jerusalem

 

On Friday 29 September 2000, after the noon prayers on al-Haram al-Sharif, violent incidents between Palestinians and the Israeli police erupted. As documented in an extensive interim report released by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem [2] , it appears that Palestinians started throwing stones at the police after the prayers, and the police responded by firing shock grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets. A few minutes later, the police charged onto the compound, making extensive use of rubber-coated metal bullets and firing indiscriminately at the crowd. Live ammunition was also used. At no time did the police attempt to warn the crowd of the measures they intended to take, nor did they make use of less lethal means such as tear gas. According to B’Tselem, it also appears from the testimonies and the video footage of the events that the lives of the police officers were never in danger.

 

The clashes went on intermittently throughout the day, until approximately 17:30. At the end of the day, four Palestinians had been killed and over 200 were wounded (a fifth victim died a few days later). More than 70 Israeli policemen were injured by stones.

 

Sporadic confrontations continued during the next few days in the Old City, on the Mount of Olives and in Shu’afat. The Israeli police also proceeded with massive arrest campaigns. Its undercover units (Musta’rebin) were reported to raid Palestinian homes at night and arrest Palestinian youth from the Old City. More than 300 were already reported arrested from the Jerusalem area on 5 October. On Thursday evening, 5 October, gunshots were reported near the settlement of Gilo in East Jerusalem.

 

The situation became particularly tense on Friday 6 October, the Palestinian-declared “Day of Rage”, when some 8’000 Muslim worshippers gathered once again at al-Aqsa Mosque to pray. Clashes erupted in the Old City and numerous people were injured. Palestinians threw a firebomb into an Israeli police outpost at the Lions’ Gate that leads to the al-Aqsa compound, and then rained stones down on troops who evacuated the besieged policemen. The deserted police post was set on fire. Reports indicated that the Israeli security forces closed the gates of the Haram al-Sharif, impeding the work of ambulances and medical teams.

 

On 7 October settlers attacked Palestinian properties in al-Musrarah quarter and near Road No. 1. Settlers also carried out attacks in Shu’afat, and tried to break into Orient House. The violence even spread to West Jerusalem. Palestinian workers were attacked in the Jewish orthodox neighborhoods of Mea Shearim and Shmuel Hanevi. More than 15 houses were raided in the village of Qatanah.

 

Sporadic eruptions of violence continued over the next weeks. The situation particularly worsened between the Jerusalem settlement of Gilo and the neighboring Palestinian town of Beit Jala, next to Bethlehem, where Palestinians and Israeli troops exchanged fire in the wake of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, on 17 October. One Israeli soldier was critically wounded, and Jewish residents had to be temporarily evacuated. Tanks opened fire at the house from which the shots were fired, using their machine guns (see Bethlehem section for further incidents).

 

On 20 October, Israeli police for the second time prevented all men under the age of 40 from entering al-Haram al-Sharif for Friday prayers. However, there were no serious disturbances. The peaceful demonstration that followed the prayer was quickly dispersed. No violent incidents occurred either on Friday 27 October, where men below 35 where barred access to al-Haram al-Sharif. The age limit was then raised to 45 on the following Fridays.

 

On Monday 6 November, clashes erupted at the Abu Dis intersection, and fire bombs were thrown at a settler’s house in Ras al-Amud. Disturbances also occurred on several occasions in Salah ad-Din Street in East Jerusalem.

 

2.      In the West Bank

 

2.1.              Bethlehem

              Rachel’s Tomb, Beit Sahour, Beit Jala

 

The violent clashes in Bethlehem were concentrated mainly near the northern entrance to Bethlehem near Rachel’s Tomb / Bilal Iben Rabah Mosque. Confrontations also took place in Beit Sahour, where an Israeli soldier died on 2 October as he was driving a jeep escorting an Israeli tanker alongside Palestinian territory. In the night from 4 to 5 October, an attack was carried out by Israeli forces against the electricity generator, leaving most residents of Bethlehem and Beit Jala without electricity throughout the night. Houses have been attacked with live ammunition, aiming at the water tanks on the roofs or at the house itself. Moreover, approximately 30 residential buildings have been occupied as the Israeli security forces deployed on the roofs to fire at the Palestinian protesters. New exchanges of gunfire took place in Beit Jala on 5 October. In the village of Teku’a, Israeli settlers attacked at least 6 houses with live ammunition. On Monday 9 October fierce clashes erupted between Palestinian and Israeli settlers from Bitar settlement.

 

The clashes became especially fierce between the Palestinian town of Beit Jala and the Jewish settlement of Gilo, in Jerusalem (see previous section). On Friday 20 October, three houses and a carpentry shop were hit in Beit Sahour as the Israeli army opened fire without prior warning using helicopter missiles. On Sunday, 22 October, Israeli helicopters fired five missiles at Beit Jala in response to shots fired earlier at the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, and tanks fired at least three shells into the village. Tanks were used again on 23 October. On Wednesday, 1 November, heavy fighting around the village of al-Khader, near the Jewish settlement of Efrat south of Bethlehem prompted the Israeli army to send in two combat helicopters, in a strategic move that had by then become routine. One Israeli soldier and two Palestinians were killed in the fighting. Five soldiers and several dozen Palestinians were wounded.

 

On Thursday 9 November, an Israeli helicopter fired in Beit Sahour at the car of Hussein Abayat, a Fatah leader who was targeted for assassination. The attack also killed two women bystanders and wounded several. Shelling on Beit Sahour became particularly dense on Sunday 12 November, when it was bombarded three times in 6 hours. A factory was hit. On Wednesday night, 15 November, the Israeli Air force again launched a simultaneous attack on several Palestinian towns, including Beit Jala, in retaliation for the shooting from Beit Jala towards Gilo. A German doctor, Harry Fischer, 55, was killed in Beit Jala where he was living.

 

2.2.              Ramallah / al-Bireh

 

Violent clashes erupted in Ramallah as well, concentrated mainly at the northern entrance of Ramallah / al-Bireh. On Sunday, 1 October, Israeli troops invaded the City Inn hotel in al-Bireh, next to Ramallah. Several Palestinians were killed or injured by live ammunition. On Wednesday, 4 October, an attack was carried out at dawn on Betunia, at whose southern entrance large reinforcements of tanks had been brought the day before. Israeli forces left the City Inn in Ramallah but redeployed in the headquarters nearby, where they deployed new fortified protective barriers. The City Inn was re-occupied on the night of 7 October, and the Israeli forces deployed machine guns on the rooftops of surrounding buildings. Machine guns were also deployed in Qalandia refugee camp. Settlers fired on Palestinian homes from the settlement of Psagot.

 

On Thursday, 12 October, the situation dramatically worsened. Two Israeli soldiers held in a Palestinian police station were lynched by an angry crowd reacting to the rumor that they were members of an elite undercover unit there to arrest Palestinian demonstrators. The Israeli response came later that day, when Israeli forces started bombing positions of the Palestinian security forces in Ramallah and Gaza. Residents had been evacuated beforehand since warning had been given. The police station in al-Bireh where the killing took place was hit, as well as the courtyard of the Palestinian security force headquarters. At least 6 rockets were also fired at the antenna of the “Voice of Palestine” radio station in Ramallah. The Ramallah office of President Arafat also seems to have been targeted. Later in the day the PNA headquarters in Nablus, the military academy in Jericho and two suburbs of Hebron were also attacked with helicopter gunships. However surgical, the attacks did injure 16 civilians and triggered a sense of panic in the population.

 

The police station in Ramallah

Photo: Ann K. Brunborg

 

Clashes went on every day near al-Bireh. On Tuesday night, 24 October, the Israeli army fired tank missiles for the first time there, without prior warning. On Monday night, 30 October, helicopters attacked what was supposed to be the headquarters of Tanzim secretary-general Marwan Barghouti in Ramallah (hitting also a neighboring residential building), as well as other targets in the West Bank and Gaza, in retaliation for the killing of two Israelis that day. Early morning on 5 November, tanks bombarded the southern neighborhood of Betunia, where several houses were damaged. Tanks and helicopters shelled several neighborhoods in Ramallah / al-Bireh, especially on 11 and 15 November.

 

2.3.              Hebron

 

A 24-hour curfew was imposed on the city on Sunday, 1 October, preventing some 40’000 Palestinians living in the Israeli-controlled area (H2) from leaving their homes, while the 500 Israeli settlers are allowed to move freely. The curfew is still in place (November 24). Several houses were occupied by the Israeli army in the al-Shalala area, near the settlement of Kiryat Arba, and other houses were occupied in Tel Rumeida. Attacks by settlers were also reported. Israeli snipers were deployed on the rooftops of Palestinian houses between H1 and H2 areas. On Tuesday, 3 October, more houses were commandeered by the Israeli forces in the occupied part of Hebron and converted into military camps. There were numerous reports of settlers damaging Palestinian cars.

 

On Wednesday, 4 October, the Israeli forces attempted to raid the Abu Sneineh neighborhood in Hebron, which left one Palestinian dead and 7 more injured. Numerous attacks by settlers were reported. During the night of 9 to 10 October, settlers launched attacks in Hebron and the surrounding towns and villages of Samou’, Aboud, Halhoul, Sourif and Beit Ummar, leaving at least 9 Palestinians injured. Automatic weapon fire was reported from several houses in Jneid Mountain and Takour Mountain in Abu Sneineh neighborhood. Military helicopters were also said to have shelled two homes in al-Sheikh and Abu Sneineh neighborhoods. Several homes were shelled the following day, and on the night of 11 to 12 October, Israeli helicopters again bombarded the al-Sheikh neighborhood. On 12 October, punitive raids were also carried out by the Israeli forces against the PNA headquarters in Hebron, as was the case in Ramallah, Gaza, Nablus and Jericho. Clashes continued to occur virtually every day after that, but the information filtering out of H2 was reduced to a trickle due to the curfew and the absence of any journalists in the area. On 23 October, a 58-years-old Palestinian man was killed when his house in Abu Sneineh neighborhood was bombed.

 

Clashes and shelling became a daily routine. They were particularly fierce in Hebron on 10 and 11 November. On Wednesday 15 November, very aggressive clashes erupted in the village of Samou’ and in Fawwar refugee camp. On the same day the Israeli Air force bombarded the offices of Fatah in Hebron, as well as several other West Bank towns. On 16 November, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers, including Yousef Abu Awad, 30 years old, from Beit Ummar, killed in cold blood [3] .

 

2.4.              Nablus

 

In Nablus, the fighting was concentrated in the areas surrounding Joseph’s Tomb and the Balatta refugee camp. Many Arab families had to be evacuated from the area due to the heavy fighting. On Sunday, October 1, 15 Israeli tanks were deployed around the city of Nablus, and helicopter gunships were used to quell the demonstrations. The attack claimed at least one victim, 10-year-old Samer Tabanja, who was killed on the roof of his house. Tanks were deployed towards Joseph’s Tomb. On Wednesday, 4 October, tanks were brought in from the Jordan Valley and stationed at the entrance of Hawwarah and the other part of the eastern road to Nablus, and Israeli troops fortified their positions in Joseph’s Tomb. Groups of settlers attacked Palestinian cars passing on the Ramallah – Nablus road. Tanks were moved back in a brief cease-fire on Thursday 5 October, until fighting resumed. Helicopters were once again firing at the Palestinian protestors on Friday 6 October, but in a dramatic turning point, Israeli troops withdrew from their position in Joseph’s Tomb in the morning of Saturday, 7 October. A Palestinian crowd destroyed the holy site during the following day. One Israeli settler was reported missing.

 

Attacks by settlers increased in the area of Nablus. Palestinian cars driving in the area also came under attack. On Wednesday, 11 October, Israeli settlers raided Hawwarah village in Nablus district. They set fire to the village mosque and attacked some houses and stores. Clashes between settlers and Palestinians continued until early morning, 12 October.

 

On 12 October, as Ramallah and Gaza city were bombed in retaliation for the lynching of two Israeli soldiers, helicopter gunships also attacked the PNA headquarters in Nablus. In the wake of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, on 17 October, Israel started to withdraw its tanks from the outskirts of Nablus.

 

On 17 October, a group of Palestinians from the village of Beit Furik near Nablus went to harvest their olives when they were stopped and shot at by two armed settlers from the Itamar settlement. One Palestinian died and at least five more villagers were wounded. The two settlers were arrested by the Israeli police.

 

On 19 October, a gun battle raged for more than 5 hours between Palestinian gunmen and a group of about 40 settlers trapped on a hillside of Mount Ebal and Israeli troops. The settlers were on a hike to inspect the remains of Joseph’s Tomb. The Israeli forces were firing from combat helicopters equipped with machine-guns until the settlers could be evacuated with the coming of darkness. At least one Palestinian and one Jewish settler were killed. On Friday, 20 October, after the funeral of the previous day’s Palestinian victim, six more Palestinians died in gun battles in the city of Nablus.

 

On Monday night, 30 October, Israeli helicopters attacked a Fatah office in Nablus as well as other targets in the West Bank and Gaza, in retaliation for the killing of two Israelis that day. No injuries were reported. A similar attack was carried out on 15 November. Hawwarah again was raided by Jewish settlers and soldiers that day. On Monday 20 November, Jewish settlers blocked the main road between ramallah and Nablus at the Elit junction, and threw stones at Arab vehicles.

 

On Thursday 23 November, an Israeli unit succeeded to kill Ibrahim Bani Odeh, a member of the military branch of the Hamas movement. The following day, two brothers were killed in their house as the Israeli forces were shelling Nablus, and an Israeli settler was killed by armed Palestinians near the village of Ousarin.

 

2.5.              Other

 

Palestinian demonstrators burned three Israeli chemical factories near Tulkarem while settlers joined the confrontations on Monday 2 October. On Tuesday, October 3, a Jewish settler was killed in Bidya, in the district of Salfeet near Nablus, when two young men stole his gun and shot him before running away. During the night between 4 and 5 October, Israeli forces destroyed power generators in Tulkarem and in the village of Beit Dajan. On Saturday evening, 7 October, Israeli settlers raided the village of Bidya in Salfeet district and set fire to stores located near the northern entrance of the village. Shops and electricity posts were destroyed. An ambulance was delayed for one hour before being allowed to reach the site, and at least one Palestinian died.

 

When two Israeli were killed in Ramallah on 12 October, the Israeli army also carried out retaliatory raids in Jericho. Demonstrations took place the following day, Friday 13 October, and several dozen people were injured. The Shalom al Yisrael synagogue was set on fire, and later that day Israeli Cobra helicopters fired anti-tank missiles at the Palestinian officers’ school in Jericho in retaliation. The Palestinian Authority later had the damage to the synagogue repaired. On 27-28 October, during heated clashes around the Vered Jericho settlement and the entrance to Jericho, Israeli tanks shelled a house used as a base by Palestinian shooters. The Palestinian casino in Jericho was the target of a tank attack on Sunday night, 12 November.

 

In Jenin, confrontations erupted almost daily and the town was shelled on 6 November. The town of Qalqilya also, another field of confrontation in the West Bank, was shelled by Israeli forces on 6 November. Houses and positions of the Palestinian National Security forces were targeted, and electricity was cut off since a power plant was damaged. One girl was injured. On 14 November, a curfew was imposed on the village of East Baka in the Tulkarem region, where clashes had erupted. On Wednesday 15 November, particularly fierce clashes erupted in Tulkarem, Jenin and Jericho to mark the anniversary of the Palestinian declaration of independence. The same night, the Israeli Air force launched a simultaneous attack on Beit Jala, Tulkarem, Jericho, Nablus and Hebron.

 

On 26 November, five Palestinians were killed in an ambush in Qalqilya.

 

 

 

3.      In the Gaza Strip

 

Erez Border crossing and the safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank were closed on Saturday, 30 September and have still not been reopened (November 7). Violent confrontations erupted in Netzarim / Martyrs’ Junction, Khan Yunis, Rafah, near Deir el-Ballah by the Israeli settlement of Kfar Darom and near the Israeli settlement bloc of Gush Katif.

 

3.1.              Netzarim / Martyrs’ Junction

 

In the Gaza Strip, clashes erupted in Martyrs’ junction, close to the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, and resulted on Saturday 30 September in the death of 12-year-old Mohammed al-Dura in the arms of his father. A Palestinian ambulance driver was shot to death at the same junction as he tried to cross the road to come to the rescue of the boy and his father. Israeli forces were reported to have fired Lao anti-tank rockets and used live ammunition. On October 1, PCHR reports that Israeli forces shelled the Palestinian position of the joint liaison forces at the Martyrs’ junction. On October 2, PCHR reported that Israeli helicopters were using tear gas on Palestinian demonstrators, and that a residential building near the junction was also the target of Israeli fire. On 3 October, three helicopters were used to shell Palestinian demonstrators with rockets and heavy weaponry. On Wednesday, 4 October, settlers from the Netzarim settlement were reported to have opened fire on Palestinians without the intervention of the Israeli forces.

 

On 7 October, tanks were seen heading towards the settlement of Netzarim. Israeli helicopters bombarded two residential buildings on the intersection, that had been used by Palestinians to throw stones and shoot at the Israeli troops. As reported by PCHR, the buildings consisted of 32 apartments and the families could not evacuate their furniture before they were destroyed. The following day, an iron-processing factory and its equipment were destroyed. The intersection was closed with sand barriers and more reinforcements were deployed in the area. On Tuesday, 10 October, at dawn, 14 Israeli tanks destroyed another Palestinian residential building near the junction. The intersection was by that time completely flattened, and the clashes moved to other areas.

 

3.2.              Rafah

 

There were also significant clashes in Rafah. Three houses were bombarded by Israeli forces on 2 October, but no injuries were reported. On Tuesday 3 October, two Israeli soldiers were injured in an armed attack on a convoy of settlers’ vehicles, and later that day Israeli helicopters bombarded a position of the Palestinian National Security in Rafah, as well as three other houses. On Saturday, 7 October, an Israeli bus was attacked and 9 Israelis were injured in the shooting. Israel decided to close Gaza International Airport in retaliation. Rafah was heavily bombarded on 20 November, after two Israelis were killed in an attack against an Israeli bus in Gush Katif.

 

3.3.              Other

 

On 11 October, four houses to the north of Khan Yunis were bombed, near the junction leading to the Gush Katif settlement bloc. In the morning of 12 October, an Israeli combat helicopter shot at Palestinian civilians in Khan Yunis. Later that day, in retaliation for the lynching of two Israeli soldiers by a Palestinian crowd in Ramallah, Israeli helicopter gunships fired on a guardhouse next to the President’s residence, the Force-17 security service and the Naval police in Gaza City. Gunboats were further deployed off the coast in Gaza. On Wednesday, 18 October, a large roadside bomb exploded near a bus transporting dozens of Israeli settlers to the Gush Katif area and shots were fired at the bus. No injuries were reported.

 

On 26 October, a Palestinian suicide bomber attempted to reach an army outpost near Gush Katif and killed himself in the explosion. Tanks were sent to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, 29 October, to the Karni outlet where violent clashes had erupted. Israeli troops responded to shooting from the Palestinian side with machine gun fire. On Monday, 30 October, helicopters attacked the headquarters of the Force-17 security service in Khan Yunis as well as various targets in the West Bank, in retaliation for the killing of two Israelis that day. The following day, clashes were even fiercer at the Karni outlet, where Palestinians opened fire for the second consecutive day at an Israeli army outpost using machine guns and – for the first time – anti-tank grenades. The Israeli army responded with tank-mounted machine guns, snipers, and bulldozers which destroyed a nearby Palestinian police post. Tank shells and antitank missiles were used on Wednesday 15 November during clashes near Kfar Darom.

 

On Saturday 17 November, a Palestinian gunman infiltrated into an Israeli military outpost in Kfar Darom and killed one soldier and wounding two before he was killed himself.

 

On Monday 20 November, an Israeli school bus was attacked in Kfar Darom, killing two adults and injuring nine, including five children. The Israeli forces retaliated the same night by attacking nine targets in the Gaza Strip from the sea and the air without previous warning, but many of the targets had been vacated since the Palestinians expected an attack. Much of the electricity was knocked out during the attack, which lasted almost three hours. The internal closure of the Gaza Strip was reinforced.

 

On Wednesday 22 November, four Fatah member were assassinated at Morag junction near Rafah in a planned operation, including 30-years-old Jamal Abdel-Razek.

 

B.        Overview of Violations

 

            The PHRMG has collected data on a number of serious human rights violations during the al-Aqsa Intifada.  This report focuses on some of the worst, and most persistent categories of abuse.  These include:

 

First, the excessive use of force by Israeli forces to quell protests and demonstrations, including use of live ammunition, targeting the head and upper body of protesters, and utilizing weapons of war such as rockets and military helicopters. They also include the indiscriminate use of force whereby Israeli forces knowingly endangered civilians and children, leading to an unacceptably high number of deaths and injuries of innocent parties.

 

Second, disregard for international law regarding access and protection of medical personnel, including delaying access of medical personnel to the wounded and firing on both clearly marked and identified medical personnel and medical vehicles.

 

Third, harassing, assaulting and firing on journalists covering the events in clear violation of international legal standards on freedom of the press, and the bombing of the antenna of the Voice of Palestine radio station.

 

Fourth, damages to civilian infrastructure, and especially damages to holy places, in a grave violation of the freedom of worship and the protection of places of worship in time of war.

 

Fifth, the severe and unjustified curtailment of Palestinian freedom of movement with the closure of the Palestinian territories, including Gaza International Airport, preventing thousands of Moslems from reaching al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for Friday prayers. In particular, this refers to the imposition of internal closure with the erection of military checkpoints in between Palestinian towns and villages in effect isolating them, and to the curfew imposed on Hebron and Hawwarah that led to food shortages.

 

Sixth, crimes committed by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territories were not prosecuted, and were sometimes even condoned by the Israeli security forces.

 

For each section, relevant provisions of international law and/or dispositions of the Israeli regulations regarding use of force are quoted. The PHRMG does not consider that the events can be qualified as “armed conflict”, which would imply a confrontation between two armies. However, it is clear from the events that the Israeli side was using military rather than law enforcement means. This is why provisions of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols have also been quoted here, on the view that these now belong to the realm of customary principles of humanitarian law applicable at all times. This is especially the case with the 2^nd Additional Protocol of 1977 relating to non-international armed conflicts, containing the minimal rules on which the international community could agree at that time for this sensitive type of conflicts. The PHRMG wishes to emphasize that these quotes in no way contradict its view that the current confrontation is one opposing Israeli armed forces to Palestinian civilians (since even armed policemen remain civilians).

 

 

1.      Civilian persons and population

 

 

 

 

Under the principle of proportionality, the use of force should always be proportional to the objective. Under the principle of necessity, the use of firearms is to be considered an extreme measure and every effort should be made to avoid it, especially violence against children. According both to international law and Israel’s own “open-fire” regulations, live ammunition is only to be used in a life-threatening situation. Since the beginning of the clashes however, the Israeli forces have been using excessive, and, all too often, lethal, force to quell demonstrations and protests.  This has included the use of tear gas, rubber-coated metal bullets, live ammunition, high-velocity ammunition, Lao rockets and military helicopters and tanks. It must be remembered that while some protesters use firearms, in the majority of cases soldiers have fired against crowds armed only with stones and sometimes Molotov cocktails. The contention that the soldiers’ lives were under threat – justifying the use of live ammunition – is cast into doubt by the fact that most of the Israelis killed did not actually die in clashes, but in ambushes set up by Palestinian fighters. At the least it seems likely that in a significant number of cases Israeli soldiers have used tactics and weapons not justified by a clear and present threat to their lives.

 

The following sections will analyze the type of weapons used by the Israeli security forces, the injuries sustained in the upper part of the body, and the case of children hurt or killed in the clashes.

 

1.1.              Type of weapons

 

The type of weapons used by the Israeli forces to quell the demonstrations is symptomatic of the excessive use of force. Primary means of crowd dispersal involve the use of water canons and tear gas. But the Israeli forces have hardly resorted to these non-lethal weapons. Water canons have never been used since the beginning of the clashes. Neither has a machine invented by the Israelis during the first intifada, the khatsatsit, that throws the stones back at demonstrators. Tear gas was scarcely used during the first days or weeks, although it is deemed an effective way of dispersing demonstration. But the Israeli army then made an increasing use of this type of weapon, and the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) complained in a press release dated 24 October that the army was firing tear gas indiscriminately and in such quantities that it also provoked severe injuries. UPMRC reported that a tear-gas canister landed inside a house on 23 October in Ramallah, and three children had to be hospitalized for gas inhalation. In Hebron, on 4 November 2000, the 23-day infant Hind Nidal Jamil Qweider reportedly died from suffocation after she inhaled tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers near her house. It is however impossible for doctors to clearly identify the cause of death since they are prevented by the families to conduct autopsies.

 

Another type of “non-lethal weapons” are rubber-coated metal bullets. It should not be forgotten however that even rubber-coated metal bullets can kill. Israeli regulations state clearly that rubber-coated metal bullets should only be used as a last resort when less harmful methods have had no effect, and even then should be fired at the legs of an identified rioter or stone thrower.  It seems difficult to reconcile these strict guidelines with the high number of demonstrators injured in the upper body (see next section). Figures also show that many people have been injured or killed, that did not take part in the demonstrations. The case of children, medical personnel and journalists will be examined in separate sections. Clearly, the guidelines are not being followed.

 

According to Israeli army regulations, live ammunition is to be used only when there is an immediate danger to life, and should be fired at the legs only.  These regulations were relaxed during the clashes to allow local commanders of the Israeli army in the West Bank and Gaza to order their troops to open fire at stone-throwers if they consider their troops to be under threat. The new regulations are highly contestable since the blatant military superiority of the Israeli security forces can hardly leave them powerless in front of stone-throwers. Furthermore, even the presence of firearms among the Palestinian demonstrators does not justify indiscriminate firing at the crowd. Firstly, the vast majority of injured and killed Palestinians were not carrying weapons other than stones. Secondly, it is true that members of the Palestinian security forces should be placed separately from unarmed civilians – be they stone-throwers – in order to avoid putting the latter in danger. However, even if the Palestinian side does not respect these precautions, the Israeli forces are in no way authorized to disregard their duties under humanitarian law.

 

Several testimonies relate the use by Israeli forces of “exploding bullets”, that many thought to be internationally banned dumdum bullets. Here is for example the testimony of Ibrahim al-Riati, on the death of his 19-year-old nephew Saleh Issa Yousef al-Riati from Rafah in the Gaza Strip:

 

“On Monday 2nd October Saleh was shot with exploding bullets in his head, between his eyes.  This was at about 9 a.m. at Salah ad-Din Gate, on the Egyptian-Israeli border line.  The bullets spread in his head, and he was placed in the intensive care unit.  He remained in the hospital for five days in a very serious condition.” [He died on 6 October 2000]

 

The PHRMG interviewed on 19 October 2000 Dr. Khaled A. Qurie, General Surgeon at al-Makassed hospital in East Jerusalem. According to Dr. Qurie, the fragments of bullets that have been mistakenly identified as the internationally-banned (exploding) dumdum bullets come in fact from the high-velocity bullets used by Israeli snipers. He further explained that such bullets provoke very serious wounds, not only in the tracks of the different fragments of the bullet, but also as a result of the shock wave created by the impact, especially due to the high speed of a bullet that reaches 1000 m/sec. According to Dr. Qurie, this type of weapon definitely generates unnecessary suffering, and one can therefore wonder if it would not also be forbidden under international humanitarian law.

 

The Israeli forces have also resorted to weapons of war, including rockets and military helicopters in civilian areas. The use of weapons of war is certainly not justifiable under the principles of necessity and proportionality by which law enforcement officials must abide. Their use has led to the deaths and injuries of civilians in their own homes. 12-year-old Samer Sameer Tabenja was shot and killed by a military helicopter on the roof of his own house in Nablus.  Samer’s house was not located in the area where the majority of the clashes were taking place.  Even if the use of military helicopters was warranted, which is highly questionable, it is difficult to determine any acceptable military objective that could be served by firing openly on civilian targets removed from areas of major disturbance. Often, helicopters were also used to retaliate for shots fired by Palestinians at Jewish settlements, as from Beit Jala to Gilo around 20 – 22 October. In this case, it is hard to see how the principle of proportionality has been upheld, since powerful missiles were used to respond to a few shots from kalashnikov rifles. Moreover, even when they do not actually fire, the hovering of helicopters above Palestinian towns and villages is enough to instill a sense of terror in the population.

 

A civilian house bombed in Beit Jala from the Gilo settlement (in the background)

Photo: Ann K. Brunborg

 

Most disturbing are the reports that sometimes helicopters fire a type of armor-piercing ammunition that contains depleted uranium [4] . This type of ammunition – called DU-ammunition – might present a health hazard due to its chemical toxicity and its radioactive radiations. Although the level of radioactivity of DU-ammunition is very low, exposure to large quantity could lead to kidney damage or lung cancer. The PHRMG is very alarmed by the fact that such ammunition could have been used in densly populated areas in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

 

Tanks were deployed around major Palestinian towns since the beginning of the clashes as a psychological deterrent, and fired for the first time on 21 October as a warning to the residents of Beit Jala, outside Bethlehem, next to the Jerusalem settlement of Gilo. Tanks fired again at Beit Jala on Monday 23 October, without prior warning, in Ramallah on 24 October and in Jericho on 27 or 28 October. The use of such powerful weapons against civilian targets cannot be justified in any circumstances.

 

The whole pattern of the clashes shows that stones are met by rubber-coated metal bullets, a few rocks trigger the use of live ammunition, and the Israeli forces do not hesitate to resort even to machine guns, helicopters, rockets and tanks if they see fit. This clearly excessive use of force generated a heavy death toll among the Palestinians and a much higher number of injuries. Figures issued by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) [5] indicate that between 29 September and 7 November there have been 7229 injuries and 162 deaths on the Palestinian side. These can be broken down into the following categories:

 

•   Live ammunition          1335     (18%)

•   Rubber bullets             3195     (44%)

•   Gas                             2150     (30%)

•   Miscellaneous               549      (8%)

 

 

1.2.              Targeting the upper part of the body

 

 

In many cases, the kinds of wounds sustained by Palestinian protestors suggest that Israeli forces are targeting the upper body and head. Statistics compiled by the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) [6] describe the type of injuries sustained by the casualties in the clashes. According to UPMRC findings, 48.1 % of the people killed were shot in the head or neck and 50.4 % were shot in the chest or abdomen. The UPMRC also found that 70 % of the people injured where shot in the upper part of the body (58 % if injuries to the upper limbs are excluded), including 26 % who were shot in the head or neck. A study of Palestinian hospitals conducted by Physicians for Human Rights has found that at least 30% of injuries were from the stomach up.  There have also been a disproportionate number of eye injuries.  The targetting of the upper body is not only a violation of international law, but of the Israeli army’s own domestic guidelines on the use of force.

                                       

At St. John Ophtalmic Hospital, Jerusalem

Photo: Bassem Eid

                                       

The PHRMG has previously released a report studying the extensive occurrence of eye injuries and denouncing the misuse of rubber-coated metal bullets by Israeli forces (Israeli Misuse of Rubber-Coated Metal Bullets Causing Eye Injuries, 3 October 2000).      That study was based on testimonies and data gathered at the St. John’s eye hospital in East Jerusalem.  It concluded that Israeli forces have extensively violated their own safe firing guidelines by repeatedly targeting the head and upper body of rioters, firing on children and uninvolved citizens and firing within the minimum distance stated in the guidelines. The following testimonies, representing only a small portion of eye injury victims, demonstrate the apparent disregard for safe firing guidelines that has been demonstrated throughout the clashes.

 

Case #1

Salman Ibrahim Salman Musbeh, 12 years old, in 6th grade, from Abasan village near Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip

 

“On the morning of Saturday 30th September 2000 I went to school as usual, but all the pupils went out protesting against the provocative visit of the Extremist Israeli Ariel Sharon to al-Aqsa Mosque.  We marched towards the junction near Kfar Darom settlement and when we reached it Israeli soldiers opened fire at us.  I climbed one of the posts to pull down the Israeli flag but an Israeli soldier shot at me with rubber-coated metal bullets and hit me in my right eye.  A Palestinian medical team took me to al-Shifa hospital, and I lost my eye.” 

 

Case #2

Ramadan Mohammed Salim, 15 years old, in the 9th grade, from Bani-Suhaila village near Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip

 

“On Saturday 30^th September 2000 in the morning I joined a march heading towards the Grinders’ junction protesting against Sharon’s visit to al-Aqsa Mosque.  When we reached the junction we started throwing stones at the Israeli soldiers who started shooting at us.  I was hit with a rubber-coated metal bullet in my right eye, and another youth who was standing next to me was also hit with a bullet in his eye.  Although I was taken to Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis and al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, I lost my right eye.”

 

Case #3

Fadel Abdo Mohammed Ibrahim al-Azzeh, 22 years old, from Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip

 

“On Monday 2nd October 2000 I was going to Gaza with my sister who was going to have a medical operation.  When we reached the Netzarim (Martyrs’) junction we couldn’t continue because of the clashes there.  We got off to cross the junction on foot, but there was very heavy gunfire and a rubber bullet hit me in my right eye.  I was taken to the eye-hospital in Gaza, and my situation is improving.”

  

Case #4

Awad Issa Awad Mansour, 33 years old, from Bethany, East Jerusalem

 

 “On Friday 29th September, I was in al-Aqsa Mosque. After the end of prayers, we immediately went out but the Israeli soldiers and special forces were already there shooting in all directions. They didn’t leave a chance for people to go out. I was shot with a rubber-coated metal bullet in my left eye, from about 20 meters. Another man came and tried to help me but he was shot as well in his back. We ran together and I was covering my bleeding eye with my hand. I saw women and children surrounded with Israeli soldiers who were throwing tear gas at them. A ford transit carried me with other injured men to Makassed hospital, and after the doctor checked me he transferred me to St. John’s hospital. I arrived there at about 4 p.m. They checked my eye and conducted surgery to remove my left eye.”

 

An analysis of these testimonies reveals some disturbing facts.  First, Salman Musbeh and Ramadan Salim were underage, and should not have been targeted according to Israeli firing guidelines.  This is particularly true in the case of Salman, who was marching with a group of school children, and could not have been mistaken for an adult.  Fadel al-Azzeh was not involved in the protests in any way.  He was simply attempting to cross the junction in order to bring his sister to the hospital.  As an innocent bystander, he should not have been targeted.  All three cases involved shots to the head, which should not have occurred.

 

  These testimonies are, unfortunately, typical of other stories told by eye injury victims.  Data obtained from the Ministry of Health in Gaza shows that at least eleven people have lost their eyes as a result of rubber bullet misuse.  This loss represents a permanent and uncorrectable injury to the victims. Furthermore, the high proportion of injuries to the upper part of the body could indicate that the Israeli army is in effect attempting to harm and kill.

 

1.3.              The case of children

 

 

 

 

The PHRMG has previously released a report denouncing the extensive deaths of innocent children in the clashes (Child Fatalities in the Recent Clashes, 4 October 2000).  As of 9th October 2000, 21 children have lost their lives, and statistics compiled by the UPMRC revealed that 13.8% of the casualties are children below the age of 15 (another 20.3% are children from 16 to 18 years old). Children are given special protection in situations of armed conflict under international law and particular care must be taken to ensure that their lives are not put at risk in military actions. As a signatory state to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Israel is bound not only to guarantee that children are not the direct targets of military action, but also to ensure that their safety and rights are respected in situations of armed conflict.  The high number of child casualties indicates that these obligations are not being upheld.

 

The story of Wa’el Tayseer Qatawi is illustrative:

 

“On 1st October 2000 a big march of Palestinians went out from Balata camp towards Joseph’s Tomb and Wa’el was in that march. When they came close, Israeli soldiers in the place opened fire on the youths. In addition, soldiers on the other side of the street, from Mount Gerazim also shot at the demonstrators, and Wa’el was shot with a 500 mm bullet in his head that smashed his skull. It was hard to identify his body, but I managed to do so because I recognized a mark on his arm.” (Testimony of Suleiman Qatawi, uncle of 15-year-old Wa’el Tayseer Qatawi from Balata Camp)

 

The mother of one victim, 13-year-old Yousef Zayed Abu Assi, from Bani Suheila village east of Khan Yunis told the PHRMG:

 

“Yousef has always participated in clashes at the Netzarim (Martyrs) Junction. He said he wanted to die for al-Aqsa Mosque. On Wednesday 4th October while I was watching TV I saw my son Yousef on the TV screen.  He was killed and was in al-Shifa hospital.  They were asking people who knew the martyr to go to the hospital. He was shot by a 500 mm bullet in his heart at the martyrs junction. A cab driver told me that he gave Yousef a lift to the Martyrs junction that day. He said that Yousef didn’t have money to pay the taxi fare, but had stones in his hands.  Yousef said to the cab driver that he wanted to become a martyr.”

 

Fathi Abdallah Abu-Jazar had nine children, but just lost the youngest one in the clashes. Here is the testimony he gave to the PHRMG about the death of his son Sami, 11 years old, from Rafah Camp in the Gaza Strip:

 

“On 10 October, after Sami left his school, he wanted to go and visit his sister in the Brazil neighborhood in Rafah, close to the Egyptian border. When he reached the site of Salah ad-Din Gate at the border, Israeli soldiers at that place fired heavy gunfire, and a bullet hit Sami in his head. First, he was taken to Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, then to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza where doctors immediately placed him in the Intensive Care unit. Doctors said that he was clinically dead. The bullet that hit him was of the exploding type and it was fired with a silencer by an Israeli soldier.”

 

Finally, this section wouldn’t be complete without the testimony given to the PHRMG by Na’el Mohammed Ahmad al-Durreh, the uncle of 12-year-old Mohammed Jamal al-Durreh, killed in Martyr’s junction in Gaza on 30 September 2000 in front of the camera of a French television team:

 

“ On Saturday 30^th September, Mohammed’s father didn’t go to work in Israel as usual, he took his son who had just come back from school to the car market, south of Gaza city, to buy a car. Mohammed hoped to come back home to Bureij camp in a new car with his father. The father told his wife before going out to prepare herself and the children for a ride in the new car upon their return. But the father didn’t find a suitable car, so they took a taxi back home, which stopped near the Netzarim (Martyrs’) junction because of the Israeli military checkpoints. The father and his son got out of the taxi at the crossroads near Netzarim settlement.

 

They tried to avoid the gunfire from the Israeli army because there were Palestinians youths throwing stones protesting against the killing at al-Aqsa Mosque the day before, following the provocative visit of the extremist Ariel Sharon to the Mosque on Thursday 28^th September 2000. So the father took his son by his hand and crossed a piece of land to go around away from the clashes, but suddenly found themselves caught in the middle between the stone-throwers and Palestinian troops from one side, and the Israeli army from the other side. There was very heavy gun-fire, specially from the Israeli soldiers on top of the military post. The father pulled his son behind a cement block and tried continuously to protect him with his own body.

 

First the father was hit with a bullet in his right leg, he shouted with pain and the child cried with fear. Then the father was shot again in his right thigh, he shouted for help, then the child was shot in his right foot. They were both bleeding and crying and holding each other. The child assured his father he was fine. But the gunfire became heavier and heavier, and the father shouted again and again begging for help, but his voice and cries vanished, and they remained there frightened and bleeding behind that rock for more than 40 minutes. No one dared to come near them inside the circle of death.

 

The shooting continued extensively like rain, eight bullets hit the body of the father, and one bullet hit the heart of Mohammed. The father could no longer protect his son, there was no need for it any more. He gathered his remaining strength and shouted: “my son has died, my son is dead, please help me” but no one heard him. The father managed somehow to use his mobile phone to call one of his relatives (his brother in law, Sami) who was a journalist covering the clashes at that site. Sami called an ambulance from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. But when the driver of the ambulance, called Bassam al-Belbeisi, 45 years, crossed the road to carry Mohammed to the ambulance, he was shot and killed by the Israeli army. So Mohammed is now a martyr, and his father has been transferred to Amman for medical treatment, he is in a critical condition. Mohammed’s mother is in total shock and has suffered a nervous breakdown”.

 

Israel has repeatedly argued that children were being purposely sent to the front lines of the conflict to be killed. However, statistics collected by Dr. Mustafa Barghouti from the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) show that most of the casualties are adults. The high number of children casualties is the result of the popular form of the uprising, involving all sectors of the population, and of the “shoot-to-kill” policy of the Israeli soldiers, he concludes. The PHRMG would like to remind Israeli officials that children, even if participating the throwing of stones or occasionnally molotov cocktails, should not be the target of live ammunition. It is a disproportionate use of force, and a violation of international standards designed to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.

 

The following children – below the age of 16 – have been killed in the clashes [7] :

 

1.      Khaled Adli al-Bazyan, 14 years old, from Nablus, killed on Saturday 30 September.

2.      Mohammad Rami Jamal Ahmad al-Dura, 12 years old, from Gaza, killed on Saturday 30 September.

3.      Mohammed Nawaf Abu-Oweimer, 13 years old, from Deir el-Balah, killed on Saturday 30 September

4.      Samer Sameer Tabanja, 12 years old, from Nablus.  Killed on Sunday 1^st October.

5.      Iyad Ahmed al-Khashashi, 14 years old, from Nablus, killed on Sunday 1^st October.

6.      Husam Na’im Hassan Bakhit, 15 years old, from Balata Camp near Nablus, killed on Sunday 1^st October

7.      Mohammed Nabeel Ali Dawoud Hamed, 14 years old, from al-Bireh near Ramallah, killed on Sunday 1^st October

8.      Mohammed Sami Alhamas, 15 years old, from Rafah, killed on Sunday 1^st October

9.      Wa’el Tayseer al-Qattawi, 14 years old, from Balata Camp near Nablus, killed on Monday 2 October

10.  Mohammed Yousef Abu ‘Asi, 12 years old, from Bani Suheila in Gaza, killed on Wednesday 4 October

11.  Mohammed Khaled Tamam, 7 years old, form Tulkarem, killed on Friday 6 October

12.  Majdi Samer Musa Maslamani, 15 years old, from Beit Hanina near Jerusalem, killed on Friday 6 October

13.  Sami Fathi Abu Jazar, 12 years old, from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, died on 12 October from wounds sustained on 10 October

14.  Moayad Osama Ali Jawarish, 13 years old, from ‘Aydah Camp near Bethlehem, killed on Monday 16 October

15.  Ala’a Bassam Bani Nimreh, 13 years old, from Salfit near Nablus, killed on Friday 20 October

16.  Samer Talal Taleb Iweissi, 15 years old, from Qalqilya, killed on Friday 20 October

17.  Majed Ibrahim Hawamdeh, 15 years old, from a-Samou’a near Hebron, killed on Saturday 21 October

18.  Wa’el Hassan Imad, 12 years old, from Jabalya Camp in the Gaza Strip, killed on Sunday 22 October

19.  Salah Fawzi Nijem, 15 years old, from al-Maghazi Camp in the Gaza Strip, killed on Sunday 22 October

20.  Ashraf Ahmad Habayeb, 15 years old, from Askar Camp near Nablus, died on Monday 23 October from wounds sustained on 17 October

21.  Iyad Sami Sha’th, 14 years old, from Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, died on Tuesday 24 October from wounds sustained on 21 October

22.  Ala’a Mohammed al-Jawabreh, 14 years old, from Aroub Camp near Hebron, killed on Thursday 26 October

23.  Bashir Saleh Mousa Selweit, 15 years old, from Qalqilya, killed on Friday 27 October

24.  Hussni Husein al-Najjar, 14 years old, from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, killed on Sunday 29 October

25.  Ahmad Suleiman Abu Dayeh, 15 years old, from Shatti Camp in the Gaza Strip, killed on Wednesday 1^st November

26.  Mohammed Ibrahim Hajjaj, 14 years old, from Shajaiyeh in the Gaza Strip, killed on Wednesday 1^st November

27.  Ibrahim Rizek Omar, 14 years old, from Shatti Camp in the Gaza Strip, killed on Wednesday 1^st November

28.  Yazen Mohammed Issa Halayka, 15 years old, from al-Shayoukh near Hebron, killed on Thursday 2 November

29.  Rami Ahman ‘Abd el-Fattah Mutae’, 15 years old, from Hizma in Jerusalem, killed on Friday 2 November

30.  Wajdi Allam al-Hattam, 15 years old, from Tulkarem, killed on Monday 6 November

31.  Fares Fa’eq Odeh, 14 years old, from al-Zayttouneh in the Gaza Strip, killed on Wednesday 8 November

32.  Raed ‘Abd el-Majeed Daoud, 14 years old, from Hares near Nablus, killed on Wednesday 8 November

33.  Mohammed Kamel Abed Sharab, 14 years old, from Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, killed on Thursday 9 November

34.  Osama Mazen Azzouqa, 14 years old, from Jenin, killed on Friday 10 November.

 

 

2.      Protection of wounded persons, medical personnel and ambulances

 

 

 

            “Bassam arrived at the Martyrs junction in an ambulance to rescue the child Mohammed al-Durreh and his father, who were shot by the Israeli army.  But the Israeli soldiers shot him as well and he was killed.  The heavy gunfire at that moment prevented Bassam’s colleague Ali Khalil from rescuing Mohammed al-Durreh and his father.  However, he carried Bassam to al-Shifa hospital.  Bassam’s other colleague, the nurse Wala’ Quideh who was with Bassam, was in an hysterical state because she saw him when he was killed.” (Testimony of Sa’id Sbeih, medical relief professional from Gaza Center of the Palestinian Red Crescent on the death of ambulance driver Bassam el-Belbeisi)

 

            Israeli forces have repeatedly denied or delayed medical teams access to the wounded and dying. Israeli forces have also, in some instances, fired on clearly marked ambulances and medical workers attempting to help the injured.  Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) figures [8] indicate that 32 of their ambulances have been damaged since the beginning of the clashes in 63 separate attacks from soldiers and settlers, using live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets, stones, and threats to paramedics. PRCS information also indicates that a field hospital in Gaza was fired on twice by a military helicopter on October 1st, while a second field hospital in Gaza was fired upon on October 2nd.

 

            At least two ambulance men have been killed by Israeli fire, and PRCS indicates that 47 of their emergency medical technicians were injured. On 30th October, ambulance driver Bassam el-Belbeisi was shot and killed by the Israeli army at Netzarim junction while trying to carry 12-year-old Mohammed Jamal al-Dura and his father to a medical vehicle.  Bassam was wearing his medical uniform at the time, and was thus clearly marked as a medical worker.  Bassam’s cousin Ayman Yousef el-Belbeisi explained to the PHRMG the circumstances of Bassam’s death:

 

            “At about 2 p.m. on Saturday 30th September 2000, Bassam went to the Martyrs (Netzarim) junction in south Gaza City, where clashes were going on between Palestinian youths and the Israeli army.  He wanted to provide medical help to people who were injured.  Before he went there he called his house from his work in Deir el-Balah, because he had been on duty from the previous day.  He drove the ambulance to the site of the clashes and stopped his car as close as possible to the place where the child Mohammad al-Durreh and his father were.  He left his car and ran to the child and carried him, but three 500 mm bullets from the Israeli army hit him (in his chest, neck and back) and he fell before reaching the car.”

           

Several other medical personnel have been injured by attacks on ambulances.  Sa’id Sbeih, from the Gaza center of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society told the PHRMG of medical staff wounded in the line of duty:

 

            “On 30th September 2000 Israeli soldiers fired at an ambulance driven by Fawzi Abdel-Hadi from the driver’s side, and he was hit with four rubber bullets.  Nevertheless, he managed to reach the injured youth and rescue him.  The same ambulance was shot at twice in other incidents while driven by Moen Abu-el-Eish.  On Sunday 1st October it was shot with three bullets, and on Monday 2nd October it was hit in the back with a gas bomb that burnt its interior. On Thursday 5th October Israeli soldiers at the Martyrs junction shot at electrical wires over two medical relief staff members (Yaser Shahwan and Yaser Ashour) while they were carrying out their duties helping the injured.  One of them was injured. Another member of our staff, Salem Ahmad was hurt by shrapnel after an Israeli missile fired from a warplane hit the ambulance he was driving at the Martyrs junction.  In the same place, another ambulance was the target of another missile, but no casualties occurred as it did not hit the vehicle.”

 

Mohammed Sami al-Ja’bari, 26 years old, a nurse in the medical staff at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Hebron told the PHRMG:

 

“On 6^th October 2000, while I was on emergency call in Hebron because of the heavy clashes in Bab el-Zawieh and Shalaleh Streets, many casualties occurred among Palestinian youths. We felt confused because of the extensive gunfire and considerable number of injuries. We were told there was a serious injury in Bab el-Zawieh area, and the youth who was shot was at the front of the demonstration, opposite the Israeli soldiers who were shooting at the protestors to prevent them from helping the wounded youth. Our ambulance couldn’t go all the way because of the barricades in the way, so I got off with a colleague, and we took a stretcher with us. We managed to reach the wounded youth, but when I tried to carry him onto the stretcher, I felt something hitting me in my face and saw my blood dripping. I knew it was a rubber bullet. We managed to take away the injured youth to al-Ahly hospital, and I received medical treatment on the spot, in the field clinic we had there. A rubber bullet had injured my cheek.”

 

In numerous instances, care for wounded people has been unnecessarily delayed. In the well-documented events that occurred in Jerusalem, especially on 29 September and 6 October, numerous testimonies relate how Israeli security forces delayed ambulances, and some testimonies even describe how wounded people were beaten by the police. Sometimes the Israeli policemen continued shooting even as the wounded were being evacuated. On 7 October, settlers carried out a raid on the village of Bidya, in Salfeet district near Nablus. An ambulance was delayed for one hour before being allowed to reach the site. The PRCS also reports a very serious incident that occurred on 26 October 2000 near Tulkarem. A PRCS team had been sent to the village of Zeha, near Tulkarem, where Mr. Emad Hussein Abu Snahneh was suffering from severe tear gas inhalation and asthma following the clashes, and was beginning to suffocate. The team was attempting to transfer him to a hospital when they were stopped by Israeli troops and threatened at gunpoint. According to PRCS, the soldiers removed Mr. Snahneh from the ambulance, struck him in the face and shoulder and carried him to a military vehicle.

 

Palestinians have also impeded the work of medical teams that tried to come to the rescue of wounded Israeli soldiers or police officers. In Jerusalem, on Friday 6 October, Palestinians stoned troops that were evacuating policemen after the police outpost at the Lions’ Gate had been set on fire. And in Nablus, on October 1^st, an Israeli border guard died of his wounds at Joseph’s Tomb, after Israeli troops were unable to come to his rescue.

 

 

3.      Journalists and press freedom

 

 

 

At least nineteen journalists have been injured by Israeli forces while covering the clashes.  The causes of their injuries have ranged from being shot with rubber bullets and live ammunition, to being attacked and beaten by Israeli security forces.  In several cases, they have had cameras confiscated or film exposed.  Journalists must be given, as far as feasible in the circumstances, freedom of operation to report events.  Journalists are protected as civilian bystanders and must not be intentionally attacked, or have their equipment confiscated or intentionally destroyed. The PHRMG has obtained information on the following journalists injured while covering clashes:

 

·                      Khaled al-Zeghary – Freelance journalist.  Testimony taken by PHRMG on 30 September 2000. On Friday 29th September he was hit by a rubber-coated metal bullet in his right leg and beaten by 6 Israeli policemen with clubs that caused wounds to his head and arms. They also confiscated his camera and refused to return it.

·                      Hazem Bader – Cameraman with AP.  Testimony taken by PHRMG on 30 September 2000. On Friday 29th September he was hit by a rubber-coated metal bullet in his right hand from close range (20-25 meters) by Israeli special forces.

·                      Mahfouz Abu-Turk – freelance cameraman. Testimonies taken by PHRMG on 30 September 2000 and 19 October 2000.

On Friday 29th September he was shot in the legs with two rubber bullets from about 30 meters by Israeli special forces. Then on Tuesday, 16 October he was injured again after a funeral in Bethlehem. He was hiding behind a cement roadblock when an Israeli sniper shot him in his left hand with a rubber-coated metal bullet. He was taken to al-Husseini hospital in Bethlehem where they had to make four stitches. Mahfouz claims that he was deliberately shot, as he was hiding at the time behind a roadblock away from the clashes.

·                      Awad Awad – Photographer with AFP. Testimony taken by PHRMG on 2 October 2000. Hit by rubber bullets in his right leg and arm from close range on Friday 29th September.

·                      Amer al-Ja’bari (ABC) Testimony taken by PHRMG on 2 October 2000 – Shot in the head on Sunday 1st October on the bypass road near Hebron.  He was standing 400-500 meters away from the clashes at the time.

·                      Mazen Da’na – Reuters correspondent and cameraman. Testimony taken by PHRMG on 4 October 2000.
”On Monday 2^nd October, at about 13:00 hours, I was shot with exploding bullets, one in the left foot and another in the left leg, while covering clashes in al-Shuhada (Martyrs) Street in the center of Hebron, south West Bank. I was about 25 meters away from the Israeli soldiers who were hiding in an Arab house, and although there were no clashes at that time and everything seemed quiet. I was wearing my helmet and my press jacket.”

·                      Lu’ay Abu-Haikal (Reuters). Testimony taken by PHRMG on 4 October 2000. Shot with rubber-coated metal bullets in his right leg on 2 October in Hebron.

·                      Naji Da’na (French TV, 1^st Channel). Testimony taken by PHRMG on 4 October 2000. Injured in his hand with rubber bullets on 2 October in Hebron.

·                      Wa’el al-Shiokhy (al-Nawras local TV in Hebron) Testimony taken by PHRMG on 4 October 2000.
”I was also with [Mazen Da’na, Lu’ay Abu-Haikal and Naji Da’na]. I was shot with rubber bullets in my left thigh. I was 20 meters away from the clashes, on the other side of the street from  the demonstration.”

·                      ‘Ata Hussein Oweisat (“Zoom” press office) Testimony taken by PHRMG on 14 October 2000.

On 4th October, Oweisat was attacked and severely beaten by Israeli security men attempting to take his camera while he was filming Israeli undercover units attacking and arresting Palestinian protestors. The men also opened Oweisat’s camera and exposed the film. “When the officer in charge of the unit saw them beating me he got angry and shouted at them to leave the place”. Oweisat told the PHRMG that he has filmed the undercover units three times in the recent clashes, and, as a result, they know him and recognize him, and that he knows that they hate him from previous experiences. The police spokesman claims that Oweisat was with the protesting crowd and that he had insulted and provoked the Israeli soldiers.

·                      Abdel-Rahman Mohammed Deib al-Khatib (photographer with al-Ayyam) Testimony taken by PHRMG on 23 November

“On Friday 20 October at about 1:30 p.m. I was with some colleagues at al-Tuffah Israeli military checkpoint (in the Gaza Strip). There was very heavy gunfire from the Israeli soldiers at Palestinian protestors. I was holding my camera and I had my “press” sweater on. We were hiding behind a small wall when a rubber-coated metal bullet hit me in the face, cutting my lower lip and breaking one of my teeth. I was immediately taken to hospital in Deir el-Balah where I stayed for one night.”

·                      Ibrahim Bishara al-Hussari (Watan TV) Testimony taken by PHRMG on 29 October 2000.

“On Saturday 21 October at about 16:30 I was near the City Inn hotel at the northern entrance of al-Bireh. I had my “press” sweater on. I had a video camera with me and I was filming the clashes from begind a wall. After everything was quiet and people were leaving the site, I moved from behind the wall, but I was immediately shot with live ammunition from a distance by Israeli soldiers who were hiding behind a building opposite. The bullet hit me in my ear and made a hole in it. They took me to the Jordanian-Qatari hospital in al-Bireh where I stayed for one hour.”

·                      Jamal Ismail al-Arouri (al-Ayyam newspaper and AFP) Testimony taken by PHRMG on 29 October 2000.

“On Friday 6 October at about 14:00 I was covering the clashes near the City Inn hotel north of al-Bireh. I was 300 meters away and had my “press” sweater on. A rubber bullet hit me in my right leg. Then on Friday 20 October, in the same location at about 14:00, I was shot again with a rubber bullet from about 200 meters in my right thigh, and I was treated on site. On Saturday 21 October, I was standing near a house close to the City Inn hotel, when I was shot for the third time with a rubber-coated metal bullet from a distance of about 60-70 meters. The bullet hit my right hand, and I was taken to the Jordanian-Qatari hospital in Ramallah High School, where I stayed for 4 hours.”

·                      Jacques-Marie Bourget (Paris Match) – shot in his left lung on 21 October by live ammunition as he was covering the clashes in Ramallah. The bullet was fired from an Israeli sniper who must have been on the 3^rd or 4^th floor of a building opposite.

·                      Nasser Jameel Hamad Nasser (al-Hayat al-Jadida and AP) Testimony taken by PHRMG on 29 October 2000.

“On Thursday 26 October at about 13:30 I was near the City Inn hotel at the northern entrance of al-Bireh. The youths started to gather and prepare themselves. I was 50 meters away from them with the “press” writing on my sweater, and the Israeli soldiers were 150 meters away opposite them. The soldiers fired tear-gas bombs, so I moved back, but suddenly I was shot with a rubber-coated metal bullet that hit my forehead. The ambulance was late in arriving, I lost a lot of blood. Then I was taken to Ramallah hospital where they made five stitches on the wound. I left the hospital after 4 hours. I had already been shot twice with rubber bullets in two other incidents in the same place earlier in the Uprising.”

·                      Ben Wedeman (CNN correspondent and Cairo bureau chief) – shot in the waist with live ammunition on 31 October while covering the clashes at Mintar crossing, east of Gaza City. He was hospitalized in stable condition.

·                      Yola Monakhov (photographer with AP) – American journalist injured in the lower abdomen on 11 November by a high-velocity bullet while she was covering the confrontations near Bilal Ben Rabah Mosque in Bethlehem. She suffers serious internal injuries. She said that she saw an Israeli soldier turn and fire at her from a short distance away. No shots were being fired at Israeli forces, she said.

·                      Mowaffak Tawfik Kassem Matar (photographer with Palestine Today newspaper) Testimony taken by PHRMG on 23 November

“On Saturday 30 September at about 9:30 a.m. I was at the Martyrs’ (Netzarim) junction in the Gaza Strip. I was about 30-40 meters away from the clashes. There was heavy gunfire from the Israeli army, so I ran away. I came back half an hour later after I got my camera from home. I was standing about 15 meters away from the protestors, and as I tried to take a photo, a bullet hit me exactly above my left eye. I was taken to the military medical services clinic in Ansar where thy looked after me, and I stayed there for one night. I lost 10% of my sight in that injruy, and it affected my hearing as well.

On another occasion, on Sunday 19 November, I was at al-Mintar area in the Gaza Strip, standing with some colleagues, Palestinians and foreigners, and we all had our “Press” uniform on. Suddenly there was heavy shooting from the Israeli army. A rubber-coated metal bullet hit me directly above my left eye, in the same place as the first injury, but this time it was deeper. They took me to al-Shifa hospital where they treated me very rapidely, and I left the hospital the same day.”

·                      Marwan Fares Jaber al-Ghoul (Director of Mayadin press center and photographer with CBS news). Testimony taken by PHRMG on 23 November.

“On Sunday 19 November at about 9:30 a.m., I was with 15 other journalists covering the incidents at Kfar Darom, when an Israeli bus was attacked. An Israeli civil car came by, stopped, and two Israelis got off. One of them was in civil clothes, the other in Israeli army uniform. The latter approached me carrying his M16 machine gun, and hit me with his rifle in my chest. He broke my camera and microphone as well. He wanted to shoot me but the other journalists stopped him. All o fthis happened while the Israeli soldiers were watching.

On the same day, at about 2:30 p.m. I went to al-Mintar / Karni crossing. The Palestinian youths and the Israeli soldiers were standing on the right of the street, I was on the left. There were two Israeli tanks nearby. I had my “press” uniform on and was standing about 75 m away from the clashes. At that time there wasn’t any stone throwing, but sudenly the Israeli tanks moved and started firing from their machine guns. I was hit with a live 500 mm bullet in my right knee, deep into the nerves. I was taken to Shajayieh field hospital, then to al-Shifa hospital where I stayed until the following day. I left the hospital of my own responsibility. The bullet is still in my leg.”

 

Besides these direct attacks – whether intentional or not – against journalists, other violations of the freedom of expression have also been reported:

 

Ø                   On 10 October, the Arabic daily newspaper al-Quds was prevented by the Israeli military censorship from publishing a petition entitled “All public efforts have to unite in support of the Uprising”, which was signed by a number of prominent political personalities such as Dr. Haider Abd el-Shafi, Rawia al-Shawa, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, and Prof. Edward Said. Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida newspapers were able to publish the petition since they do not fall under Israeli censorship.

Ø                   Transmission of Farah local television in Jenin was interrupted several times by Israel because of its coverage of the clashes.

Ø                   On Thursday, 12 October, after the killing of two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah, Palestinian policemen confiscated films from photographers, apparently to avoid publication of the images.

Ø                   The same day, an attack was carried out against the antenna of the “Voice of Palestine” official Palestinian radio station in Ramallah, in retaliation for the killing of two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah earlier that day. The station was briefly knocked off the air, but quickly resumed transmitting in FM frequency. The Israeli military spokesman argued that the station had incited Palestinians to commit violence and was therefore deliberately targeted. However, a thorough analysis of the programs of the Voice of Palestine station conducted by the Committee to Protect Journalists found no evidence that this facility could be considered part of a “systematic effort to incite and coordinate violent attacks” [9] , which could have made it an authorized military target.

Ø                   Newspapers were prevented on several occasions from entering the Gaza Strip through Erez crossing. Since all the Palestinian daily newspapers are printed and published in East Jerusalem or Ramallah, the Gaza Strip is in effect cut off from Palestinian written press by the tight military closure of the territories. Fathi Sabbah, correspondent of al-Ayyam newspaper in the Gaza Strip told the PHRMG on 28 October :

“During the current al-Aqsa Uprising, Israel has prevented the distribution of Palestinian newspapers on several days. On Monday 9 October, Friday 13 October to Tuesday 17 October, and Thursday 19 October, the three daily newspapers were not allowed into the Gaza Strip. It is known that all the three daily newspapers are printed in the West Bank. In the first uprising, from 1987 to 1993, Israel prevented all newspapers from entering Gaza as a measure to block information and news from the Palestinian population there. The blockage this time came after Israeli helicopter gunship bombarded some Palestinian towns, in order to prevent Palestinians from learning of the news and damage of that action. This measure represents also a violation to the freedom of press and journalism.”

Ø                   On Friday, 13 October, Arab satellite stations were prevented by Israel from broadcasting live the noon prayers from al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Ø                   On 17 October, al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that the Israeli military commander in Hebron issued an order preventing any media coverage of the clashes in the center of Hebron, in addition to the continuous curfew imposed on the center of the city. The Israeli commander reportedly threatened that his soldiers will shoot any journalist who tries to evade his orders.

Ø                   On Tuesday, 31 October, Israeli Channel 2 reporter Suliman a-Shafi was detained and interrogated for four hours at the Erez Crossing. He was on his way back from his daily reporting from the Gaza Strip. The Israeli police officers who conducted the interrogation reportedly asked him to sign an undertaking not to enter the Gaza Strip for the next three months, which he refused to sign. The police finally settled for a NIS 5’000 bond.

Ø                   On 1^st November 2000, the Israeli army issued a statement on the Army radio saying that it would no longer issue permits to Palestinian journalists to move freely between Israel and the Palestinian territories. This decision was motivated by the argument that Palestinian journalists reported “only” the point of view of the Palestinian Authority. The restriction doesn’t apply to foreign journalists.

Ø                   On 1^st November 2000, two television stations from Hebron, Majd TV and al-Nawras TV, received phone calls at about 9 p.m. from an Israeli officer ordering them to evacuate the premises within 20 minutes because the buildings were about to be bombarded. The threat was not carried out, but the directors of both stations told the PHRMG on 2 November that their transmission equipment suffered some damage or interferences.

 

 

4.      Civilian infrastructure

 

 

 

 

 

Testimonies given to the PHRMG indicate that military weapons have been used indiscriminately in civilian areas as well, and homes have been damaged or destroyed. Musbah Hassan Hussein Muwafi, 62 years old, from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, told the PHRMG:

 

“At about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday 1st October we were shocked by a Lao missile that hit the living room in my house, shot from an Israeli military warplane.  We were lucky because at that moment there was no one in that room.  We left the house because we were afraid that more missiles would be shot at us, and that’s what happened half an hour after the first one.  We haven’t gone back there since.  The flat was completely burnt and most of the furniture damaged.  Our building is very close to the Egyptian border and I didn’t see any stone throwing in our neighborhood.”

 

This use of force was clearly excessive and used in complete disregard for civilian safety.  Any military objective that may have been obtained was obviously outweighed by the damage caused to civilians and civilian objects.

 

“I was sitting with my family members in the living room of my house, where I have lived since I was born.  We were worried following the news of the clashes between the Palestinian people and the Israeli army, when suddenly at about 9:30 p.m. the Israeli soldiers started shooting 500 mm bullets from their automatic guns at our house, and that lasted for 30 minutes.  Then a Lao missile hit the room of the children burning it completely.  We ran out from the house horrified at what had happened, and went to stay with a relative.” (Testimony of Saleh Mohammed al-Sh’aer, 51 years old, from Rafah)

 

In the Gaza Strip, heavy damage was also incurred around the Netzarim/Martyrs’ junction. On 7 October, on the eve of the Jewish Yom Kippur, a building consisting of 20 housing units was destroyed near that junction, as well as a blacksmith factory. Three days later, on 10 October, another residential building near the junction was destroyed, and the junction virtually disappeared. Similar attacks by military helicopters against civilian houses have also taken place in Hebron, especially in the al-Sheikh and Abu Sneineh neighborhoods, sometimes leading to civilian casualties. Here is a testimony about the death of ‘Abd al-Aziz Ahmad Taha Abu Sneineh, 58 years old, given to the PHRMG by his son Amad:

 

“ On 23^rd, October, at about 10:30 p.m. and while everything was quiet in the neighborhood, the Israelis shocked everyone by opening fire from their automatic 500 mm machine guns. My father gathered all of the family in one room away from the shooting. The gunfire continued for almost one hour. The telephone which was in the sitting room started ringing, and my father went to answer it. But when he lifted the speaker’s mouthpiece he was shot with a 500 mm bullet in his head. My father fell immediately with his skull smashed and his head thrown on the floor. When I heard the cry of my father I crawled to the room where he was. I was shocked to see him in a pool of blood. I tried to speak to him or move him, but he was dead.

 

One of our neighbors called an ambulance that the Israeli army prevented from entering our street. One hour later another ambulance from al-Ahly hospital arrived and took the body to Alia hospital where they formally announced he was dead. On the following day more than 15’000 people marched in my father’s funeral procession. As for our house that was bombarded that night, most of it was damaged”.

 

In numerous cases houses were the target of life ammunition, of a type much more powerful than the bullets used by Palestinians since they are able to puncture several walls. Some families claim their houses have been targeted even though no shots were fired from there, as in the case of Abu Sneineh. Furthermore, countless houses were occupied by the Israeli forces that deployed on their roofs to fire at Palestinian protesters both in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. These houses suffered considerable damage in the subsequent clashes.

 

A damaged civilian home in Beit Jala

Photo: Ann K. Brunborg

 

Attacks were also deliberately carried out against power plants or water tanks. In the night from 4 to 5 October, an attack was carried out by Israeli forces against the electricity generator in Bethlehem, Tulkarem and Beit Dajan, leaving most residents of these areas without electricity throughout the night. An attack was carried out on Thursday 12 October against the antenna of the “Voice of Palestine” radio station in Ramallah, in retaliation for the killing of two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah earlier that day. PCHR reports that an electricity generator was again the target of Israeli shells in the town of Qalqilya in the West Bank on 5 November, and the whole town was subsequently cut off from power.

 

Private house in Beit Jala

Photo: Ann K. Brunborg

 

PCHR also documented the destroying of agricultural land and woodland by the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip [10] . Large areas of land adjacent to Israeli settlements or to roads used by settlers and Israeli military forces have been razed, destroying olive and citrus trees and damaging irrigation networks, water pumps, etc. PCHR estimated the surface of land that had been ruined as of 27 October to 847 dunums in the Gaza Strip alone. Israeli bulldozers also uprooted olive trees belonging to Palestinians of Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem. The trees were planted near the Israeli military camp. Uprooting of trees also occurred near Hawwarah village in Nablus district.

 

Places of worship should enjoy special consideration, even in times of civil unrest. In spite of this places of worship have suffered severe damage. In Nablus, Palestinians devastated the holy site of Joseph’s Tomb after Israeli troops vacated the position. Reports also indicate that the “Shalom al Yisrael” synagogue was set on fire on 12 October in Jericho, although Palestinian sources deny it. From the Israeli side, settlers carried out attacks against Palestinian villages and set fire to mosques in the village of Hawwarah, in Nablus district, on 12 October.

 

A damaged building in Aqbet Jaber refugee camp in Jericho

Photo: Ann K. Brunborg

5.      Violence perpetrated by Israeli civilians

 

 

 

Settlers have committed numerous and sometimes heinous attacks against Palestinians. The raids seemed to be coordinated to some extent, since they tended to be launched simultaneously in different areas. On 7 October, settlers attacked Palestinian properties in Jerusalem. In particular, the attacks were directed at Palestinian properties in the al-Musrarah quarter near road No. 1, in Shu’afat, and at Orient House in Jerusalem. Palestinian workers were attacked in the Jewish orthodox neighborhoods of Mea Shearim and Shmuel Hanevi. More than 15 houses were raided in Qatanah village. At the same time, attacks were carried out by settlers in the village of Bidya near Nablus. Shops and electricity posts were destroyed and at least one Palestinian died. Fierce clashes erupted on 9 October between Palestinians and settlers from Bitar settlement near Bethlehem. Around Ramallah, settlers fired on Palestinian homes from the settlement of Psagot. In Hebron, settlers launched attacks on 9 October in the center of town as well as in the surrounding villages of Samou’, Raboud, Halhoul, Sourif and Beit Ummar, leaving at least 9 Palestinians injured. In the Gaza Strip, settlers from Netzarim settlement were reported to have opened fire on Palestinians without the intervention of the Israeli forces.

 

 On 9 October 2000, the body of ‘Issam Judeh Hamad was found. He was 40 years old and from Um Safa near Ramallah. The preliminary conclusion was that he was tortured to death by Israeli settlers, and Dr. Hosi al-Atari, director of Ramallah hospital, stated that there were obvious marks of torture on the body. However, an independent investigation by Physicians for Human Rights [11] concluded that Judeh died in a car accident. It is unfortunate that the Palestinian media, who had widely publicized the torture and death of Judeh, did not also rectify their reports according to this new and reliable piece of information.

 

On 13 October, 60-years-old Ibrahim Abu Turki came under the fire of settlers from Hagai, near Hebron, as he was riding home on a donkey. He was severely injured in the head and is likely to remain paralyzed in his lower body following the attack. The Israeli army commander in Hebron issued an apology to his family [12] .

 

On Tuesday 17 October, settlers from Itamar settlement near Nablus opened fire at Palestinian farmers from the village of Beit Fourik, as they came to cultivate their olives. Farid Mousa ‘Issa Nasasra, 28, died from a bullet in the abdomen, and three others were wounded. Two settlers were arrested and interrogated by the police and on 18 October the court decided to remand them in custody for five more days. Settlers from Itamar and Yitzhar rioted in the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court to protest the decision, and four more were arrested. The two settlers suspected of murder were released on bail on Sunday 22 October for lack of evidence, and the Israeli police blamed the Palestinian Authority’s non-cooperation in the investigation.

 

In another incident, about 100 olive trees belonging to residents of Hawwarah, near Nablus, were cut down during the night of 17 October, allegedly by settlers from Yitzhar settlement. Sabha Sari Abu Ali, a 47-years-old woman, was attacked on 22 October by settlers from Shilo while she was picking olives in Turmus Sayyiya, a village near Ramallah. According to UPMRC, she was severely beaten and admitted to Ramallah hospital. On Wednesday 1 November, two settlers from Yitzhar shot two Palestinians, who are in serious condition.

 

Too often, even extremist settlers seem to enjoy privileged relations with the Israeli army’s “Samaria Brigade”, to the extent that the leaders of the settlements seem to be the ones making the real decisions, and the Israeli army turns a blind eye on their provocations.

 

Settlers have also come under attack from Palestinians. On 2 October, a Jewish settler was killed in Bidya, Salfeet district, when two young men stole his gun and shot him before running away. One settler was reported missing in Nablus on 7 October. In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians have launched attacks on a convoy of settlers’ vehicles on 3 October.

 

Attacks by settlers are of great concern to the PHRMG, since they only increase the level of hatred and violence in the territories. The PHRMG can only wish that the settlements will be dismantled as soon as possible, as required under international law, and that these crimes will be thoroughly investigated by the responsible authorities and that those responsible will be punished as provided by the law. For now, it seems that these attacks and acts of vandalism are treated with extraordinary leniency by the responsible authorities, and that settlers do not run the risk of facing high sentences – if sentenced at all.

 

 

6.      Freedom of movement

 

 

 

The first restrictions on passage between the territories and Israel were imposed on October 5 and total sealing-off was enforced on October 12. Internal closure has also been imposed on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, meaning that not only were these areas cut off from Israel and from each other, but also an unprecedented number of Israeli army roadblocks have been erected in between major cities to prevent Palestinians from traveling, effectively cutting-off towns from their surrounding villages. These restrictions were only partly lifted on 19 October. Settlers also erected roadblocks in the West Bank, under the principle that “if we can’t travel on a road, they [the Palestinians] won’t be able to travel on it either.” [13] . These actions were notified to the Israeli army and approved by it. In Gaza, Rafah border crossing with Egypt was closed at the beginning of the clashes, and re-opened only for a few days until it was closed again on 12 October 2000.

 

As Jerusalem was cut off from the West Bank, Muslim worshippers were prevented from praying at al-Aqsa Mosque for four consecutive Fridays. Even residents of Jerusalem were barred access to the Old City and al-Haram al-Sharif. Depending on the day, the Israeli security forces would prevent all men below the age of 45, 40 or 35 to enter the compound. In Hebron as well, the curfew imposed on the Israeli-controlled part of town (H2) prevented Muslim worshippers from praying in their mosques.

 

Medical services were disrupted by the closure, making it difficult for hospitals to treat Palestinians wounded in the clashes. Doctors also found, and continue to find it difficult to come to their place of work, especially for West Bank doctors working in East Jerusalem hospitals. Ten-year-old Alaa Osama Hamdan, from the village of Sawiyya near Nablus, died on 13 October from a severe lung infection after her family was prevented for two days by the closure to take her to the hospital in Nablus. In Jericho district, a newborn baby died of complications after Israeli soldiers refused to allow his mother, Huriya Beni Odeh, 37, to pass from the village of Jiftlik to Jericho hospital. Nazir Hamdan from Jamm’in near Nablus also died for lack of treatment, as his family was unable to cross the checkpoint to take him to hospital in Nablus after an accident (around 15 October). On 17 October, according to information received from UPMRC, Na’em Atta Allah from al-Zawieh near Nablus died from renal failure after he was prevented from reaching the hospital for dialysis because of the closure. PRCS reported that Riad Awas, 26, died on Sunday 29 October, while he was being transferred to Jordan for treatment for cancer. The ambulance was held up for a total of four hours at three different roadblocks, and Awas died when he reached the Allenby Bridge.

 

On Saturday, 7 October, Israel decided to close Gaza International Airport in retaliation for the attack carried out earlier that day on an Israeli bus near Rafah, where 9 Israelis were injured. The closure of the airport is not only problematic since it constitutes a form of collective punishment that is strictly forbidden under international law, but it also threatens the entry of medical supplies to the Palestinian territories. Indeed, since the beginning of the clashes, Arab countries have sent medical supplies as humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, and the planes that landed in Gaza International Airport usually returned with seriously wounded Palestinians that needed treatment abroad. After the decision of the Israeli government to close the airport, planes now land in al-Areesh Egyptian airport (south of the Gaza Strip) and trucks transport the cargo into Gaza. Furthermore, applications to have the most severely wounded evacuated to surrounding Arab countries for urgent medical treatment have been delayed by unusually protracted authorization procedures. The PHRMG has already denounced the closure in a press release dated 9 October. It was lifted on Thursday 19 October, only to be reinstated on 31 October. A gradual re-opening of the airport was announced on 7 November.

 

The closure has also placed a serious economic strain on the Palestinian territories since movement of goods between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and between cities and villages, is not permitted under the closure. As detailed by PCHR [14] , the approximately 40’000 work permits issued by Israel for Palestinians to work in Israel were cancelled on 30 September 2000, when the closure was imposed. Some laborers were allowed to reach their places of work only between 5 and 7 October 2000, and on 14 October, Israeli issued 15’000 new work permits for laborers over the age of 26, but laborers were still denied access to their places of work.

 

A curfew has been imposed on the Israeli-controlled part of Hebron (H2) since Sunday, October 1^st. The curfew prevents some 40’000 Palestinians living in this area to leave their homes and has lead in some cases to food shortages. The curfew is only lifted intermittently and only for a few hours at a time. Moreover, 28 Palestinian schools were closed down because of the curfew, which means that nearly 12’000 pupils and 450 teachers are prevented from reaching their schools. Three of these schools have been turned into military outposts. The 500 Israeli settlers living in H2 on the other hand are still allowed to move around freely – occasionally destroying Palestinian property – and their children go to school or wherever they please.

 

Other villages were also placed under curfew, such as Saylet al-Daher in Jenin district, and Hawwarah, in Nablus district near the settlement of Yitzhar, placed under curfew since 2 October 2000. The PHRMG has obtained information that Hawwarah is suffering from lack of necessary services and goods. Workers cannot leave the village to earn their living, farmers cannot harvest their crops or olives, children cannot go to school, medical care is insufficient and many pharmacists are unable to reach their pharmacies. Settlers have also damaged stores, olive trees, houses and Palestinian cars, and the village mosque was set on fire.

 

The closures and the curfews that Israel claims are justified for security reasons, amount to a form of collective punishment strictly forbidden under international law. The violation of Israel’s humanitarian obligations becomes even more serious since the closures/curfews severely strain the flow of food and medication to the Palestinian territories. Some of the roadblocks cutting off major Palestinian cities from each other were removed in the wake of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, on Wednesday 18 October, but Israel simultaneously closed other roads, such as the one linking the village of Hawwarah to Nablus. Several villages in the West Bank are completely sealed off by roadblocks.

 

 Conclusion

 

The present report has highlighted some of the most typical features of the confrontation between Israeli security forces – the Israeli army, the Israeli Border Police and the Israeli police – and Palestinian demonstrators. The main points can be summarized as follows:

 

1.      The clashes occurred generally in places where full Palestinian sovereignty collides with patches of Israeli sovereignty within Palestinian territories, such as certain holy sites (Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem), Jewish settlements (settlements in the center of Hebron, Netzarim settlement in the Gaza Strip, access roads to the settlements of Beit El north of Ramallah or to the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip) or military installations (Israeli checkpoints throughout the Palestinian territories and in particular Rafah and Erez border crossings in the Gaza Strip), in addition to the much disputed al-Haram al-Sharif in the Old City of Jerusalem.

 

2.      Clashes occurred mostly in the wake of funerals of martyrs, which take place as soon as possible according to Muslim tradition. After the funerals, people sought to express their anger and frustration at the Israeli occupiers and the protests usually degenerated into new bloody confrontations since their stones were met by excessive force. The Israeli soldiers have been ordered not to open fire unless they were being shot at, but in some cases soldiers have fired on Palestinian demonstrators without first being shot at.

 

3.      The Israeli security forces used excessive force to quell the demonstrations. This is seen first in the type of ammunition that was used. Whereas the Palestinian demonstrators made use of stones, rocks, occasionally Molotov cocktails and live ammunition, the Israeli forces responded with tear gas, rubber-coated metal bullets, live ammunition, high-velocity bullets fired by sharpshooters (“snipers”), and even weapons of war such as Lao rockets, machine guns, military helicopters and tanks. Lethal weapons have been used as a matter of routine even if the lives of Israeli soldiers were hardly ever at risk, and other – non-lethal – weapons could have achieved the same objective.

 

4.      The excessive use of force is also manifested in the indiscriminate shooting of the Israeli security forces. Numerous Palestinian victims were not taking part in the clashes but just unfortunate passers-by. Children, medical personnel and journalists were also victims, and it is sometimes doubtful whether they were hit accidentally. Finally, an appalling proportion of injuries were sustained in the upper part of the body – including a considerable number of eye injuries – although Israeli open-fire regulations clearly state that bullets must be aimed at the lower part of the body only, in order to avoid lethal injuries.

 

5.      By their mere presence, heavy weapons of war placed a psychological strain on the Palestinian population, which has been living in a state of fear since the beginning of the clashes. This is the result of the presence of Israeli tanks at the entrance of Palestinian cities and of military helicopters hovering above their villages. Although the consequences can hardly be measured, this psychological confrontation has affected almost exclusively the Palestinian population, among which the actual confrontations take place.

 

6.      Material damage was extensive on the Palestinian side. Buildings adjacent to the site of the clashes were damaged by bullets and rockets and sometimes completely destroyed, e.g. the Martyrs’ (Netzarim) Junction in the Gaza Strip. If some Jewish settlements have been hit by Palestinian kalashnikov bullets, Palestinian homes have been extensively damaged by rockets, helicopters and tanks. Power plants and a radio station have also been targeted by Israeli fire during the confrontations. Hundreds of dunams of agricultural land adjacent to roads or Jewish settlements have been destroyed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, including olive and citrus trees. Jewish settlers have also conducted attacks on Palestinian property.

 

7.      Freedom of movement has been severely restricted since the beginning of the confrontation. This has affected the capacity of Palestinians to travel abroad (closure of Gaza International Airport), into Israel (closure of the territories, cancellation of work permits), from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip (closure of the safe passage), to East Jerusalem and al-Haram al-Sharif (e.g. all men under 40 prohibited from praying in al-Aqsa mosque) and even between cities within the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (internal closure of the territories). In the city of Hebron, a curfew has been imposed on the Israeli-controlled part of town since the beginning of the clashes. This closure has added to the psychological strain on the Palestinian population and has had grave effects on the provision of medical assistance and even food supplies to the population. Several people have died because they were stopped at Israeli checkpoints and prevented from reaching a hospital. Food shortages have been reported in the area under curfew in Hebron.

 

8.      Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territories have conducted numerous attacks on Palestinian properties and civilians, especially in the areas of Nablus and Hebron, where some of the most extremist settlements are concentrated. Settlers have thrown stones at Palestinian cars, blocked roads, conducted raids on Palestinian villages and attacked, and sometimes, killed Palestinians who came to their fields to harvest olives. These attacks have added to the climate of mutual fear and have definitely fueled Palestinian frustration and resentment. The Israeli security forces have responded with extraordinary leniency to attacks committed by Israeli civilians against Palestinians, and it is doubtful whether the settlers will be prosecuted for their acts.

 

 

As a human rights organization, the PHRMG calls upon Israel to uphold the basic principles of humanitarian law and humanity applicable to the present confrontation. The pattern of the confrontations shows a systematic disregard by the Israeli security forces of Palestinian rights. Furthermore, the PHRMG urges the Israeli security forces to respect the principles of proportionality and necessity when facing Palestinian demonstrations. The lives and rights of civilians not involved in the clashes, of children, of medical personnel and of journalists should be respected at all times, and no civilian infrastructure should be targeted in the course of military operations. In addition, the attacks committed by Israeli settlers should be prosecuted as provided by the law. Respect for these basic and obvious principles would relieve part of the tension between the Palestinian population and Israel and pave the way for a solution to the confrontation. Even the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International has criticized Israel on 1 November 2000 for “a pattern of gross human rights violations that may well amount to war crimes” [15] .

 

The PHRMG also joins the call for an independent and impartial investigation of the events occurring since 29 September 2000. The convening of a special session of the Commission on Human Rights was a very important step in the quest for truth and justice, but unfortunately its conclusions are not binding on Israel and hence no steps will be taken to prosecute those responsible for violations of human rights and humanitarian law. It is also doubtful that the fact-finding commission decided upon in the Sharm el-Sheikh agreements – to be constituted by the United States, in consultation with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan – will act with the necessary impartiality and that its conclusions will therefore be accepted by both sides of the confrontation. An independent investigation is crucial to shed light on the events of this past month, and needs to be endowed with the necessary powers to ensure prosecution of offenders.

 

As a Palestinian organization, the PHRMG also wishes to emphasize the need to find a solution to this ongoing confrontation in order to stop the bloodshed. Trying to put down each and every demonstration through military might is a short-term policy that solves none of the underlying problems. Even a superficial analysis of the pattern of the clashes shows that the true issue at stake is the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories after seven years of the peace process. This occupation has been a daily feature of Palestinian life for several decades now, taking the shape of restrictions on the freedom of movement, harassment at Israeli checkpoints, presence of Israeli troops and settlers in Palestinian areas, demolition of Palestinian homes while the Israeli settlements and bypass roads are being expanded, discriminatory allocation of water, and numerous other forms of humiliations and pressures that have not ceased since the conclusion of the Oslo accords.

 

The PHRMG urges Israel to acknowledge its responsibility in the outbreak of the present “al-Aqsa intifada”, instead of simply pointing the finger at the Palestinian leadership. In contrast to Israeli official positions or statements, the present uprising is the expression of a legitimate exasperation with a “peace-process” that has been dragging on for years without relieving the pressure of the occupation in the daily life of the Palestinians. The PHRMG also calls upon the Israeli peace movement to acknowledge that the resolution of these human rights issues is crucial to the resolution of the broader conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Peace cannot be negotiated simply between Israeli political factions and then imposed on the Palestinians without addressing their needs and aspirations. The Palestinians want their voice to be heard, and the current uprising is a brutal call for attention.

 

Peace can only be achieved through justice.