1)   Killing of Palestinians Became a Routine

The second year of the Uprising was characterized by the high number of Palestinian and Israeli fatalities.  This increased number of victims came as a result of the escalating circle of killing and violence between the two parties.

Following is a table that shows a comparison of Palestinian fatalities between the first and second year of the Uprising:

(figures are correct until 25.9.2002)

* The PHRMG keeps a daily record of all fatalities. To look at detailed lists of Palestinians who were killed during the Uprising, visit our Web site at: www.phrmg.org  

The Israeli Occupation Forces continued to target Palestinian resistance men, old people, women and children. Hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers by direct gunfire in circumstances where there was no real danger to the soldiers. The Israeli military machine of tanks, heavy machine-guns and even war planes, continued to bombard Palestinian civilian residential areas, killing dozens of innocent civilians. Dozens of Palestinians, especially elderly ill people, passed away because of the Israeli military checkpoints scattered all over the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In spite of criticism from many humanitarian and legal organizations against the killing of civilian Palestinians, the Israeli government paid no attention and resumed its aggressive policy.

Since the early days of the Uprising the Israeli Occupation Forces have committed, and is still committing, serious violations against civilians in the Occupied Territories. This represents a clear breach to the basic right for every person to live safely.

The Israeli Army has used all kinds of weapons and ammunition against Palestinian civilians that are normally used by armed forces in battlefields, such as bombardment by military helicopters, American made Apache and Copra F-16 warplanes, tanks and heavy machine-guns. This resulted in the loss of hundreds of Palestinian lives and massive destruction of property. There are numerous examples on this, such as the results from the actions of the Israeli Army in Jenin Refugee Camp and the Old City of Nablus, Rafah, Gaza, Tulkarem and Hebron, as we shall see later.

1/1: Massacres, Not Just One Massacre 

If we follow the tragedies that the Palestinians faced in the second year of the Uprising, and the considerable degree of suppression used by the Israeli Army to terminate the Palestinian resistance, we realize that a series of massacres have been carried out by the Israeli Occupation Forces in the Occupied Territories.

Following is a table that shows the massacres (group killings) that occurred during the second year of the Uprising:

(Data correct until 28/9/2002)

1/2: Human Tragedies in Jenin Camp and the Old City of Nablus

A- Jenin Refugee Camp

The Palestinian refugees in Jenin Camp didn’t know that more killing and suffering was waiting for them, especially after they were forced to leave their homes inside the Green Line (inside Israel) in 1948, and many of them were deported yet again in June 1967. On April 3^rd 2002, after the Israeli Army started what they called the “Defensive Shield” military operation, the Israeli aggression against Jenin Camp reached its highest after the Israeli government sent its tanks, soldier carriers, heavy artillery and helicopter fighters to shell the camp.

The civilian homes, which the inhabitants believed would be safe, were the targets of the Israeli bombardment. The Israeli Army intended to terminate all forms of resistance inside the camp, and so dozens of houses were razed off, and dozens others where partially destroyed. On 10^th April 2002 the news agencies mentioned that Israeli F-16 fighters (American-made) were used in the battle in Jenin Camp. The Palestinian armed resistance men showed extreme courage in defending their camp, while the Israeli bulldozers destroyed the homes whose inhabitants tramped about in fear and despair. On 9^th April 2002 the Palestinian fighters in the camp killed 13 Israeli reserve soldiers in a trap inside the camp, after that the Israeli campaign on the