Situation in the OPT/Settlements – Letter from Jordan

GENERAL ASSEMBLY                                            SECURITY COUNCIL

Forty-third session                                         Forty-third year

Item 77 of the preliminary list^*

REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE

  TO INVESTIGATE ISRAELI PRACTICES

  AFFECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF

  THE POPULATION OF THE OCCUPIED

  TERRITORIES

Letter dated 1 June 1988 from the Permanent Representative of Jordan

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I am sending you a report containing the most recent information on the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities during the month of April 1988 in the Arab territories occupied by them since 1967. These measures comprise Israeli settlement operations, the confiscation of land and acts of aggression against Arab citizens and their property in those territories.

     At a time when the international community, both inside and outside the

framework of the United Nations, is preoccupied by the deteriorating situation in the Arab territories occupied by Israel, as a result of the repressive measures being carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities to counter the Arab population's rejection of that occupation, the annexed report clearly demonstrates that Israel remains determined to carry out its plans for the expansion of Israeli settlement, the confiscation of land and the perpetration of acts of aggression against Arab citizens, which in each case violate the principles of international law relating to military occupation and, in particular, the Hague Convention of 1907 and the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

     The total area of land confiscated by Israel between the time when the Arab territories were occupied in 1967 and the month of April 1988 now amounts to 2,756,076 dunums. During that same month, Israel demolished more than 43 Arab houses, 62 Arab male and female citizens were killed by the Israeli occupation forces and Israeli settlers, hundreds of Arab citizens suffered various injuries and more than 2,000 were arrested.

     By setting forth in the annex the details of these acts of aggression and

practices, I should like to emphasize to you, and through you to the international community, the danger which the continuation of such a policy and such practices represent for international peace and security and for peace efforts and prospects in the region.

      I should be grateful if you would have this letter and its annex circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under item 77 of the preliminary list, and of the Security Council.

                                                 (Signed)  Abdullah SALAH

                                                         Ambassador

                                                 Permanent Representative

     *A/43/50.

ANNEX

Monthly report on Israeli settlement operations and acts of

aggression against Arab citizens and their property during

the month of April 1988

     During the period under review in this report, the popular uprising in the occupied Arab territories entered its fifth month. In the course of the month, the Israeli occupation authorities stepped up their actions against the Arab population and took a series of fresh military, economic and administrative measures, the harshest of which was to extend their policy of "siege and starvation". Many Arab villages and camps have been under total siege for several weeks. Their water, electricity and telephone services have been cut off, and occupation soldiers are preventing vehicles with food supplies provided by local and international bodies from reaching them.

     Also during the month under review, the Israeli army command supplied its

forces operating in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip with new military

equipment which was developed especially to deal with Arab demonstrations. The

equipment includes new types of wooden and hard plastic truncheons and projectiles in the form of small polished metal balls which are fired from helicopters or stone-throwers and cause serious and possibly lethal wounds. Moreover, it has been confirmed that Israeli army soldiers are using poisonous varieties (CS type) of tear gases, despite the recognition that the use of this type of gas against civilians and unarmed populations is absolutely unacceptable.

     The new economic and administrative measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities during the period under review in an attempt to suppress the uprising included the following:

1.   The continued conduct of a policy of "siege and starvation" against a number of Palestinian villages and camps. In accordance with this policy, the occupation authorities issued orders for the closure of all bakeries in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and prevented vehicles loaded with food supplies from entering Arab towns.

2.   The extension of orders prohibiting the supply of any types of fuel to the occupied West Bank.

3.   Extension of the nightly curfew imposed on all areas of the Gaza Strip.

4.   Extension of the military decree closing all educational institutions in the West Bank until 8 May 1988, together with the issuance of a further military decree closing a number of schools in the Gaza Strip for a period of one week.

5.   A decree granting all teachers in Government schools in the West Bank

compulsory unpaid leave from 15 April to 8 May 1988.

6.   Extension of the policy of demolishing houses and the threat to demolish the house of any person who takes part in any demonstration, or the house of his family.

7.   The linking of acquisition of any official document – a driver's licence,

import licence, export licence, etc. – to the presentation of certificates proving that the citizen concerned has paid all his Israeli taxes.

8.   The issuance by the central commander, Amram Metzenaa, of military orders

whereby Arab merchants in the Arab city of Jerusalem must open their stores from 8.30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the threat that offenders will be imprisoned or fined under the emergency regulations imposed on Palestine by the British Mandate authorities in 1945.

     Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities' determination to suppress the courageous Arab uprising has not prevented them from persisting in their daily pattern of aggression against Arab territory and the Arab population. Between the time of the occupation and the end of April 1988, the Israeli authorities confiscated some 2,756,076 dunums of land in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and continued their desperate attempts to increase Jewish settlement and to draw up plans to attract and encourage Jews, particularly new immigrants, to take up residence in those settlements which have already been established in the occupied West Bank. Those settlements now number 170, together with 20 settlements in the Gaza Strip.

     As regards attacks on the liberties and human rights of the Arab population, the Israeli authorities continued to pursue their inhuman policies and to impose individual and collective punishments. These included the sentencing of 111 citizens of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip who appeared before Israeli military courts. Their sentences ranged from imprisonment for many years or several months to the imposition of heavy fines. The occupation authorities also arrested more than 2,000 citizens and placed more than 900 detainees under administrative detention. They placed two citizens under house arrest, demolished more than 43 Arab houses and closed dozens of stores, printing-presses and pharmacies. They continued their closure of educational institutions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Sixty-two men and women fell victim to the bullets of Jewish soldiers and settlers during the month in question, while hundreds of Arab citizens suffered various injuries.

     Details of these acts of aggression are as follows:

I.   SETTLEMENT

     During April 1988, the malice of Israeli settlers and their provocations of Arab citizens reached a climax. Evidence of this was seen in their attack on the village of Bayta (Nablus), aggression against farmers and attempts to enter the village by force, which led to the deaths of three Arab citizens as they struggled to defend themselves and the killing of one Israeli girl by the bullets of the settlers themselves. The settlers also pitched a number of settlement tents at the approaches to the village and took up residence in them. They called for the establishment of more Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.

     The leaders of the settlers presented a document to Shamir in which they

called for additional measures such as the expulsion of hundreds of individuals, the demolition of dozens of houses, the closing of Arab newspapers and an increase in the army presence in Palestinian towns and camps. The Tzomet movement, led by Rafael Eitan, said that all inhabitants of the village of Bayta should be expelled to Lebanon. The Mafdal Party called for the demolition of the village and the establishment of a settlement over its ruins, while Daniela Weiss, the Secretary of Gush Emunim, said that the village should be wiped from the face of the earth and its inhabitants expelled to Jordan. As a result of pressure from these settlers, the Israeli Government demolished about 27 houses, sealed a number of other homes and expelled six of the village's inhabitants to Lebanon.

     Settlement news monitored over the course of the month included the following:

1.   On 4 April 1988, a new settlement was dedicated at a major ceremony attended by the Chairman of the Knesset's Settlement Department, Matityahu Drobles. The new settlement, named Shanu, was established near the village of Sanur al-Gharbiyyah on the main road between Nablus and Jenin.

2.   On 3 April 1988, a new settlement was opened in the northern part of the

occupied West Bank, comprising 14 families who came from the Soviet Union. The new settlement is to be named Kiryat al-Fannanin.

3.   On 28 April 1988, the General Secretary of the Emunah movement (the Settlement Branch of the Gush Emunim movement) said that the movement was discussing the subject of establishing six new settlement points without Government approval. These points were Tofit and Dogit in the Gaza Strip, Eitan (near Jericho), Eilon (near Wadi al-Qalat), Atra (in the Nablus mountains) and a sixth point whose exact location has not been identified.

4.   On 10 April 1988, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir confirmed to the

chairmen of settlement councils in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that he would be consulting the Government and the Minister of Housing with regard to the possibility of establishing two new settlements in the occupied territories. Shamir held a meeting with the chairmen of the settlement councils at which he told them that he approved of the steps being taken by the Minister of Defence to increase security measures in the occupied territories. He also confirmed that strict measures would be taken to identify trouble-makers, to blow up houses and to tighten the army's "iron-fist" grip on the occupied territories.

5.   On 26 April 1988, the Sub-Committee for Israeli Settlement announced its

immediate intention of implementing a detailed project, bearing the number 413, in the village of Arab al-Rashaydah (30 kilometres south of Bethlehem), including the basin of Khirbat Wina and Khirbat Salahbah, to extend the borders of the Ma'aleh Amos settlement, which is situated near the village. The project will result in the confiscation of some 2,000 dunums of land belonging to the village and the destruction of large pastures which constitute the population's principal source of land on which to graze its livestock. The population of the village confirmed that the land threatened with confiscation was the only pasture available to them because the Israeli authorities prevented them from grazing animals on other land belonging to the village on the grounds that it lay in a military zone.

6.   On 26 April 1988, the military authorities informed the population of the

village of Al-Khadr that they would be beginning work on the settlement road which passes through their village and that such work would for the time being be confined to the shoulder running parallel to the road surface which passes through their land on the way to the Eliazar settlement, established on land belonging to the village. The village council spokesmen said that the first section of the road which was to be built would be about 5 kilometres long and 60 metres wide. Residents of the village fear for their land, which is planted with vines, and they are also apprehensive that work on the first section of the project is simply a preliminary to implementation of the second phase, which divides the village in half as far as the town of Bayt Jala. The plan for the project is reported to have been proposed in early 1986, when 69 members of the village's population raised objections to it.

7.   On 13 April 1988, the Chairman of the World Zionist Organization's Settlement Department said that his Department would in the course of the next few days be adding a number of non-fixed structures to settlements in the Nablus area. The number of those structures would be between 70 and 100.

8.   On 10 April 1988, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing intended to take steps during the course of the year to increase the number of residential apartments being constructed in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip by a proportion of 30 per cent. The Israeli Ministry intended to construct 2,000 new residential units during the 1988 financial year, in comparison to 1,500 residential units built in 1987. The Director-General of the Israeli Housing Ministry, Amos Onmor, said that, as a result of a major decline in the rate of residential sales in recent months, a decision had been adopted to take a series of steps to encourage construction in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He said that the Ministry would step up its assistance to those who wished to take the initiative of constructing buildings in West Bank and Gaza Strip settlements and that the Ministry would also increase the level of its financial commitments to the process of purchasing from contractors. An increase would also be announced in the value of loans made available for the purchase of houses, in the context of campaigns to promote house purchases in West Bank and Gaza Strip settlements.

II.  ACTS OF AGGRESSION AGAINST ARAB CITIZENS AND THEIR PROPERTY

     The Israeli occupation authorities carried out a number of acts of aggression during the month of April 1988. The settlers played a part in attacking citizens, firing at them and destroying their property. Citizens were the victims of the most ruthless measures, and their losses included dozens of individuals killed, hundreds wounded and thousands arrested, in addition to the material damage incurred as a result of these acts of aggression. Details of acts of aggression which resulted in damage to the person, property or land of Arab citizens are as follows:

     (a)  Aggression against Arab land

1.   On 2 April 1988, an Israeli military bulldozer demolished retaining walls, uprooted dozens of fruit-bearing trees and destroyed the internal water system of the village of Husan (Bethlehem).

2.   On 5 April 1988, the Israeli occupation forces uprooted hundreds of

olive-trees belonging to Arab citizens in the village of Barqah (Nablus).

3.   On 5 April 1988, Arab residents of the village of Awarta (Nablus) complained that settlers from the Tel Haim colony were preventing them from working on land near the settlement and often fired their guns at the people of the village.

4.   On 13 April 1988, "unidentified persons" uprooted about 2,000 privately owned olive-trees in the village of Al-Khadr, near Bethlehem.

5.   On 23 April 1988, the occupation forces bulldozed three dunums of land planted with olives in the village of Hawwarah (Nablus).

6.   On 26 April 1988, the occupation forces uprooted hundreds of olive-trees in the village of Qatnah, north-west of Jerusalem. Residents of the village said that they saw military trucks transporting the uprooted trees in the direction of the settlement of Givat Zeev, near the village of Al-Jayb, for the purpose of replanting them in the settlement.

7.   On 28 April 1988, following a siege of the village of Kafal Haris (Nablus), the occupation forces and unrestrained settlers launched an attack on the village. Military bulldozers uprooted large numbers of olive-trees and other trees in the village's orchards.

8.   On 28 April 1988, an Israeli military bulldozer ploughed up olive, almond and vine saplings on a 22-dunum area of land in the village of Husan (Bethlehem) and destroyed the fence surrounding it.

     (b)  Aggression against Arab citizens and their property

1.   On 1 April 1988, Israeli bulldozers destroyed the façades of some shops, broke down fences and smashed glass in vehicles and houses in the villages of Za'tarah and Al-Furaydis, east of Bayt Sahur.

2.   On 3 April 1988, a young Palestinian was electrocuted. Israeli soldiers had arrested the youth in the Askar camp and ordered him to climb an electricity pylon to remove a Palestinian flag placed at the top of the pylon.

3.   On 3 April 1988, Israeli soldiers forced four Arab citizens to cover the head and body of Anwar Muhammad Shardanah, a 24-year-old Arab citizen from Al-Birah, with a pile of stones.

4.   On 4 April 1988, 40 citizens in Tulkarm were affected by poisoning when they imbibed spoiled Israeli soft drinks. The newspaper Ha'aretz reported that the cases of poisoning resulted from the children's having drunk spoiled soft drinks which were brought into the camp.

5.   On 5 April 1988, a group consisting of more than 30 armed Jewish settlers from the Eilon Moreh and Kdumim settlements stormed into the city of Nablus and carried out widespread acts of destruction inside the city. They fired rounds of bullets at the houses of residents and smashed glass in the windows and balconies of many houses, as well as in vehicles. They burned 13 Arab vehicles.

6.   On 6 April 1988, a group of settlers from Kiryat Arba carried out widespread acts of destruction against Arab property in the city of Hebron. They burned 10 Arab vehicles and smashed the windscreens and lights of dozens of other vehicles.

7.   On 8 April 1988, Jewish settlers from the Eilon Moreh settlement attacked the village of Hawwarah in the Nablus district. They carried out widespread acts of destruction, storming into a number of houses, wrecking the contents of the houses, beating their inhabitants and smashing the windscreens and lamps of a number of vehicles. They also fired intensive rounds of bullets, causing bullet wounds to five Arab citizens.

8.   On 11 April 1988, Israeli soldiers raided the Tulkarm camp and carried out widespread acts of destruction inside the camp. They raided the houses of citizens and completely destroyed the contents of those houses. They beat a 55-year-old lady and inflicted several fractures on her, besides smashing glass in windows and balconies and citizens' vehicles.

9.   On 12 April 1988, soldiers in the city of Gaza viciously beat up 10 Arab

female students without any justification. The girls were all admitted to hospital.

10.  On 12 April 1988, the Israeli occupation forces raided Al-Ittihad Hospital in Nablus and arrested a wounded man who was in the intensive care unit.

11.  On 12 April 1988, the occupation forces raided a number of houses in the

village of Yata (Hebron), inflicting damage on the houses' furniture and breaking the windows of many of them. The use of gas canisters caused a pregnant women to suffer a miscarriage.

12.  On 13 April 1988, a force consisting of police and Border Guard personnel

raided the Arab Studies Association in Jerusalem. They carried out an inspection and arrested a number of those in attendance.

13.  On 15 April 1988, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that the Israeli police had raided the money-changers' market in the city of Gaza, confiscating thousands of dinars and dollars and arresting a number of money-changers.

14.  On 23 April 1988, Israeli army soldiers raided a mosque in the Jabalia

Palestine refugee camp (Gaza Strip) after the Friday prayer. The soldiers opened fire on worshippers inside the mosque without any justification, causing various injuries to 40 individuals.

15.  On 28 April 1988, large numbers of Israeli army forces attacked the Dheisheh Palestine refugee camp near Bethlehem, raiding a number of houses in the camp and firing rounds of bullets at the water-tanks. The people rushed to defend their houses, with the result that clashes occurred between residents and the soldiers, causing various injuries to dozens of Arab citizens.

16.  On the morning of 27 April 1988, Jewish settlers from the settlement of Ariel, near Nablus, attacked the village of Mashah and carried out widespread acts of destruction inside the village. The settlers fired rounds of bullets at citizens' houses, resulting in bullet wounds to five youths. The settlers also smashed the windscreens of dozens of Arab vehicles which were parked in the village's streets.

17.  On 27 April 1988, armed settlers from the Kiryat Arba settlement attacked the town of Halhul just before midnight. They opened fire in all directions, causing bullet wounds to 11 citizens, and wrecked three vehicles which were parked in the town's streets.

18.  On 27 April 1988, sporadic clashes occurred in the heart of the city of Hebron between residents and Jewish settlers. Soldiers fired bullets and gas canisters, and four youths suffered bullet wounds. Dozens of citizens were affected by asphyxiation and poisoning as a result of the settlers' and army soldiers' firing of gas canisters.

19.  On 30 April 1988, Arab citizens from the Dheisheh camp, near Bethlehem,

reported that Israeli soldiers had stolen cash and gold jewellery while carrying out an inspection of houses in the camp. Clashes occurred with women who resisted the Israeli soldiers, with the result that the women were beaten and their sons arrested.

III. ISRAELI PRACTICES AND VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OCCUPIED ARAB

     TERRITORIES

     The military authorities are committing flagrant violations of human rights which are recognized in international covenants and treaties and the resolutions of international bodies and their affiliated agencies. Details of the violations and of punishments imposed by the authorities on Arabs in the occupied territories during the month of April 1988 are as follows:

1.   Arrests

     (a)  Collective arrests

     Now that detention centres, internment camps and even police stations are

filled with Palestinian detainees arrested in the course of demonstrations which took place throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or at late hours of the night during raids on Arab houses, the occupation authorities have begun to search for other locations in which to establish detention centres. Indeed, a number of new internment camps have been opened since the beginning of the Palestinian popular uprising, the latest of which was the Ansar-3 camp, called Ketziot, which was opened on 24 March 1988. The authorities also established a new detention centre north of Jerusalem, near the Tele Zeev settlement, which has come to be known as "Little Ansar".

     The authorities also decided to set up a large detention camp inside Israel to accommodate about 2,000 detainees. The camp is to be established in the central district.

     Meanwhile, reports state that the security authorities have decided to change the arrangements for visits to prisoners in detention centres in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. A decision has been taken to impose controls on the number of such visits, and to monitor the identities of visitors, so that all family members of detainees will now have to obtain one-time visit papers from the civilian administration. The newspaper Al Hamishmar reports that the intention behind these measures is to increase the burdens imposed on the population of the occupied territories and to strengthen the obligatory link between the population and the Israeli civilian administration.

     Arab detainees in the occupying Power's prisons are also subject to extremely difficult detention conditions as a result of the scarcity of water and of poor food supplies. Medical conditions also constitute a serious danger to detainees by virtue of the presence of an open sewage ditch near the detainees' tents. The quantities of food provided are minimal, and it is of very poor quality. There are also harsh collective punishments. It is forbidden to bring books, radio sets or any other means of entertainment or recreation into the camps, and detainees are made to stand for long periods while they are counted. By way of example, some 300 detainees in the Ansar-3 camp have been affected by poisoning as a result of their being fed spoiled food by the prison administration.

     Details of collective arrests carried out during April 1988 are as follows:

1.   On 8 April 1988, the occupation forces in the village of Bayta arrested 30 individuals for questioning in connection with the recent events in the village.

2.   On 8 April 1988, some 20 individuals in the village of Surif were arrested on charges of having taken part in demonstrations in the village.

3.   On 10 April 1988, the occupation forces launched a broad campaign of arrests in the village of Yata (Hebron), which resulted in the detention of 80 youths.

4.   On 12 April 1988, Israeli forces in the Gaza district arrested about 25

individuals on charges of having taken part in demonstrations and of having thrown stones.

5.   On 12 April 1988, the occupation forces arrested 11 citizens from Bayt Immar on charges of having taken part in demonstrations.

6.   On 12 April 1988, the occupation forces arrested 17 individuals from Qalqilyah on charges of having taken part in demonstrations.

7.   On 13 April 1988, Israeli television reported that the Israeli forces had

carried out wide-ranging arrests in Salfit. One hundred and fifty citizens were arrested on charges of taking part in the recent demonstrations, their ages ranging from 12 to 70.

8.   On 22 April 1988, more than 30 demonstrators were arrested following a

demonstration which took place in the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque after the Friday prayer.

9.   On 25 April 1988, the occupation forces arrested 14 merchants in the

Suq al-Misrarah area of occupied Jerusalem on charges of having closed their stores.

     (b)  Penalties imposed on Arab citizens

     One hundred and eleven Arab citizens appeared before Israeli military courts in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip during April 1988. Various charges were brought against them, including those of demonstrating and throwing stones. Others were tried on charges of belonging to Palestinian organizations. The sentences imposed on the accused ranged from three to six months' imprisonment with a further suspended sentence to imprisonment for several years.

     Most of those tried during the month were Arab youths facing contrived charges of demonstrating and throwing stones. All of them were sentenced to imprisonment and fines averaging 700 shekels (IS) in each case. The total amount of fines imposed by Israeli military courts during the month was estimated at approximately IS 57,700, i.e. the equivalent of $US 38,466.

     (c)  Administrative detention

     The Israeli authorities placed more than 900 individuals under administrative detention during the month. The number of administrative detainees since the beginning of the uprising thus exceeded 1,750. The number increased following the amendment of orders for administrative detention such that they would not be subject to any legal control.

     The newspaper Al Hamishmar reported on 29 April 1988 that senior officials of the Israeli Ministry of Justice and the senior military attorney were now drawing up a series of decrees and laws designed to entrust broad legal powers to the military authorities in the occupied territories. The newspaper revealed that a new decree had been issued authorizing the army forces to conduct prompt arrest operations, without any control by senior officials of the military services and with only limited legal control.

2.   Restrictions on freedom of movement

     (a)  House arrests

     The occupation authorities placed the following two citizens under house

arrest:

     1.   Sami Mu'ammar (aged 25), from Rafah.

     2.   Ali Jiddah, from Jerusalem, a worker at the Alternative Information

          Centre.

     (b)  Curfew

     A curfew was imposed on more than half a million Palestinians during the

month, covering more than 19 camps in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as well as the cities of Nablus and Anabta and a large number of villages. Residents of the Gaza camps were prevented from leaving their houses during the curfew, which lasted for many days. The curfew on the Jalazone camp lasted for 42 days and the curfew on the Balata camp for 13 days.

     The village of Bayta was subjected to a total siege which lasted for more than 20 days, while the village of Tammun (Nablus) was subjected to a siege for 28 days. A curfew lasting 12 days was imposed on the city of Nablus and its camps.

     (c)  Travel restrictions

     The Israeli occupation authorities are continuing to prevent travel by any residents of the city of Nablus and neighbouring camps if they are under 50 years of age. These restrictions have been enforced for residents of the city since February 1988.

     The residents of a number of villages in the Jenin district, such as Silat al-Harithiyah, Al-Yamun and Qabatiyah continue to be prevented from travelling to Jordan. Israeli radio reported that the Israeli civilian administration had issued orders restricting freedom of movement for dozens of Gaza Strip residents and replaced their identity cards, distributing specially coloured cards to them.

     In accordance with Israel's policy of restricting internal freedom of

movement, the Israeli military authorities have prevented all residents of the

West Bank and the Gaza Strip from travelling to the city of Jerusalem to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

3.   Expulsion

     The Israeli authorities issued military orders for the expulsion of 16 Arab citizens from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, of whom eight were expelled on 11 April 1988 and eight others on 19 April 1988. The individuals expelled were:

     1.   Adil Bashir Nafi' (aged 28), from the Kalandia camp.

     2.   Jamal Shati al-Hindi (aged 30), from the Jenin camp, a student at

          Al-Najah University.

     3.   Abd al-Nasir Abd al-Aziz Afw (aged 32), from Jenin, a student at Al-Najah University.

     4.   Furayj Ahmad Khalil Khayri (aged 40), from Gaza, Deputy Chairman of the Engineers' Union.

     5.   Muhammad Abu Samrah (aged 28), from Gaza, a student at the Islamic

          University.

     6.   Khalil al-Qawqa (aged 41), from the Beach camp, a teacher for UNRWA and Chairman of the Gaza Islamic Association.

     7.   Hasan Ghanayim Abu Shaqrah, from Khan Younis.

     8.   Sheikh Abd al-Aziz Awdah (aged 38), from Gaza, a lecturer at the Islamic University.

     9.   Umar Muhammad Sa'id Daud, from the village of Bayta (Nablus).

     10.  Najih Jamil Sa'adah Duwaykat, from the village of Bayta (Nablus).

     11.  Mahmud Abd al-Rahim Bani Shamsi, from the village of Bayta (Nablus).

     12.  Mustafa Mahmud Hamdan Hamayil, from the village of Bayta (Nablus).

     13.  Sari Hilal Tahir Hamayil, from the village of Bayta (Nablus).

     14.  Ibrahim Khidr Ali, from the village of Bayta (Nablus).

     15.  Ahmad Fawzi Khalid al-Dik, from the village of Kafr al-Dik (Nablus).

     16.  Ghassan Ali al-Misri, from Ramallah.

4.   Demolition of houses

     The Israeli occupation authorities demolished 43 Arab houses, mostly on the grounds that they had been built without permits. They also demolished other houses in pursuit of the policy of collective punishment conducted by the occupation forces in the occupied territories. The occupation forces demolished a number of houses in the Bureij camp on the grounds that they had been constructed without permits.

     A list of the names of Arab home-owners who suffered as a result of the

demolition of their houses by Israeli army forces during April 1988 is given below.

No. Name of citizen Location of house

 1/2/3 3 houses (names of owners not Al-Yamun village

  received)

 4 Husayn Abd al-Rahim al-Mutawwar Al-Shuyukh (Hebron)

 5                Musa Majid Hasan Halayaqah               Al-Shuyukh (Hebron)

 6 Sa'id Rabah Abu Rambah Al-Shuyukh (Hebron)

 7 Muhammad Yusuf Zini Al-Fandaqumiyyah     (Jenin)

 8 Abd al-Rahim al-Mutawwar Sa'ir (Hebron)

 9 An unidentified citizen Sa'ir (Hebron)

10 Hafiz Mithqal Bani Shamsa Bayta (Nablus)

11 Taysir Musa Bani Shamsa Bayta (Nablus)

12 Najih Jamil Sa'adah Bayta (Nablus)

13 Mahmud Abd al-Rahim Bayta (Nablus)

14 Ibrahim Muhammad Id Bani Shamsa Bayta (Nablus)

15 Muhammad Uwaid Bani Shamsa Bayta (Nablus)

16 Sari Khalil Al-Hajj Tahir Bayta (Nablus)

17 Umar Sa'id Bani Shamsa Bayta (Nablus)

18 Mahmud Abd Al-Rahman Bani Shamsa Bayta (Nablus)

19 Hamid al-Attari Bayta (Nablus)

20 Khalid Husayn al-Abd Bayta (Nablus)

21 Salman Abd Salman Bayta (Nablus)

22 Al-Muhandis Ahmad Bayta (Nablus)

23 Hamid al-Ayid Alyan Bayta (Nablus)

24 Al-Hajj Ali Muhammad Rashid Sufan Bayt Ta'mar (Bethlehem)

25 Atif Ali Muhammad Rashid Sufan Bayt Ta'mar (Bethlehem)

26 Maryam Musa Salamah Sufan Bayt Ta'mar (Bethlehem)

27 Muhammad Ahmad Darwish al-Wahsh Bayt Ta'mar (Bethlehem)

28 Ibrahim Muhammad Alan al-Wahsh Bayt Ta'mar (Bethlehem)

29 Jaziyah Muhammad Rashid Sufan Bayt Ta'mar (Bethlehem)

30 Id Muhammad Ahmad Awad Bayt Ta'mar (Bethlehem)

31 Yusuf Mustafa Muhammad Musa Kufayrat (Jenin)

32 Mahmud Khalil Abu Sawiyy Kifar Asyun

33 Isma'il Ahmad Ali As'ad Kifar Asyun

34 Muhammad Hasan Ali As'ad Kifar Asyun

35 Sa'id Hasan Ali Kifar Asyun

36 An unidentified citizen Kifar Asyun

37 Muhsin al-Khalidi Bureij camp

38 Abd al-Aziz Ahmad al-Shakhalib Khursa/Dura (Hebron)

39 Hasan Isma'il al-Shahatit Dura (Hebron)

40 Isma'il Hasan al-Suwayti Bayt Awwa

41 Khalil Mustafa Abu Uqayl Al-Sammu'

42 Hamid Hasan Sulayman al-Marabi Al-Jayb (Ramallah)

43 Aziz Muhammad Awad Ayn Sinya (Ramallah)

5.   Killings

     During April 1988, 62 male and female citizens were killed by the bullets of Israeli soldiers, some of them dying as a result of wounds inflicted on them or of the effects of tear-gas canisters. A list of male and female citizens who were killed during the month of April 1988 is given below.

No. Name of person killed Age Place of residence Date of killing

 1 Muhammad Faris Hamid al-Zaban 25 Al-Yamun (Jenin) 31 March 1988

 2 Sulayman Awad al-Jindi 17 Yata (Hebron) 31 March 1988

 3 Jamal Khalil Tumayzi 21 Idhna (Hebron) 1 April 1988

 4 Ishaq Nimr Salimi 24 Idhna (Hebron) 1 April 1988

 5 Jamil Rashid al-Kurdi 55 Gaza 2 April 1988

 6 Ahmad Khamis al-Kurdi 40 Gaza 2 April 1988

 7 Ala Ahmad Khamis al-Kurdi 21 Gaza 2 April 1988

 8 Salim Khalaf al-Sha'ir 23 Bethlehem 2 April 1988

 9 Khamis Mahmud Ahmad 41 Dayr al-Sudan (Ramallah) 2 April 1988

10 Jihad Asi 19 Bayt Liqya (Ramallah) 2 April 1988

11 Ali Dhiyab Abu Ali 45 Yata (Hebron) 3 April 1988

12 Khalil Jabr Jamzawi 18 Askar camp (Nablus) 3 April 1988

13 Nasir Abdullah Kamil 20 Qabatiyah (Jenin)   3 April 1988

days

14 Hamid Abd al-Hadi al-Zaydat 20 Bani Na'im (Hebron) 4 April 1988

15 Hamzah Ibrahim Abu Shabb Bani Suhaylah (Gaza) 4 April 1988

16 Rajab Ahmad al-Salibi 75 Beach camp 4 April 1988

17 Mamun Abd al-Rahim Jarradah 15 Tulkarm 3 April 1988

18 Musa Salih Abu Shamsah Tulkarm 6 April 1988

19 Hatam Fayiz Ahmad al-Jabr 22 Bayta (Nablus) 6 April 1988

20 Subhiyyah Rashid al-Mankush 60 Gaza 9 April 1988

21 Issam Abd al-Halim 15 Bayta (Nablus) 9 April 1988

22 Yusuf Rabi' 85 Dayr Abu Mish'al 9 April 1988

(Nablus)

23 Muhammad Kamil Abd 20 Kafr Ra'i (Jenin) 11 April 1988        al-Qadir Yahya

24 Jalal Muhammad Urais 21 Kafr Ra'i (Jenin) 11 April 1988

25 Sa'ad Ahmad Yusuf 95 Gaza 12 April 1988

26 Fuad Abd al-Aziz Salih 50 Gaza 12 April 1988

27 Watfah Abd al-Latif Farajallah 70 Beach camp 13 April 1988

28 Hasan Ahmad Mahmud Qa'ud 17 Beach camp 13 April 1988

29 Wail Husayn Taha Nazal 25 Nablus 14 April 1988

30 Nassar Fahmi al-Ladawi 22 Nablus 14 April 1988

Sa'dah al-Qar'awi 40 Jenin camp 16 April 1988

32 Jamal Husayn Shahadah 11 Bureij camp 16 April 1988

33 Halah Awad Umayrah 20 Hablah (Qalqilyah) 16 April 1988

34 Jamal al-Jamal  7 Rafah 16 April 1988

35 Taysir al-Buji 16 Rafah 16 April 1988

36 Atwah Abu Arrad 35 Rafah 16 April 1988

37 Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Jazrah 22 Rafah 16 April 1988

38 Amin Amur Abu Amur 17 Khan Younis 16 April 1988

39 Fikri Ibrahim al-Daghmah 22 Khan Younis 16 April 1988

40 Bassam Muhammad Fayyad al-Hariri 15 Jenin 16 April 1988

41 Hilmi Ibrahim Abdullah 23 Jenin 16 April 1988

42 Muhiyuddin Mustafa Sawalmah 20 Qabatiya 16 April 1988

43 Zayd Tawfiq Amarnah 13 Ya'bad (Jenin) 17 April 1988

44 Muhammad Awad al-Balbisi          20 Rafah 17 April 1988

45 Munir Isma'il al-Tatari 32 Jabalia camp 17 April 1988

46 Farid Ahmad Daraz 25 Khan Younis 17 April 1988

47 Iman Muhammad al-Qar'i 19 Khan Younis 17 April 1988

48 Abd al-Muhsin Hanun 19 Khan Younis 17 April 1988

49 Ahmad Musa Muhammad Za'rab 19 Rafah 18 April 1988

50 Ayidah Uthman Tawtah 30 Gaza 18 April 1988

51 Jamil Husayn Alqam 1 wk Shu'fat camp 18 April 1988

52 Nazar Muhammad Ahmad Masad 26 Faqqu'ah (Jenin) 19 April 1988

53 Muhammad Husayn Nassar 20 Nuseirat camp 20 April 1988

54 Muhammad Fayiz Abu Ali 25 Bani Suhaylah (Gaza) 22 April 1988

55 Faraj Isma'il Yusuf Farajallah 26 Idhna (Hebron) 22 April 1988

56 Muhammad Mustafa Abu Zayd 20 Qabatiyah 23 April 1988

57 Ahmad Hasan Salim Amr 22 Dura (Hebron) 24 April 1988

58 Musa Muhammad Abu Iyyah 19 Rafah 24 April 1988

59 Mahmud Ibrahim Zawahirah 41 Bayt Ta'mar (Ramallah) 25 April 1988

60 Nu'mah Muhammad al-Allami 55 Bayt Immar (Hebron) 24 April 1988

61 Arij Isma'il Daud 13 Kafr al-Dik (Ramallah) 27 April 1988

62 Sari Hilal Rustam 35 Kafr Malik (Ramallah) 27 April 1988

6.   Injuries

     The Israeli occupation authorities continued their policy in the occupied

territories of firing live and rubber bullets at demonstrators and stepped up their "iron fist" measures in the territories. The newspaper Al Hamishmar quoted Knesset member Dedi Zucker, of the Citizens' Rights movement, as saying that the occupation forces were using CS gas canisters. This gas constitutes a real danger to the lives of citizens, particularly to those of pregnant women, since its inhalation immediately leads to the death of the foetus. On 18 April 1988, the newspaper Hadashot reported that about 400 pregnant Palestinian women had miscarried in the Gaza Strip.

     The Israeli Army has also introduced two types of unbreakable truncheons for use by its forces. The first type is made of hard plastic, is half a metre long and delivers a very painful blow. The second type is made of unbreakable beechwood and is 80 centimetres long. The number of those hurt and injured in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the month has been estimated at over 250. By way of example, Israeli army radio reported on 9 April 1988 that 78 people were wounded on 8 April 1988, of whom 31 were admitted to Al-Ittihad Hospital in Nablus, 16 to Ramallah Hospital and 8 to Aliyah Hospital in Hebron after being fired upon by soldiers and settlers. On 30 April 1988, the same radio station reported that 52 wounded citizens had been admitted to Al-Shifa Hospital in the Jabalia camp on the previous day. The majority of them were school students, including 13 individuals who suffered from gas asphyxiation and poisoning and 39 who received bullet wounds.

7.   Closure of schools and universities

     The military authorities decided to extend until 8 May 1988 the period during which all schools and educational institutions in the West Bank would be closed. The institutions and schools concerned have been closed since the beginning of the prising.

     The occupation forces also closed three schools in Gaza for 15 days. These were Al-Mutanabbi Secondary School for Boys, Al-Khansa Secondary School for Girls and Haifa Intermediate School for Girls. The Israeli military command in the Gaza strip also issued orders for the closure of the Hatam al-Tai Secondary School for boys and the Abd al-Qadir Intermediate School for Boys at Khan Younis, for a period of two weeks from 30 April 1988.