OPT: Protection of civilians – OCHA weekly report (31 Dec. 2013 – 6 Jan. 2014)

One death and 13 injuries due to tear gas inhalation; two children injured by live ammunition

Two demonstrations held this week in Kafr Qaddum village (Qalqiliya) evolved into violent clashes involving stone throwing by Palestinians and shooting of tear gas canisters by Israeli forces. The first resulted in the death of an 85-yearold Palestinian man, who inhaled tear gas that penetrated into his house and was evacuated to a hospital. The second demonstration led to the injury of nine civilians, eight of whom were treated for tear gas inhalation.

For the past ten years, the Israeli military, citing security concerns, has been blocking the main route connecting the village to its service center in Nablus. The route passes through the nearby settlement of Qedumim. Access to agricultural land next to the settlement’s built up area has been also restricted. In 2013, 266 Palestinians have been injured in protests against those restrictions, mostly due to tear gas inhalation, a 70 percent decline compared to the equivalent figures for 2012.

Another nine Palestinians, including three children, were injured during the week in various clashes with Israeli forces. The latter include a 14-year-old boy shot with live ammunition during a stone throwing incident near Ayda Refugee Camp (Bethlehem); a 16-year-old boy shot with live ammunition during the weekly anti-Barrier demonstration in Bi’lin village (Ramallah); and a 7-year-old girl bitten by a police dog during search operation in Bethlehem.

Israeli settler violence: ongoing concern over
lack of adequate law enforcement

This week, five incidents of Israeli settler-related incidents resulting in injuries or damage to property among Palestinians have been recorded, alongside one incident resulting in property damage among settlers.

Two of this week’s injuries occurred in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, in two separate incidents. On 1 January, according to eye witnesses, an Israeli settler intentionally hit a Palestinian man with his vehicle, when a group of Palestinians were celebrating the release of a prisoner in the street. On 4 January, an Israeli settler physically assaulted and injured a 12-year-old Palestinian girl in the back and stomach while on her way to school, for unclear reasons. Settlement activity in the Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem, like Silwan, results in restrictions on public space, residential growth and freedom of movement, as well as, in cases, the loss of property and the eviction of the long-term Palestinian residents.

Another Palestinian man from the herding community of Bir al ‘Idd in south Hebron, was beaten and hit with an iron stick by a group of Israeli settlers from the Mitzpe Ya’ir settlement outpost, during clashes that erupted when the man was working with his family on land in the vicinity of the settlement; Israeli forces who came to the site reportedly arrested five Palestinians and seven Israeli settlers. Three Israeli settlers were also injured during the incident.

Also this week, on 6 January, a group of Israeli settlers from Yizhar settlement raided the village of Urif (Nablus), where they damaged a water reservoir funded by an international donor, currently under construction, and stoned the village’s secondary boys’ school, triggering clashes with the students. Video footage of the incident published by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, shows Israeli soldiers watching the settler attack without intervening, and then shooting tear gas canisters at the Palestinian students.

In the Dura al Qar’a village (Ramallah), on 31 December, a group of Israeli settlers set fire to three Palestinian vehicles in the village, and sprayed  “price tag” graffiti, on Palestinian homes in the area. Also this week, according to Israeli media,  Palestinians stoned an Israeli bus travelling on Road  443 heading to Tel Aviv on 31 December, causing  some damage to the bus; no injuries were reported.

Self-demolition in East Jerusalem

No demolitions by the Israeli authorities have been recorded during the reporting period in either Area C or East Jerusalem. However, on 4 January, a Palestinian family in the Um Tuba neighbourhood of East Jerusalem self-demolished part of their home, in compliance with a demolition order issued by the Israeli authorities, in order to avoid the payment of fines, had the Israeli authorities executed the demolition. Five family members, including three children, were affected.

Also in East Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities handed out 12 other demolition orders against six houses, four commercial shops, animal barracks, and a playground owned by nine Palestinian families in Silwan neighbourhood, placing around 30 individuals at risk of displacement and affecting at least 20 others. In Area C, the Israeli authorities issued at least 11 demolition and stop-work orders against Palestinian structures across the Nablus governorate, including seven houses in Rujeib village.

A boy killed and three civilians injured along the fence

The increase recently observed in the frequency of violent incidents related to Israeli restrictions on access to areas along Gaza’s perimeter fence, continued this week resulting in the killing of a boy and the injury of another four civilians.

On 2 January, Israeli forces opened fired towards a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, who was walking in the direction of the fence (approximately 400 meters away from it), severely injuring him; the boy later died en route to a hospital in Israel. According to an initial investigation by Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, no warning was given prior to the fatal shooting. Another three Palestinian civilians were shot and injured by Israeli forces in various incidents in the vicinity of the fence: a man collecting scrap metal near Beit Hanoun and two farmers who were part of a larger group approaching the fence east of Jabaliya. A total of 9 Palestinians, 5 of them civilians, were killed; as well as 68 others, 66 of them civilians, including 20 children, were injured in Gaza’s Access Restricted Areas on land and at sea, in 2013.

There were at least five incidents where Israeli naval forces opened warning fire at Palestinian fishing boats near the 6 nautical mile limit, but no injuries or damages were reported.

Palestinian armed groups fired a number of projectiles towards southern Israel, most of which fell short of their targets within the Gaza Strip, resulting in no casualties or damage in either Gaza or Israel. Israeli forces launched three air strikes during the reporting period, which did not result in casualties. One incident of gunfire by Palestinian armed groups at Israeli forces was also reported.

Rafah Crossing remained closed

Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt remained closed during the entire reporting period, both for the movement of travelers and for the limited entry of construction materials for projects funded by Qatar. Consequently, the waiting list of people registered to travel now exceeds 5,000 people, including those seeking urgent medical treatment outside of Gaza and students studying abroad. The Crossing partially opened between 24 and 26 December, allowing fewer than 1,000 travelers to cross into Egypt and approximately 1,200 to enter Gaza. It was closed again by the Egyptian authorities on 27 December.

Since July 2013, the operation of Rafah Crossing has been significantly reduced by the Egyptian authorities, citing security concerns related to their military operations in the Sinai. Overall during December, the number of people exiting Gaza via Rafah was just 15 percent of the monthly average recorded during the first half of 2013 (3,005 and 20,348 respectively). No medical shipment or other humanitarian consignment has entered Gaza via Rafah during the month.

Kerem Shalom Crossing: cash crop exports
and fuel imports continued

Kerem Shalom Crossing, which is the only crossing for goods between Gaza and Israel currently operational, functioned according to schedule during the reporting period. Limited exports of cash crops from Gaza to European markets continued, including 28 tonnes of strawberries, 4.5 tonnes of cherry tomatoes, and 143,000 cut flowers. This brings the total number of truckloads that exited Gaza in 2013 to 182, a 28 per cent decrease compared with the equivalent figure during 2012 (254). Following the imposition of the blockade in June 2007, the Israeli authorities banned the transfer of goods from Gaza to the West Bank and Israel, which were the main markets for Gaza products. Prior to that, an average of 250 truckloads exited Gaza every week.

Fuel for the Gaza Power Plant (GPP) continued to enter Gaza through Kerem Shalom Crossing, averaging some 450,000 liters per day. The fuel is partly funded by a USD 10 million donation from Qatar, which was delivered after the winter storm that hit the region from 11-14 December 2013. As during the previous week, scheduled power outages extended for about 12 hours a day in most areas. Due to unclear reasons, the amount of fuel imported from Israel for purposes other than use by the GPP decreased by 22 percent compared to the previous week. Since June 2013, Gaza is affected by a severe fuel shortage triggered by the closure of the vast majority of the illegal tunnels under the border with Egypt. These tunnels were the main channel for the smuggling of subsidized Egyptian fuel into Gaza at cheaper prices than Israeli fuel.