OPT: Protection of civilians – OCHA Weekly report (21-27 May 2008)

OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS

P.O. Box 38712, East Jerusalem, Phone: (+972) 2-582 9962 / 582 5853, Fax: (+972) 2-582 5841 ochaopt@un.org, www.ochaopt.org

Protection of Civilians Weekly Report

21 – 27 May 2008

Of note this week

Gaza Strip:

· The IDF killed eight Palestinians, including three unarmed civilians. The IDF also injured 26 Palestinians, of whom at least 17 were unarmed civilians. One IDF soldier was injured in the Gaza Strip and another in Israel.

· A 22-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a truck filled with explosives at Erez crossing, causing significant structural damage but no injuries. The crossing was closed for three days, obstructing the movement of humanitarian aid workers and medical cases.

· The IDF carried out six levelling and excavation operations and uprooted an estimated 610 dunums of agricultural land.

· On three separate days, the IDF opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats at sea, forcing them to return to shore.

· The fact-finding mission established by the UN Human Rights Council and led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu entered Gaza via Rafah crossing on 27 May and stayed for two days.

· 18 rockets and 26 mortars were fired at Israel, resulting in the injury of one IDF soldier at Zikkim military base. One rocket hit a Palestinian house in Gaza City and injured a 29-year-old mother and her two children (aged 5 and 6 years). In addition, Palestinian militants fired 67 mortars at IDF soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip.

West Bank:

· 43 Palestinians, including 18 children, were injured this week. Two were injured by Israeli setlers and the rest by the IDF. One international and six Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets while participating in a demonstration in Ni’lin.

· An Israeli woman was physically assaulted by the IDF while participating in a joint Palestinian-Israeli action to remove an earth mound on the road connecting As Samu’ to Road 60 (Hebron).

· The Jerusalem Municipality, accompanied by the IDF and the Israeli Border Police, demolished a one-story house in At Tur due to the lack of a building permit, displacing seven Palestinians, including three children. The family had been previously displaced from Silwan due to atacks by Israeli setlers (Jerusalem).

· Israeli setlers from Shima setlement confiscated a herd of 60 sheep belonging to Palestinian shepherds. The setlers claimed that the sheep were grazing on “State Land.” The IDF retrieved the sheep, returned them to their owners, but informed the Palestinian shepherds that they can no longer graze their sheep in the same area (Hebron).

· The IDF canceled an end-of-academic-year celebration organized by different schools in Jerusalem at the Palace Hotel, claiming that PA officials were present (Jerusalem).

· 98 flying checkpoints, 110 IDF search operations and 122 arrests/detentions of Palestinians were reported.

Full report: