Settler Attacks on Palestinian Civilians 13 October 2000

Israeli settlers have been attacking Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories with total support from the Israeli occupation troops.

Since the time clashes began between the occupation troops and Palestinian civilians on 28 September 2000, after the provocative visit of Likud opposition leader Ariel Sharon, the region has been witnessing  unprecedented activity of the Israeli extreme right in both Israel and the occupied territories. The result has been devastating: 5 Palestinians have been shot
dead, 3 by settlers in the occupied territories and 2 shot by the Israeli police in Nazareth during the clashes that took place when settlers from Upper Nazareth launched their attack against the Palestinian community in the city. Eyewitnesses say that settlers have taken part in the shooting.

Settlers and Jewish racist extremists have been waging attacks inside the green line since 6 October 2000. These orchestrated attacks are meant to terrorize Palestinian civilians and target their lives and property. Reports say that settlers have used live
bullets in many cases under the cover and eye of the Israeli occupation troops and in total impunity.

In light of this dangerous turn in the events, LAW has prepared this report to describe these dangerous attacks. The report deals with the features of these attacks and describes some of the events that took place despite the difficulties faced by the field researchers to monitor and document these incidents. Field researchers have also found it difficult to move around due to the military siege imposed by the Israeli occupation troops in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

First: Murder of Civilians Settlers have used live bullets against Palestinians in a 'shoot to kill' policy.

They also employed other means such as severe  torture and deliberate running over. Palestinians have unfortunately fallen victims to this policy such as Sara Hasan, 1 and a half year old from the village of Qasra, Isam Hamad, 39, from the village of Um Asafa, Mohammad Bouzieh, 39, from Kuful Hares, all from the occupied West Bank. Meanwhile, 2 Palestinians, Omar
Akawi, 42, and Wisam Yazbak, 26, were killed in the  city of Nazareth. 30 other civilians were injured, 5 of whom sustained very serious injuries after the clashes with the Upper Nazareth (Nazaret Ilit)settlers.

On 1 October 2000, one a half year-old Sarah was taken to the hospital by her father HasanOn the way home, fully armed settlers opened fire on their car, instantly killing Saran and injuring Hasan's 20-year-old niece.

On 8 October 2000, the body of Isam Hamad, 36, from Um Safa, Ramallah, was found in a field near his village located near the Halmeesh settlement. His brother, Basam, stated that Isam was driving to his village when an Israeli military vehicle ordered him to stop. He was then taken in the direction of the Halmeesh settlement. Hamad was found dead the next morning in a field near Pisgot settlement. When the family members tried to take the body, they were fired at from the settlement. They managed to take the body  to their house and later to the hospital in Ramallah. Preliminary examination has shown that he was hit with
a sharp tool in the head, his face was burned and his hands were broken. He had bruises on his back and his left leg had been burned with an iron. Evidence of electrocution were also found.

On 8 October 2000, an estimated one thousand Israeli extremist settlers from Natzeret Illit (Higher Nazareth), supported by the Israeli police, attacked  East Nazareth; they broke into the homes of the Palestinian residents, and fired at Palestinian
civilians killing Omar Ikawi, 42, and Wisam Yazbik, 26, and wounding thirty people, five of them critically. The deaths of Ikawi and Yazbik raise the death toll of Palestinians within the Green Line, (in Israel) to 13.

On 11 October 2000, Mohammad Bouzieh, 39, from Kuful Hares in the district of Salfit was overrun by a settler. An eyewitness stated that a car carrying an Israeli license plate was spotted driving away from the accident site.

Second: Blockage of Roads As the oppressive operations by the Israeli occupation troops were gaining momentum, settlers in the West Bank took to the streets blocking exits and entrances to the major towns and villages and assaulting Palestinian
civilians and their property. During the attacks, settlers used all sorts of weapons including stones, axes and batons. They rampaged villages, destroying cars and property. On 6 October, settlers opened fire at a car wounding the passengers at the Za'tara junction in the district of Nablus. On the same evening, two Palestinian civilians, Tha'er Said, 21, and Amjad Safarini, 25, from the village of Safarine in Toulkarem, were brutally assaulted and wounded in the shoulders and face by settlers and had their car smashed.

On 8 October 2000, in another incident, a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was attacked smashed by settlers near the settlement of Shilo. The ambulance received a call that settlers had beaten Palestinians. Upon arrival to the area, the paramedics found out that the report was false. On their way back, a military Jeep offered to accompany the ambulance into Ramallah saying that there were settlers on the road that could assault them. Along the way, settlers did stop the ambulance and the jeep. The soldiers got out of their jeep to speak with the settlers and the settlers ran  top to the ambulance and attacked it.

On 10 October 2000, two Palestinian reporters on their way back to Nablus were pelted with stones thrown by settlers. The two Palestinians reported the incident to Israeli troops but nothing was done about it. On the same evening, settlers from Ofra assaulted Mustafa Qasem from Silwad hitting him with a sharp tool on the head. In another incident, settlers also assaulted
Mohammad Qasem, from the village of Beitin. The two Palestinians were transferred to hospital for treatment.


Third: Assault on individual and property Armed, protected and supported by Israeli troops, the Israeli settlers have waged a number of attacks and assaults on the civilian Palestinian population particularly the cities and surroundings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Al Bireh and other parts of the West Bank.

Settlers tried entering and sealing off the Orient House in East Jerusalem under the protection and sight of the Israeli occupation troops. However, angry Palestinian youth challenged them and pushed them off. The settlers also took to the Azahra Street, of East Jerusalem and sealed off the exits and entrances of the city. In another incident, Hussein Atawil, 20, was wounded as young Palestinians took to the street to prevent the settlers from gaining access to the Shu'fat Refugee Camp. In other incidents, settlers rampaged motorway # 1 and stoned Palestinian cars.

Settlers attacked the village of Bidya near Nablus. They burned shops and destroyed electric power lines. Meanwhile, Israeli bulldozers blocked the roads and installed make shift checkpoints preventing villagers from leaving. They also fired at Palestinian houses.

In the village of Huwara, settlers attacked Palestinian houses and broke the windows with stones and bullets. They also attacked the new built mosque,  burning copies of the Holy Koran and other religious books. The mosque 's carpets were also set on fire.

In the district of Hebron, three Palestinian civilians from the village of Sourif were wounded when settlers opened fire on them at the Beit Ummar junction.  Settlers in the city of Hebron hassled Palestinian residents, pelting them with rocks, beating them or setting dogs on them.

On October 4, Aqel Awad's house came under fire from the nearby settlement of Pisgot. Aqel's daughter stated that she and her family members were in the house in the evening when live bullets were fired at the house. She stated, ' I was ironing my clothes at that time, so I stopped. My father, 80 years old, was in his room that overlooks the settlement. He is an  old man partially paralysed. I went to check on him. When things calmed down, I went out to the balcony to close the door and I was hit with a bullet in the eye, but I did not hear the shot. I fell to the floor and I shouted for rescue. I tried to crawl into the
room. My mother and brother came to my rescue. I was later transferred to the Ramallah hospital. The injury was close to the eye. I was later taken to the Arazi Ophthalmic hospital for further treatment especially as glass blisters had filled my eye. I was later   discharged. When I arrived home, I found out that my brother was also hit with a bullet in the same place where I had been hit before. No one heard any shots. The bullet hit him in the stomach and exited through his back. He was in critical condition but is believed to be improving. My brother is 54 years old. He lives in the States and he was here on a visit.'

The following is a list of a number of Palestinians whose property or being had been assaulted:

1. Mahmoud Al Uqueili / Raboud village / Doura /Hebron
2. Hamed Al Uqueili / Raboud village / Doura /Hebron
3. Rizek Al Habiyat/ Raboud village / Doura / Hebron
4. Eid Abul Kabash, 40, was hit with a bullet in his left leg at the Asamou' junction.
5. Samar Asharabati, old city in Henron was shot in the eye.
6. Jamal Hammoud , 40, was beaten and suffers a fracture in the skull.

LAW reiterates the following:

. The Israeli government is fully responsible for situation that has developed in the Occupied  Territories and the violence committed against Palestinian civilians by Israeli settlers 

. LAW demands that those responsible for this aggression against Palestinians be investigated and brought to trial.

.We demand that the United National Security Council take immediate action to protect Palestinians civilians and force Israel to comply with articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention 

LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection for Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy.

LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), The Federation Internationale des Ligues de Droits de l'Homme (FIDH), The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), and is a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN)