Under the auspices of a silent and idle international community, which lacks an effective interventionist role, the Israeli occupation forces continue perpetrating massacres against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
A few days after the their massacres in the West Bank refugee camps of Balata, Jenin, Tulkarm, Nur Shams, al-Azza, ad-Dihisha, the town of Bethlehem, and the Gaza Strip towns of Rafah, Khza’a and Abasan, Israeli forces initiated attacks on other locations.
To begin with, Israeli helicopters attacked a refrigerator workshop in the al-Zaytun neighborhood of Gaza City with three missiles at 9pm Monday 11 March 2002.
The workshop was completely destroyed and one of the missiles struck the Latin Monastery School and Kindergarten, as they occupy the same building.
In addition, twelve commercial stores and six residences were damaged with ten people injured.
Next, Israeli forces invaded Jabalia refugee camp, in the north of the Gaza Strip at approximately 10:00pm Tuesday 12 March 2002.
Dozens of Israeli tanks, under air cover, entered Jabalia from two directions; Salah ad-Din St.
in the east and Nitzanit settlement northern Bait Lahia in the north.
Tanks took positions near Abu Qamar Petroleum, only 100 meters from the refugee camp in the deepest incursion of the night in Jabalia.
It should be emphasized that Israeli tanks opened fire on civilians arbitrarily throughout the invasion.
Israeli soldiers broke into Ismail Salim’s house and used its roof as a watchtower to shoot at Palestinians.
They killed Abdul-Rahman Muhammad Iz ad-Din, age 60 and his son Walid, age 35 as the pair stood in front of their house near the Salim’s home.
In addaition, the intensive fire of the Israeli forces killed the following Palestinians: Iyad Ahmad Rajab Issa, age 25, Yusif Muhammad Abu al-Qumsan, age 25, Fawzi Sabri Umar Abu Shmas, age 20, Muhammad Salim Abu Skhaila, age 21, Hani Salim Salim Abu Skhaila, age 23, Yaaqub Abdul-Fattah Ahmad Udih, age 25, Sa’id Ahmad Hasuna, age 22, Nabil Abu al-Qar’, age 22, Majdi Abdul-Mu’ti al-Taluli, age 24, Rami Bahjat Aziz, age 20, Hamuda Nijim, Samir al-Sa’di Sababa, age 45 Husam Hasan al-Barbarawi, age 22, Walid Abdul-Rahaman Iz ad-Din, age 35, Abdul-Rahman Muhammad Iz ad-Din, age 55, Ahmad Ismail Qifina, age 19.
The Israeli forces broke into the offices of an NGO called Prisoners and Ex-prisoners Association, which is located in a residential building in Jabalia Refugee Camp.
Most of the NGO’s office contents were destroyed as the Israelis seized their records.
Furthermore, an Israeli tank broke through the front wall of a metal workshop owned by Jihad Abu Habil.
The same shop had been shelled before in the passed.
At the same time Israeli forces also penetrated into the town of Jabalia from the east by al-Qarim Crossing, where they initiated more random gunfire.
Explosive devices were used here to demolish four separate metal workshops, each of which were located in the first floor of residential buildings.
An entire residential building was rendered untenable by explosives as it housed one of the four metal shops, which had been shelled previously in past air attacks.
The Israeli forces entered an area near al-Rifa’i school in the heart of Jabalia town and demolished a Palestinian Security building on Salah ad-Din St.
At approximately 1:30am Tuesday 12 March 2002, Israeli warships shelled the Palestinian Marine Police site in the town of Deir al-Balah.
Ahmad Abu Hilal, age 20, lost his life in the attack.
At the same time, Israeli helicopters bombarded the area of al-Birkeh to the southwest of Deir al-Balah.
Here, many homes were damaged by the attack.
At an hour later, an Israeli force entered Abu al-Ajin area, southeast of Deir al-Balah, where they announced a curfew on the region and ordered all men to leave their homes and group on Kissufim St.
Fifty-two men in total grouped in the area where Israeli soldiers proceeded to search and humiliate them.
Eight of these men were arrested: Usama Abu Mghasib, age 32, Mustafa Abdullah Shihada al-Maghayda, age 30, Khalil Uthman Raiyahi, age 28, Mahmud Uthman Raiyahi, age 19, Saif ad-Din Arada, age 20, Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Karim al-Satari, age 30 and Atallah Baraka Abu Mghasib, age 38.
Nearby at al-Jafarawi, the same procedure was used and 11 more persons were subsequently arrested.
The fate of these people remains unknown.
Two other Palestinians, Muhammad Ahmad Hilis, age 17, and Bilal Tawfiq Shihada, age 17 were killed yesterday evening near the Israeli settlement of Netzarim.
Today at about 11:15am, Israeli helicopters attacked a metal workshop in Khan Younis, owned by Munir Jamaan al-Bashiti.
The workshop was completely destroyed and four people were killed.
Their names are: Zuhair Hussain Muhammad Kawari’, age 24, Ahmad Jum’a Khalil al-Bashiti, age 35, Muhammad Jum’a Khalil al-Bashiti, age 25 and Ra’fat Mahmud Hussain al-Bashiti, age 25.
Four other people were wounded in the attack.
The incidents described and itemized in this Press Release serve as evidence to the fact that the Israeli occupation forces utilize measures of indiscriminate fire, attacks on civilians and property and collective punishment, all of which constitute war crimes.
These deliberate actions against the Palestinian populace aim at inflicting high death tolls, substantial injury rates and as much damage as possible to civilian premises.
The Israeli government, in pushing this as its political agenda, fails to meet even the minimum aspirations of the Palestinian people for peace, freedom, self-determination and an independent state.
The international community is obligated by law, now more than ever, to: Provide effective international protection for civilians and their property.
Israel as an occupying power continues to fail to comply with the international laws laid out as rules for occupation.
Hence, the international community must move to intervene to fulfill its legal and moral obligations towards protection of Palestinian civilians and property.
Not to politicize Palestinian suffering.
Nine years of the peace process has operated with an emphasis solely to ending conflict while neglecting and even subjugating basic human rights’ needs.
Now the Palestinian people have neither peace nor guarantees of human rights.
Indict and pursue Israeli commanders who, by perpetrating, ordering, or ignoring violations of international laws, are war criminals.
Provide significant material and moral support to the Palestinian people especially in the fields of health, education and housing.
Apply pressure on Israel, as the occupying power, to adequately compensate the Palestinian people for the human and material costs inflicted thus far.
Impose sanctions on the state of Israel due to its repeated and flagrant violations of international laws and treaties to which it is signatory to.
This could include pressures applied through reviews of economic and commercial treaties by individual or groups of states.
Ideally, the Center would like to at the very least see an international arms embargo in place against Israel so long as it continues with its war crimes.
Al Mezan would like to remind the international community that its silence in the face of these brutal and illegal activities by the Israeli occupation forces serves only to encourage such crimes.
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