In the context of their collective punishment policy, the Israeli occupation forces have invaded the As-Salam area in Rafah and Ash-Shaja’ya area in Gaza City, destroyed one home with explosives and bulldozed two more.
Sixteen other homes were damaged in the Israeli attacks.
At about 1 A.
M.
Thursday 12 September 2002, 35 Israeli tanks penetrated the Ash-Shaja’ya area, east of Gaza City.
They took control of the area under heavy fire cover, laying siege to it before ordering the family of Muhammad Salim Hillis to evacuate their home in ten minutes.
They announced that they were going to demolish the house in response to the military attacks against Israeli settlements carried out in the past by Muhammad’s son, Usama.
It is significant that Usama took part in a military operation in the Gush Qatif settlement bloc and was killed on 27 November 2001.
Eyewitnesses told Al Mezan fieldworkers that the Israeli forces did not wait for ten minutes and destroyed the house with explosives immediately after ordering the family to leave and declaring their intentions to the neighbors.
The two-story house occupied an area of 160 square meters and hosted ten people.
As a result of the explosion, two neighboring homes were severely damaged.
the first home, owned by Abdullah Salim Hillis, occupies 150 square meters and is of three stories, while the other, owned by Mustafa Salim Hillis, is of two stories and occupies 120 square meters.
Thirty people lived in the two houses.
In addition, thirteen other houses were damaged by the explosion and a 23-year-old person, Khalil Ibrahim Jindiyeh, was injured in the leg.
An hour later, six Israeli tanks and a military bulldozer entered the As-Salam area on the Rafah-Egypt border south of the town of Rafah.
They demolished two homes owned by Abdul Ra’uf Idhinin Abu Amra and his brother Abdul Latif.
Al Mezan’s fieldworker reported that eleven people lived in the two homes.
Additionally, two other homes were severely damaged due to the Israeli forces bulldozing in the area.
The two homes are owned by Hanan Ghaith and Aysheh Hussain.
It should be mentioned that Aysheh’s son, Muhanad, testified under oath that his family lost an amount of JD 1,000 and gold jewelry with an estimated value of JD 1,500 after the Israeli soldiers broke into their home.
Moreover, the Israeli forces continue to impose a tight siege on the Gaza Strip, restricting movement outside the Strip and dividing it into two parts.
Thousands of Palestinians were blocked at the Israeli checkpoint south of Deir Al Balah between 10 A.
M.
and 11:30 P.
M.
It should be noted that Palestinians have to go through this checkpoint every time they need to move between the southern and northern towns in Gaza for work, trade, etc.
Palestinian’s who work inside Israel had to find a place to sleep as they could not reach their homes.
Some of them told Al Mezan that they slept in a park so that they can go to work the next day.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights is gravely concerned by the continued Israeli aggression against Palestinian civilians.
Al Mezan is especially concerned by the frequent Israeli incursions in Palestinian towns, which invariably result in home demolitions.
Such crimes constitute collective punishment procedures against civilian life and property, and therefore violate international law.
Al Mezan warns of a possible Israeli escalation should the international community keep its silence, which encourage the Israeli army to perpetrate further crimes, including robbery.
Al Mezan calls upon the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to intervene immediately and end the Israeli Forces’ continued violation of the Convention and guarantee the Convention’s respect in the OPTs.
END