Violating international laws … Disproportionate re-incursion of Palestinian communities in Gaza Strip

''The Israeli demolition comes without pre-notification, a single tank shells fire straight into the Palestinian houses .. inhabitants must run under heavy barrage of gunfire capturing their children and scattering into the night .''

This is the normal life of Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip who have been facing the brutal Israeli aggression since the beginning of the second Intifada, three and a half years ago. On the 28 June 2004, the Israeli Forces backed with several numbers of tanks reinforced by Israeli helicopters incurred into the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun and the neighboring Jabalya city imposing a tight closure on the Palestinian citizens and isolating the town from the other Palestinian districts by closing all of its entrances with earth mounds alongside Salah El Din Street which connects north of the Strip with its south, killing thirteen Palestinians including three children and a woman. In addition, the IOF razed hundreds dunums of agricultural lands cultivated with Fruitful trees, mostly Olives.

Since the beginning of July 2004, the IOF demolished 34 Palestinian houses, razed 134 dunums of agricultural lands cultivated with Fruitful trees and mowed more than 3000 trees all under the pretext of providing security for the Israeli city ''Sedirot'' and also looking for armed smuggling tunnels in the area. See Photo 1 & Photo 2

The table below illustrates the number of houses demolished and lands razed in the Gaza Strip during the period of 1-12 of July, 2004.

Table 1: Total of houses demolished and land razed during the period of 1-12 July 2004:

Houses demolished	Houses threatened	Land razed/ Dunum	Land threatened /Dunum	Uprooted trees
34	3	134	15	3100

Source: ARIJ Database 2004

Table two also specifics the Israeli violations committed during the period of 1- 12 July 2004, in the Gaza Strip.

Table 2: Detailed table of the Israeli violations in Gaza Strip during the period of 1- 12 July 2004

Date	Location	Violation	Owners
1_July-_2004	East of Beit Hanun town	U_ Uprooting of Citrus trees
1_July-_2004	From the northern borders of the Strip to circulate Beit Hanun town	P_ plans to create a 5km security zone
1_July-_2004	Qizan Al Najjar area east of Khan Yunis city	D_ Demolition of 13 houses	Palestinian families
1_July-_2004	Qizan Al Najjar area east of Khan Yunis city	D_ Demolition of 3 sheep farms	Naser 'Ashour, 'Abed el Karim Abu Omran and Nathem Sha'th
1_July-_2004	Qizan Al Najjar area east of Khan Yunis city	O_ 15 dunums are threatened of being razed	Palestinian families
1_July-_2004	Qizan Al Najjar area east of Khan Yunis city	O_ 3 houses are threatened of demolition	Ahmad Abu Nar, Naser 'Ashour and 'Abed El Karim Abu Omran
1_July-_2004	Al Qarara area to the north of Khan Yunis	S_ Razing agricultural land cultivated with Guava	Jabara Al Fara
1_July-_2004	Between the industrial zone and Abu Safiya area in Beit Hanun city	C_ Constructing new military base
1_July-_2004	Al Qarara town to the north of Khan Yunis	D_ Demolishing of Al Qudra Mosque
1_July-_2004	Shehabar land to the east of Gaza city	S_ Razing of agricultural lands
2_July-_2004	Jabalya town to the north of the Strip	S_ Razing of agricultural lands
2_July-_2004	Beit Hanun town	S_ Razing the 24 dunums of a plastic house cultivated with Citrus	Mahmoud Al Masri
2_July-_2004	Al Brazil neighborhood in Rafah city	D_ Demolition of 8 houses and 7 commercial stores	Palestinian families
2_July-_2004	south of Al Matahen checkpoint and east of Salaheldin road	C_ Erection of two meters earth mounds
2_July-_2004	east of Beit Hanun town north of the Strip	D_ Demolition of a poultry farm	Muhammad Al Kafarneh
2_July-_2004	east of Beit Hanun town north of the Strip	S_ Razing agricultural land cultivated with Citrus, Olives and Almonds	Omar Al Kafarneh, Shakir Shabat and 'Atiya 'Ali
2_July-_2004	Al Farta neighborhood to the east of Beit Hanun	D_ Demolition of a house	Martyr Muhammad Dayf Allah
3_July-_2004	Beit Hanun town to the north of the Strip	S_ Razing 10 dunums of agricultural land cultivated with fruitful trees	Mahmoud 'Abed El Hadi Hamad
3_July-_2004	Al Farta area to the east of Beit Hanun town	S_ Razing hundreds of dunums of agricultural land cultivated with Olives and Citrus	Amen Abu Odeh, 'Abed El Qader Abu Odeh, Mahmoud Hamad, Khalil Al Masri, Omar Al Kafarneh
3_July-_2004	East of Jabalya camp	S_ Razing 100 dunums cultivated with Citrus and Fruits	'Abed Rabou, Al Batsh, Al Zein and 'Eid families
4_July-_2004	Around Dwar Hamuda to the north of the Strip	U_ uprooting hundreds of Citrus trees	Al Dahnun, Qlaybu and Hamuda families
5_July-_2004	Al Zaytoun neighborhood, Jabalya camp and Al Nusayrat neighborhood	D_ Destroying three lethal workshops	Shenora, Abu Kwayk families and Sabir Al Hadidi
5_July-_2004	Abu Dhaher area to the south of Kissufem road	C_ Erecting a trench around the Israeli military base
5_July-_2004	100m away to the southwest of Kissufem road	C_ Erecting new road	Al Masri family
6_July-_2004	The western camp of Khan Yunis	O_ Burning three houses	The house of 'Ali Abu Mustafa was known
6_July-_2004	Around Bahloul building in Al Brazil neighborhood	S_ Razing vast areas of lands
6_July-_2004	East of Jabalya camp near Salaheldin road	S_ Razing plastic houses and agricultural land cultivated with Citrus and Olives	Al Jamal and Abu Warda families
6_July-_2004	Khan Yunis camp	O_ Burning a house	Omar Qanan
6_July-_2004	In the entrance of Beit Hanun town to the north of the Strip	D_ Demolishing a concrete factory	'Abed El Latif Abu Odeh
6_July-_2004	In the entrance of Beit Hanun town to the north of the Strip	D_ Demolishing a house	Khamis Al Majdalawi
7_July-_2004	North of Kissufem road east of Deir El Balah	D_ Demolishing a house	Fawzi Abu Sha'ar
7_July-_2004	Al Brazil neighborhood on the Palestinian_ Egyptian borders	D_ Demolishing several numbers of houses and commercial stores	Abu Libda and Al Basheti families were known
7_July-_2004	East of Beit Hanun town	D_ Demolishing a poultry farm	Naser Al Za'anen
8_July-_2004	West of Khan Yunis district near Neve Dekalim settlement	D_ Demolishing three houses	Salem Al Zaradi, Husam Abu Matrud and Tayser Abu Reziq
9_July-_2004	Qizan Al Najjar area in Khan Yunis	D_ Demolishing three houses	Salah, Mesleh and Jum'a Al Sha'er
12_July-_2004	Beit Hanun town to the north of the Strip	D_ Demolishing a house	Ahmad Hassan Kaloub

Source: ARIJ Database 2004
{S = Seizure, P = Plans, C = Construction, R = Roads, D = Demolition, U=Uprooting, O = Others.}

See Photo 3 & Photo 4

Khan Yunis Camp:-

Khan Yunis camp is located west of Khan Yunis town, at the southern part of the Gaza Strip and about two kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea shore. The refugee camp was established in 1949 following the 1948 war between the Arabs and Jews. Today, Khan Yunis camp is inhabited by 60,662 Palestinian refugees originated from the Palestinian lands occupied in 1948. The camp is divided into 13 land blocks where most of the shelters are constructed out of bricks with asbestos roofs.

On the 8th of July 2004, the IOF moved into the Khan Yunis refugee camp caused the demolition of about 28 houses, displacing 250 dwellers (44 families) and partially damaging another 10 houses where 95 inhabitants of about 18 families live. See map of incident

The table below illustrates the number of houses demolished in the camp during the last few days.

Table 3: Total of houses demolished in Khan Yunis city and its camp:

Date	Location	Violation	Owners
8_July_2004	Khan Yunis camp to the south of Gaza Strip	D_ Demolition of 25 houses	Palestinian families
8_July_2004	Khan Yunis camp to the south of Gaza Strip	D_ Partially demolition of 10 houses	Palestinian families
9_July_2004	Qizan Al Najjar area in Khan Yunis	D_ Demolishing three houses	Salah, Mesleh and Jum'a Al Sha'er
12_July_2004	Al Namsawi neighborhood to the west of Khan Yunis	D_ Demolition of 31 houses	Palestinian families
12_July_2004	Al Namsawi neighborhood to the west of Khan Yunis	D_ Partially Demolishing 3 houses	Palestinian families

Source: ARIJ Database 2004
{D= Demolition}

Table 4: The list of owners and number of houses demolished during the incursion that took place on 8 July 2004 in Khan Yunis:

Owner	Area	No. of Families	Type of demolition
Mariam Ahmad Khalil Shaloula	320m Asbestos+ Concrete	4 families- 25 dwellers	Completely
Sara Ghanam Ahmad Shaloula	80m Asbestos	One family- 2 dwellers	Completely
Jawad Mahmoud Khalil Shaloula	150m Asbestos+ Concrete	One family- 5 dwellers	Completely
'Ali Ahmad Hussein Henaydek	250m Asbestos	4 families- 18 dwellers	Completely
'Adel Ahmad Hussein Henaydek	150m Asbestos	One family- 8 dwellers	Completely
Hamdan Mahmoud Ahmad Henaydek	100m Asbestos+ Concrete	One family- 9 dwellers	Completely
Rami Ahmad Hussein Henaydek	150m Asbestos	One family- 5 dwellers	Completely
Ahmad Hussein Mahmoud Henaydek	300m Asbestos+ Concrete	One family- 9 dwellers	Completely
Mahmoud Muhammad Khalil Shaloula	600m Asbestos+ Concrete	One family- 10 dwellers	Completely
Muhammad Khalil Muhammad Shaloula	120m Asbestos	2 families- 6 dwellers	Completely
Khader Haydar Barbakh	170m Asbestos	One family- 2 dwellers	Completely
Hussein Hasan Mustafa Abu Sa'ed	160m Concrete	4 families- 15 dwellers	Partially
Ibrahim Hashem Yousef Abu Odeh	80m Asbestos	One family- 3 dwellers	Partially
Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad Henaydek	120m Asbestos	2 families- 13 dwellers	Partially
Suleiman Mahmoud Hasan Henaydek	110 Concrete	One family- 6 dwellers	Partially
Zaki Ahmad Muhammad Nasr	120m Asbestos	One family- 14 dwellers	Partially
Sami Abu El Khair	90m Asbestos	One family- 7 dwellers	Partially
Shihda Abdo Hasan Suhwail	90m Asbestos	One family- 8 dwellers	Partially
Safiya Isma'il Suleiman Abu Shaloula	90m Asbestos	2 families- 8 dwellers	Partially
Yousef Salim 'Abed Allah Al Zarabi	120m Concrete	One family- 9 dwellers	Completely
Nayef Muhammad 'Abed Allah Al Zarabi	80m Asbestos	One family- 9 dwellers	Completely
Ibrahim Salim 'Abed Allah Al Zarabi	210m Asbestos	3 families- 18 dwellers	Completely
Kafa Ahmad Al Zarabi	150m Concrete	2 families- 15 dwellers	Partially
Ahmad Hussein Mansour Abu Matroud	250m Asbestos	3 families- 12 dwellers	Partially
Hussein Ahmad Hussein Mansour	180m Asbestos	One family- 8 dwellers	Completely
'Ali Muhammad Hussein Abu Reziq	200m Asbestos	One family- 10 dwellers	Completely
'Ali Muhammad Hussein Abu Reziq	120m Asbestos	2 families- 5 dwellers	Completely
Mahmoud Muhammad Hussein Abu Reziq	80m Asbestos	One family- 2 dwellers	Completely
Mahmoud Muhammad Mustafa Abu Reziq	100m Asbestos	One family- 5 dwellers	Completely
Hussein Muhammad Hussein Abu Reziq	120m Asbestos	One family- 4 dwellers	Completely
Muhammad Mustafa 'Eid Abu Reziq	80m Asbestos	One family- 4 dwellers	Completely
Taysser Suleiman Ahmad Abu Reziq	120m Asbestos	One family- 7 dwellers	Completely
Muhammad Nazmi Muhammad Henaydek	100m Asbestos	One family- 4 dwellers	Completely
Nazmi Muhammad Ahmad Henaydek	150m Asbestos	One family- 9 dwellers	Completely
Muhammad Ahmad Henaydek Abu Henaydek	120m Asbestos	One family- 2 dwellers	Completely
Ra'ida Muhammad Ahmad Henaydek	170m Asbestos	One family- 4 dwellers	Completely
Rami Salah Hussein Henaydek	120m Asbestos	One family- 4 dwellers	Completely
Muhammad Salah Hussein Henaydek	120m Asbestos	One family- 4 dwellers	Completely
'Ali Ahmad Muhammad Henaydek	100m Asbestos	One family- 10 dwellers	Completely
Muhammad 'Ali Ahmad Henaydek	80m Asbestos	One family- 5 dwellers	Completely
Fayez Ahmad Hamad Henaydek	360m Asbestos	4 families- 16 dwellers	Completely
Ibrahim Ahmad Hamad Henaydek	150m Asbestos	One family- 8 dwellers	Completely

Source: The Palestinian center for human rights {PCHRGAZA}}

In another attack, On the 12th of July 2004, the Israeli occupying troops, reinforced by heavy military vehicles and helicopters, moved into Al Nemsawi neighborhood to the west of Khan Yunis coming from 'Neve Dekalim' and 'Gadid' settlements, west and south of Khan Yunis, demolished 31 houses, in which 255 people (41 families) and partially demolished 3 others, in which 20 people (3 families). Click here for related articles.' and 'Gadid' settlements, west and south of Khan Yunis, demolished 31 houses, in which 255 people (41 families) and partially demolished 3 others, in which 20 people (3 families).

The policy of demolition of civilian houses in Gaza Strip was carried out unlawfully and is an act of collective punishment, breaching UN laws and Geneva conventions specifically article 53 of 1949 to which Israel is a High Contracting Party states: 'Any destruction by the occupying power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private person, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or co-operative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.'