On the 2nd Anniversary of the Israeli Offensive on the Gaza Strip, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

· IOF killed two Palestinians shepherds in the Gaza Strip.

· Two activists of the Palestinian resistance were killed by IOF in the southern Gaza Strip.

- 3 Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank.

· IOF continued to fire at Palestinian workers, farmers and fishermen in border areas in the Gaza Strip.

- 4 Palestinian civilians were wounded.

- IOF arrested 6 Palestinian fishermen and confiscated their boat.

· Israeli warplanes attacked a number of targets in the Gaza Strip.

- 5 Palestinian civilians and an Israeli photojournalist were wounded.

· IOF conducted 51 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

- IOF arrested 18 Palestinian civilians, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and 7 children.

- Israeli soldiers positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested one Palestinian civilians.

· Israel has continued to take measures aimed at creating a Jewish demographic majority in Jerusalem.

- Israeli settlers seized 600 donums of Palestinian land near Hebron..

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (23 – 29 December 2010):

Shooting:

During the reporting period, IOF killed two Palestinian civilians and two activists of the Palestinian resistance, and wound 12 Palestinians, including a woman and two children, and an Israeli photojournalist.

In the Gaza Strip, on 23 December 2010, Israeli soldiers positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel killed a Palestinian shepherd in the northern Gaza Strip.

On 28 December 2010, IOF killed a Palestinian civilian near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of Khan Yunis.

During the reporting period, IOF fired at Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials. As a result, two workers, including a child, were wounded by Israeli gunfire.

During the reporting period, a shepherd and a farmer were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the northern Gaza Strip.

During the reporting period, Israeli warplanes attacked a number of targets in the Gaza Strip. On 25 December 2010, they bombarded a site of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) in al-Nughraqa village in the central Gaza Strip. The site was heavily damaged and 3 activists of the Palestinian resistance who were traveling in a car near the site sustained bruises. IOF also bombarded tunnels along the Egyptian border south of Rafah.

In the West Bank, 8 Palestinian civilians and an Israeli photojournalist were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank.

On 23 December 2010, Israeli soldiers opened fire at two Palestinian civilians who were traveling in a car in the east of Hebron. The two civilians were wounded and then arrested by Israeli soldiers.

During the reporting period, IOF used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to Israeli settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall. As a result, 5 Palestinian civilians and an Israeli human rights defender were wounded, and dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation or sustained bruises. IOF also arrested two Palestinian civilians, 4 Israeli human rights defenders and 11 international ones.

Incursions:

During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 51 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 18 Palestinian civilians, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and 7 children.

Restrictions on Movement:

Israel had continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.