Since the launch of the Israeli Occupation Forces military offensive in the Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008, there has been a significant increase in human rights violations perpetrated by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. For the past five weeks, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has collected testimonies from victims and eyewitnesses regarding dozens of human rights violations perpetrated across the Gaza Strip. Read more about Report: Palestinian groups executed, abused opponents
Aat approximately 11:00am on Saturday, 20 December 2008, dozens of Israeli prison guards, accompanied by representatives of Ofer the detention facility administration arrived at Department B to conduct a search without prior coordination with the representatives of detainees. They provocatively searched the department and violently beat a number of detainees. Read more about Israeli forces assault Palestinian prisoners
On Tuesday, 16 December 2008, the Palestinian High Military Court in Gaza headed by Military Judge Mohammed Nofal sentenced Mohammed Ali Hassan Saidam, 34, from Rafah, to death by hanging. The court convicted the defendant of treason, spying and conspiracy in violation of the Revolutionary Penal Code of the Palestine Liberation Organization of 1979. The sentence, that had been issued in the presence of the defendant, was unanimously issued by the court. It can be appealed. Read more about Rights org: Abbas, overturn death penalty
On the 27th consecutive day of closure, the Gaza power plant has been forced to shut down due to lack of fuel, and Gazans are now totally dependent on electricity generated from Israel, and to a lesser extent, Egypt. There are also chronic severe shortages of domestic cooking gas. Regarding essential food items, IOF have not permitted any consignments of flour to enter the Gaza Strip for one week, and current stocks are sufficient for just less than three days. Read more about Rights org: Gaza flour stocks sufficent for less than three more days
25 November, women worldwide celebrate the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women, that had been officially adopted by the UN in 1999, as part of the effort exerted to eliminate violence against women, and to urge countries to take actions necessary to ensure women’s enjoyment of necessary protection. Read more about Suffering of Gazan women increases with Israeli siege
Humanitarian conditions have continued to deteriorate due to the acute shortages in food and medical supplies needed by approximately 1.5 million Palestinian civilians living in the Gaza Strip. Three out of five mills operating in the Gaza Strip have stopped operation, and the remaining two are expected to join them by tomorrow due to the lack of wheat. Read more about Gaza bakeries, mills forced to close
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is deeply concerned over continued policies of collective punishment imposed by Israeli Occupation Forces on the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip. These policies have included ban on delivery of food supplies and basic goods, including energy fuel required for electricity generation, grains and wheat. Following the halt of fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip in the past six days, more than 30 percent of the population of Gaza was in complete darkness last night. Read more about Gaza border crossings closed for sixth day
“I’ve been a fisherman for 15 years now, ever since I was 15 years old. My father was a fisherman and so was my grandfather. I have spent half my life at sea. But every day we face problems from the Israeli gunboats: they follow us, and then they start shooting at us because they want to force us to stop working.” Saber al-Hissie comes from a Gazan family of fishermen. His 20-meter vessel belongs to his father, who, after many years of fishing, has finally passed the family business over to Saber. Read more about "The Israelis attack us every day"
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights condemns in the strongest possible terms the killing of six Palestinians carried out by the Israeli Occupation Forces in the Gaza Strip yesterday evening and this morning. The victims were all killed by air strikes. This escalation is the first of its kind since the tahdia (the Egyptian-brokered truce between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel) entered into force on 19 June 2008. Read more about Israel breaks Gaza ceasefire, assassinates six
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights condemns the campaign of arrests being carried out by Palestinian security services against Hamas supporters in the West Bank. The Centre calls upon the governments in Ramallah and Gaza to immediately cease all forms of arbitrary arrests. Read more about PA continues arrest campaign of Hamas supporters in West Bank
