B'Tselem reiterates its demand to prohibit use of 0.22 bullets to disperse demonstrators. Despite the prohibition on using this lethal weapon since 2001, two persons have been killed by it recently, one of them a 14-year-old boy.

Prominent Israeli human rights organizations have called upon the EU to link the upgrade of its relations with Israel to respect for human rights and the rule of law, in light of the 9th EU-Israel Association Council meeting held this week.

On 28 May '09, several Palestinian youths went to the Dead Sea for a night out. According to testimonies given by three of them, after they parked near the 'Ein Gedi checkpoint, soldiers there severely abused two of them. On 17 June, two soldiers were reportedly arrested on suspicion of beating the youths and are still in custody.

In December '08, settler Ze'ev Braude was filmed shooting and wounding three Palestinians in Hebron. On 8 June '09, it was reported that, following a Supreme Court order that the state reveal privileged evidence in the case, the indictment against Braude is to be withdrawn.

On 8 June '08, four settlers clubbed Palestinian shepherds near Susiya. A relative of the victims documented the attack with a B'Tselem camera. Recently, the Hebron police closed the investigation on grounds of "offender unknown".

On 1 June 2009, settlers blocked a road near the Qedumim settlement and threw stones at vehicles. Testimonies given to B'Tselem indicate that the settlers assaulted a minibus carrying construction workers, wounding three of them. Soldiers at the site refused to protect the victims.

In a letter that was sent this week to the Minister of Defense, B'Tselem claimed that in light of past experience and statements from settlers, it was reasonable to anticipate the recent violent acts, yet the security forces avoid, time and again, providing protection to Palestinians

On Tuesday, 2.6.09, The Judge Advocate General's Office filed an indictment against a Givati Brigade soldier for theft of money from Palestinians. The indictment was filed following a complaint made by B'Tselem regarding thefts that took place during a search soldiers conducted in Beit Furik, a village east of Nablus, in November 2008.

On 4 January, the army shelled farm area in which a number of families lived. Testimony given to B'Tselem indicates that families fled from their homes, waving white flags, but they were fired upon, and Raya and Majda Abu Hajaj, mother and daughter, were killed.

On 9 May, more than sixty Palestinians, in an attempt to enter Israel without a work permit, squeezed into a truck's refrigerator compartment. One of them related to B'Tselem that police stopped the truck, found the workers, and then made them remain inside the stifling compartment for more than two hours, despite the workers' pleas for air and water.

B'Tselem and ACRI demand that a Military Police investigation be opened, following the publication of testimonies by the Kfir Brigade commander and the Shimshon Battalion commander, which indicate a policy of deliberate violence toward Palestinians.

According to the UN, Israel destroyed 3,500 homes in Operation Cast Lead. Some of the displaced persons now live in tents, in harsh conditions. Participants in B'Tselem's video project documented life in one encampment.

According to testimonies given to B'Tselem by Muhammad and 'Abdallah Wahadin, on 26 April, settlers assaulted them with stones while they were on their way home from their farmland, in Hebron District.

B'Tselem demands that the army stop all use of white phosphorous in Gaza, and that its use in Operation Cast Lead be thoroughly investigated. The conclusions of a recent army inquiry into the matter are completely divorced from the effects suffered in the field.

According to a testimony given to B'Tselem, on 3 April, soldiers allowed dozens of settlers to throw stones at homes and cars in the Wadi a-Nasara neighborhood of Hebron, and threatened Palestinians who protested.

On 11 April, a Palestinian ambulance was transporting a patient to her home in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron. According to testimonies, children and youths from nearby settlements threw rocks at the ambulance and soldiers at the scene did not intervene.

On 3 May '09, indictments were filed against three policemen, charging them with assaulting Tareq Abu Laban, in Tel Aviv, in June '08. According to Abu Laban, the three forced him into a police car and beat and abused him severely during a ride in it.

The directive follows several warnings by B'Tselem about the threat to lives inherent in firing tear-gas canisters at people. A demonstrator in Bil'in was recently killed, and dozens of others have been injured, from this practice.

According to testimonies given to B'Tselem, on 26 April, soldiers randomly detained six young men in Dura, took them to the Adorayim army base, and held them until daybreak, during which they beat and humiliated them and deprived them of sleep, food, drink, and access to bathrooms.

The Jerusalem District Court sentenced two additional border policemen for their involvement in the 2002 abduction and killing of 'Imran Abu Hamdiya, a Palestinian from Hebron.

On 2 April, soldiers at a checkpoint barred four Palestinians from driving south on the Dead Sea road, despite the army's declaration of free access to the Dead Sea. According to testimonies, the group drove to a nearby hilltop instead, where the soldiers later found them and abused them all night long.

On 10 April, Roqaya al-Hazalin, together with a group of women and children, were grazing sheep near their village, in the Hebron District. According to her testimony, four armed settlers with sticks approached them. The other shepherds she was with ran away. Two of the settlers caught al-Hazalin, who was eight months' pregnant, beat her, and knocked her to the ground.

On 22 April, the results of the Israeli military's internal investigations of Operation Cast Lead were published, indicating that dozens of innocent civilians were killed due to what the army referred to as "rare mishaps." In response, B'Tselem pointed out crucial flaws in the investigations.

B'Tselem has again demanded the Judge Advocate General to order security forces to cease firing tear-gas grenades directly at individuals. The demand follows the death of Bassem Abu Rahma, a Palestinian demonstrator, who was killed on 17 April '09 when struck by a tear-gas grenade while demonstrating in Bil'in.

On 7 April, security forces demolished the apartment, in Zur Baher, East Jerusalem, of the family of Husam Dwayat, who carried out a bulldozer attack in the center of Jerusalem in July of last year. The demolition took place after the High Court of Justice denied the family’s petition opposing the action.

B'Tselem welcomes the appointment of the jurist Richard Goldstone to head the fact-finding mission, called for by the UN Human Rights Council, to investigate the recent fighting in Gaza. Particularly welcome is the delegation’s mandate, which covers violations of international humanitarian law by both sides, in the Gaza Strip and in Israel.

B'Tselem strongly condemnss the killing of a 16 year-old boy and the injuring of a 7 year-old boy by a Palestinian in the settlement of Bat Ayin in the Bethlehem district. Deliberate attacks against civilians are immoral and illegal. Wilful killing of civilians is defined as a "grave breach" of international humanitarian law and is a war crime.

The Israeli Supreme Court has increased the prison sentence of border policeman Yanai Lazla for the killing of 18-year-old ‘Imran Abu Hamdiya in 2002. Lazla and three other policemen threw Abu Hamdiya from a jeep moving at high speed after they had abducted, beaten, and abused him. B'Tselem and the Palestinian human rights organization al-Haq exposed the affair.

Ghada Abu Halima, 21, a Gazan mother of two, died on 29 March. Abu Halima was wounded and 5 of her relatives, among them 4 children, were killed, when the military shelled their house with white phosphorus during "Operation Cast Lead". In her testimony of 9 January, she described the attack.

B'Tselem has joined ARTE to continue the award-winning internet documentary series on the lives of civilians in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel. B'Tselem injected into the project attention to International Humanitarian Law.

Israeli human rights organizations: The speedy closing of the investigation into soldiers’ testimonies of events during “Operation Cast Lead” raises suspicions that the sole purpose of opening the investigation was to clear the military of all blame for illegal activity during the operation.

The 3 months since Operation "Cast Lead" have seen a sharp rise in reports of violence by security forces toward Palestinians in the West Bank. B'Tselem has documented 24 cases in which Palestinians reported that police and soldiers had beaten them.

The UN's World Water Day, commemorated this week, is dedicated to cross-border waters. The division of the Israeli and Palestinian shared water sources is characterized by blatant discrimination, causing a severe water shortage in the West Bank.

Israeli human rights organizations repeated their demand that the Attorney General hold an independent investigation of the army's conduct during operation "Cast Lead". The call followed chilling testimonies of soldiers concerning the killing of Palestinian civilians, published in the media.

Saturday, 21.3.09, marked 1,000 days since Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was taken hostage. Hamas must release him unconditionally.

B'Tselem requested the judge advocate general to immediately clarify to security forces that it is absolutely forbidden to aim tear-gas canisters directly at demonstrators. Firing of this kind has already resulted in injury, some very serious, to dozens of Palestinians and Israeli and foreign citizens.

On 15 Feb. '09, Adham Zaweita was working the night shift in a chicken coop in Zawata. According to his testimony, soldiers entered the coop and beat him so badly that he required medical treatment.

On 18 March, the Israeli High Court of Justice allowed the state to demolish the home of the family of Husam Dwayat, who carried out an attack in Jerusalem last July. Collective punishment of persons who are held innocent is forbidden under international law.

B'Tselem protests Israel's refusal to let al-Haq's executive director leave the West Bank to receive the award in Holland.

HR organizations protest the Palestinian Authority's refusal to authorize medical treatment in Israel and Israel’s insistence on a PA promise to pay for treatment.

On 22 January 2009, Majdi 'Alan came to a checkpoint in East Jerusalem on his way to visit relatives. In his testimony, 'Alan states that a border policeman searched him in a rude manner, and when he complained, the police officer beat him severely and threatened to shoot him.

According to a testimony given to B'Tselem, on 28 Jan. '09, soldiers attacked Sharif Abu Hayah while he was herding his flock, beat him severely, and dragged him over rocks and thorns with his hands tied and his eyes covered.

On 12 Feb. '09, Adham Ghaneimat, 14, went with two other youths to his family's orchard. Two settlers who came there beat him and then forced him to run before them as they drove to a settlement nearby, hitting him in the feet on the way.

On 3 March, 10 human rights organizations in Israel called on defense officials to lift the travel ban on Shawan Jabarin, who has been barred exit from the West Bank since 2006, when he became director of al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights organization.

B'Tselem has petitioned the High Court of Justice to require Israel to permit staff members of the organization to enter the Gaza Strip to investigate the human rights and humanitarian situation in the area following the hostilities.

In recent weeks, the army has once again begun using Ruger rifles to disperse demonstrators, although such use of this lethal weapon has been prohibited. As a result, many Palestinians and at last one foreign national have been injured.

Protocols of a Civil Administration committee reveal plans for substantial expansion of settlements. For some settlements, the committee approved the construction of sewage-treatment facilities intended to meet the needs of a much larger population than presently lives there, indicating the existence of expansion plans.

On 21 June ‘09, taxi driver Mustafa Shuli waited for an hour with passengers at a checkpoint near Nablus. According to his testimony, soldiers made him return to the end of the line and when he objected, they beat him and aimed weapons at the taxi.

On 15 Jan. ‘09, teenagers Muaiad, Islam, and Lu’ai Hun crossed the road to the Elon Moreh settlement on their way to gather firewood for their family. According to testimonies, soldiers who saw them arrested and abused them.

Israel continues to obstruct independent investigations into allegations of laws of war violations by the Israel and Hamas by preventing Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem researchers from entering Gaza.

Pensioner ‘Izzat Kasab told B’Tselem that on 7 Jan. soldiers took over his home, beat family members and arrested him along with three sons. Kasab, who has a heart condition, said he was held for over a week under harsh conditions, without his medication.

On 12 Jan. '09, Border policemen came to the a-Ragabi family's house in Silwan. According to a testimony given to B'Tselem, they broke the door to the house and attacked two members of the family.

On 4 Jan. ‘09, the entire al-Kafarneh family was injured when their house was shelled, in Beit Hanun. 3-year-old Wiam died of shrapnel wounds the next day. After the family left the house, the army demolished it.

On 17 January 2009, Majed al-Hajahjeh went to the main road next to Tuqu’, Bethlehem District, to go by taxi to meet with shopkeepers in Beit Fajer. According to his testimony, an army jeep passing along the road stopped and soldiers got out and beat him severely with clubs, leaving him lying, injured and bleeding, on the road.

B'Tselem issued a position paper detailing the guidelines of the necessary Israeli investigation of its conduct during the operation in Gaza. B'Tselem's initial survey of the military operation calls into question Israeli statements that the military acted according to International Humanitarian Law and that responsibility for the harm to the civilian population rests exclusively with Hamas.

B'Tselem's annual report, published today (5 Feb.), surveys a wide range of Israeli human rights violations in the OPT in 2008, until Operation Cast Lead. As house demolition and lack of law enforcement on violent settlers continued, Israel largely refrained from holding members of the security forces accountable for their actions.

On 10 January 2009, settlers attacked Tareq Sawan and his father, residents of Immatin, Qalqiliya District, while they were working their land. Soldiers who came to the scene detained Tareq, and not his assailants.

On 11 Jan. '09 two border policemen drove up to a carpentry shop in Tsur Hadassah while Muhammad Hamamrah and Maher Mahmoud, residents of Husan, Bethlehem District, were unloading wood from the vehicle of the shop’s owner. They beat the two Palestinians and then took them to a checkpoint, where soldiers detained them for hours in the cold, without giving them shelter.

25 members of the a-Shteiwi family, 12 of them children, were besieged in their home with shelling going on outside for over a week. When they were evacuated, the army demolished the house.

On 12 Jan. '09, soldiers called residents of the Khuza'a neighborhood, in the Gaza Strip, to leave their homes. When Rawhiya a-Najar stepped out of her house waving a white flag, soldiers shot her and then a young woman who tried to help her. A-Najar remained on the ground and bled to death.

On 28 Jan. seven Israeli human rights organizations appealed to the Military Judge Advocate General and to the Attorney General concerning the appalling conditions in which Palestinians arrested during the fighting in Gaza were held, and the humiliating and inhuman treatment to which they were subjected.

On 20 Jan., Mahmoud 'Awwad reached Huwara checkpoint on his way to work and saw soldiers beating his brother. Testimonies indicate that when he addressed the soldiers, a soldier hit him on the head with a rifle butt. 'Awwad collapsed, his head bleeding. He has undergone surgery for his fractured skull and according to doctors, may have suffered brain damage.

According to several media reports, since the start of the Israeli attack in Gaza, Hamas has executed an unknown number of residents of Gaza that it considered to be collaborators with Israel. These acts are grave breaches of international law.

On 4 January, policemen in Jaffa stopped a car of young men from East Jerusalem who were out on the town. According to Khaled Jaradat, police searched them in a degrading manner and assaulted him and his friend, both on the street and later at the police station.

During the fighting in Gaza Israeli human rights groups worked together to inform the Israeli public of the impact on civilians. Upon the declaration of the cease-fire, we have stopped the daily updates. The organizations will continue to use the Blog to provide information on the war and its consequences.

Yesterday, 19 Jan. '09, the Israeli army sealed the family's home of the perpetrator of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva terror attack, after the High Court rejected the famil's petition. Sealing homes is collective punishment of innocents who have not been charged with any offense, and is therefore prohibited under international law.

Gaza: Yesterday 95 bodies were dug up from the ruins. As of today, at least 1,300 killed, of them at least 410 children and 104 women. Over 5,320 injured, of them over 350 severely injured (Palestinian Ministry of Health figures). Israel: 3 civilians and 10 soldiers killed. Over 84 civilians injured, of them 4 severely injured, not including those treated for shock, and 113 soldiers injured, of them one in critical condition and 20 Moderately or severely injured.

According to testimonies given to B'Tselem, on 3 January, soldiers called to ‘Atiya a-Samuni to come out of his house, in a-Zeitun, Gaza City. When he approached the door, soldiers opened fire, killing him. The soldiers continued firing, wounding a number of relatives, among them an infant who died from his wounds.

A farmer from the Huza'ah village was killed this morning (18 Jan.) by Israeli gunfire while working his land, some 400 meters from the Israeli border. His brother. A witness told B'Tselem that in spite of the ceasefire, the soldiers opened fire without warning.

Gaza: at least 1,205 killed, of them at least 410 children and 100 women. Over 5,320 injured, of them over 350 severely injured (Palestinian Ministry of Health figures). Israel: 3 civilians and 10 soldiers killed. Over 84 civilians injured, of them 4 severely injured, not including those treated for shock, and 113 soldiers injured, of them one in critical condition and 20 Moderately or severely injured.

On 11 January, tanks shelled the Hamuda family home in Gaza City, killing a toddler and wounding his mother and brother. The father’s testimony indicates that during the long wait for the shelling to stop and rescue teams to arrive, the brother died of his wounds.

Gaza: at least 1,033 killed, of them at least 335 children and 98 women. Over 4,850 injured, of them over 450 severely injured (Palestinian Ministry of Health figures). Israel: 3 civilians and 10 soldiers killed. Over 82 civilians injured, of them 4 severely injured, not including those treated for shock, and 77 soldiers injured, of them one in critical condition.

On 4 January, soldiers ordered all residents of the 'Abd Rabbo neighborhood, east of Gaza City, to leave their homes. Only a few families, having ill or disabled people, were allowed to remain

Continuation of the fighting will bring more death and destruction. Innocent civilians, among them large numbers of children, will be killed and wounded. According to media reports, both sides have already agreed to the principle of a ceasefire. Under these circumstances, they must immediately stop the fighting.

In a press conference held today in Jerusalem, 9 Israeli human rights organizations called on the government and army to respect the laws of war and stop disproportionate harm to civilians. According to media reports and testimonies of Gazans, military forces are wantonly using lethal force, thus far killing hundreds of civilians and wreaking damage to infrastructure.

Gaza: at least 970 killed, of them at least 300 children and 76 women. Over 4,400 injured, of them over 450 severely injured (Palestinian Ministry of Health figures). Israel: 3 civilians and 10 soldiers killed. Over 82 civilians injured, of them 4 severely injured, not including those treated for shock, and 71 soldiers injured, of them one in critical condition.

On 7 Jan., Lu’ai Subuh, 10 years old, walked home with some family members and friends to bring essential items to the school in which his family was sheltering. As he waited in the street with his friends, the three were hit by a bombing. One of the children died and Lu’ai lost his eyesight.

On 6 Jan., the Dib family sat in their trying to bake bread, as the bakeries had run out. A shell struck their home, which is next to UNRWA's al-Fakhura school, killing nine members of the family.

On 4 Jan., the Israeli army shelled a home in Beit Lahiya. Ghadah Abu Halima told B'Tselem that the house went up in flames and five of its occupants burned to death, four of them children. As the wounded survivors made their way to hospital, soldiers fired at them.

According to a report to B'Tselem from a Palestinian who is under siege with his family in the southeastern part of the Gaza Strip, a fifty-year-old woman from his family was shot when she exited the house while waving a white flag.

Various reports indicate that the Israeli army is using phosphorous in the Gaza Strip. This weapon causes severe burns and is capable of igniting fires. Its use in a crowded area such as the Gaza Strip is illegal.

On the morning of the first day of Israeli bombing of Gaza, 'Abd a-Shaf'i was arrested by police on suspicion of selling cigarettes on the street. A short while later, Israel bombed the police station, killing a-Shaf'i.

Gaza: at least 900 killed, of them at least 270 children and 95 women. Over 4,200 injured, of them over 400 severely injured (Palestinian Ministry of Health figures). Israel: 3 civilians and 7 soldiers killed. Over 82 civilians injured, of them 4 severely injured, not including those treated for shock, and 61 soldiers injured, of them one in critical condition.

Gaza: at least 870 killed, of them at least 230 children and 93 women. Over 3,600 injured, of them over 400 severely injured (Palestinian Ministry of Health figures). Israel: 3 civilians and 7 soldiers killed. Over 78 civilians injured, of them 4 severely injured, not including those treated for shock, and 60 soldiers injured, of them one in critical condition.

On 7 Jan., the Israeli air force gave families in Rafah a few hours’ warning before bombing the residential area. The residents rushed to flee their homes, taking few belongings with them.

An army investigation has concluded that the harm caused to civilians in the UNRWA school bombing on 4 Jan. resulted from the use of an imprecise weapon. B'Tselem demands that the army prohibit use of this weapon in the Gaza Strip.

The 'Arafat family fled their home under bombing and took shelter with relatives. The next day, that house was bombed and caught fire, as the family escaped to an UNWRA school.

On the first day of the attack on Gaza, Khaled al-Astal rode his bike to see a place that had been bombed. As he drew near, more missiles were fired into the crowd that had gathered, killing him instantly.

Israeli human rights groups have launched a blog supplying ongoing updates about the harm caused to civilians as part of the fighting in the Gaza Strip and Southern Israel.

On 5 Jan., the Israeli army bombed the center of the al-Bureij refugee camp. Jihad Abu-Jabarah, a disabled pensioner, was killed in his home with two of his sons.

On 6 Jan., the Israeli army bombed the a-Daiyah home in the center of Gaza City, killing 21 men, women and children from a single family.

On 4 Jan., when the Israeli army began shelling a residential area in central Gaza, the Sukar family fled their home and took nothing with them. They are now taking shelter in an UNRWA school, under harsh conditions.

On 2 January, children from the al-Astal family were playing in the street. A bombardment from the air hit three of them, killing them on the spot.

On 3 January, naval ships and tanks bombed a-Dawaida, in central Gaza Strip, forcing the Abu Dahruj family to flee their home.

The family, parents and their two infant children, flee again and again from the bombing and shelling, unable to find a safe place.

In the last few hours, B'Tselem learned of civilians who are trapped in several places in the Gaza Strip, all under the army's control. B'Tselem demands that the army immediately allow ambulances to evacuate the dead and wounded and to enable civilians to be freed from areas under its control.

On 4.1.09, soldiers ordered the extended a-Samuni family to gather in one building. The next morning, as some members tried to leave the building, it was shelled and dozens were killed and injured

On 1 January, the residential area in which the Abu al-Haj family lives, in al-Maghraqeh, Gaza Strip, was bombed. The family fled from their home, taking nothing with them, and found refuge in a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

On 28 December, eight members of the 'Abasi family, fearing the bombing, went to sleep in the same room. The father, Iyad al-'Abasi, awoke in the hospital, where he learned that three of his children -Sidqi, 5, Muhammad, 10, and Ahmad, 11 - had been killed in a bombing as they slept.

The al-'Ayadi family lives in an agricultural area in which a number of families reside. When the hostilities began, the family gathered in one house. On Saturday night, the house was shelled. Since then, the family, eight of whom were lightly injured in the shelling, has been staying in a structure in the yard.

A-Nasalah family was in their home when near-by structure was bombed a number of times. A-Moaz, 2.5 years old and Eyon, 16, were killed.

B'Tselem has received a report that several wounded Palestinians are currently trapped in buildings shelled on Saturday night by the army, together with the bodies of their relatives.

As bombs and missiles fall around them, the ‘Assaliyeh family are forced to stay inside with their home with dwindling food and water. supplies.

On 4 January, a medical team was fired at while evacuating wounded people in Beit Lahiya. A paramedic and one of the wounded people were killed.

On 4 January, soldiers opened fire from a tank toward a passenger taxi outside Gaza City. The four children in the taxi witnessed their mother and another woman killed.

On 27 Dec., Ahmad and Maryam Sinwar, aged three and six, stepped out of their home to feed chickens in the yard. Before they reached the coop, the house was hit by the bombing of a nearby building. Ahmad was killed.

The al-Masri family hardly dare leave the house and live on bread and tea.

On 27 Dec., Jaber …was urgently called home from work by a neighbor. He arrived to find his house destroyed and family members wounded or killed.

Samirah Bau'lusha, 36, lost 5 of her daughters when her house was destroyed after the Israeli Air Force bombed a mosque next door. Four of her other children were also hurt during the attack. According to Ba'aloosha, many houses near by were damaged as a result of the mosque bombing.

The Kashku family was warming themselves around a bon-fire in their yard due to the power failure. Ibtehal, the 8-year-old girl, went up to her aunt's apartment to get tea, when the house was bombed. Ibtehal and her aunt were killed and the house was destroyed.

On 27 Dec. '08, the Israeli army bombed a police building next to the central market of Deir al-Balah. Merchants and vendors were killed, as well as a seven-year-old child.

On 1 Jan. '09, the Israeli army killed four women and eleven children when it bombed the house of Nizar Rayan, a senior Hamas official, in the Jabalya refugee camp. Such extensive loss of civilian life constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law and cannot be justified on military grounds.