Annual Report - Palestinian Center for Human Rights

Excessive Use of Force, Killings and other Violations of the Right to
Life
In 2005, 207 Palestinians died as a result of actions by IOF and settlers. IOF
continued to disregard the principles of proportionality and distinction in its actions in
the OPT, resulting in the death of 187 unarmed civilians, who were killed whilst
posing no threat to Israeli soldiers or settlers. 12
Unarmed civilians were killed as a result of shelling of residential areas; during Israeli
military incursions into Palestinian areas; as a result of extra-judicial executions;
during demonstrations; at Israeli military checkpoints; and even in times of complete
quiet. Of the civilians killed, 46 were children and 7 were women. In addition,
hundreds of Palestinians were wounded by IOF, including 129 in the Gaza Strip.
Thus, the number of Palestinians killed by IOF and settlers since the beginning of
current Intifada has increased to 2,936, including 651 children and 106 women. In
addition, tens of thousands of Palestinians, including 8,662 in the Gaza Strip, have
been wounded since September 2000. Hundreds of those wounded sustained
permanent disabilities.
A relative decrease in the number of Palestinians killed by IOF and settlers was seen
in 2005 in comparison to 2004, in which 835 persons were killed, including 667
civilians. This is attributed to the truce declared by Palestinian national and Islamic
factions in February 2005 and the implementation of the unilateral Israeli
Disengagement Plan in the Gaza Strip in September 2005. Nevertheless, IOF
continued to perpetrate violations of human rights against Palestinian civilians in the
OPT. In this context, IOF continued attacks against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in
the last quarter of 2005; more Palestinians were extra-judicially executed by IOF.
Diagram (1): Geographical Distribution of Palestinian Civilians Killed by IOF in
2005
49%
20
51%
West Bank Gaza Strip
These numbers show an almost equal distribution of Palestinians killed by IOF in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, 96 Palestinian civilians were killed
(51% of the total number of civilians killed in the OPT) and in the Gaza Strip, 91
Palestinian civilians were killed (49% of the total number of dead in the OPT). The
higher number of Palestinian civilians killed in the West Bank in 2005 can be
12 In 2005, 4 Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.