By GREG MYRE
.c The Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) - A Palestinian suicide attacker blew himself up Monday while grappling with an Israeli security guard at a shopping mall in a Tel Aviv suburb, killing the guard and another civilian and wounding 12 other people, including two infants.

The bombing - the 81st by Palestinian militants in two years - marked a first test for Israel's new defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, who was sworn in Monday. Mofaz, known for his hawkish views, advocates the expulsion of Yasser Arafat and tough military action against the Palestinians.

There was no immediate indication of any Israeli retaliation, but it has struck back militarily for previous suicide bombings.

Against the backdrop of violence, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government fended off three no-confidence votes. Sharon rejected calls for early elections and was searching for partners to stabilize his coalition. Sharon lost his majority last week when the moderate Labor Party quit.

In the Monday evening bombing, the assailant, identified as Nabil Sawalha, 20, from the Balata refugee camp next to the West Bank city of Nablus, blew himself up in a shopping mall in Kfar Saba, a town northeast of Tel Aviv just across from the West Bank Palestinian town of Qalqiliya.

Palestinian militants linked to Arafat's Fatah movement in Nablus claimed responsibility for the attack, contradicting an earlier report ascribing the blast to Islamic Jihad.

Police said one of the Israeli dead was a security guard who struggled with the bomber, stopping him from entering a crowded appliance store and thereby averting more casualties. The bomber blew himself up as he wrestled with the guard, police said.

``The alertness of the security force here prevented the terrorist from entering the shop, which would have caused a great disaster,'' national police chief Shlomo Aharonishki told Israel TV.

The other victim's body was so badly mutilated that officials were unable to immediately determine the gender or identity.

Lorin Michael, 17, was helping care for two children in an apartment across the street when she heard the blast. As their mother scooped up the tots and hustled them inside, Michael rushed onto the balcony.

``I saw dust and smoke and pieces of bodies,'' Michael said. ``Everything was black.''

A a row of refrigerators and white washing machines lay tipped over inside the store. Bits of the shredded roof of a shopfront walkway overhang littered the sidewalk.

David Baker, an official in Sharon's office, said the attack was ``proof that Palestinian terror knows no limits, specializes in cruelty and specifically targets the innocent.''

In Washington, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher reminded Americans of travel notices advising caution in the Middle East in the wake of the latest bombing.

``We obviously condemn these kinds of activities in the strongest possible terms,'' Boucher said.

Earlier Monday, two Palestinians were killed, one of them a militant from the Hamas movement on Israel's wanted list, when their car exploded and burst into flames in the middle of a Nablus street.

Palestinians blamed the blast on Israel, which has carried out dozens of killings of suspected militants. It appeared the Suzuki car was booby-trapped and the bomb was detonated by remote control, said Moeen Sakaran, chief of Palestinian intelligence in Nablus. The Israeli military declined to comment.

Hamad Sadder, a member of the Hamas military wing who was being sought by Israel, was killed, Palestinians said. They said his nephew carried out a suicide attack last week in a West Bank settlement that killed three Israeli soldiers. The second man killed wasn't immediately identified.

In Israel's parliament, Sharon's weakened government withstood three no-confidence votes brought by opposition parties seeking to force new elections.

Sharon said he opposed early elections, but he also insisted he would not change government policies to accommodate a far-right party whose support he needs to restore his majority.

``Taking the nation to immediate elections would be irresponsible,'' Sharon told legislators from his right-wing Likud party. ``I hope everyone acts responsibly and doesn't try to make it difficult for a stable government to function.''

That indicated he would not accept a demand by Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister. Sharon has offered Netanyahu the post of foreign minister in the hope it would firm up his government. But Netanyahu said he would accept only on condition that Sharon agreed to elections in the coming months.

However, Sharon did not announce any decision about Netanyahu.

After the moderate Labor Party quit the coalition last week, Sharon has the support of only 55 of the 120 legislators.

Sharon may have a temporary safety net from a far-right grouping whose seven lawmakers seem ready to prop up the government long enough to pass the 2003 state budget in coming weeks, but after that may favor forcing early elections.

Sharon has said elections should be held as scheduled in October 2003.

11/04/02 20:33 EST

NEWS
**Israeli Army Shells Metal Workshop in Industrial Area, Nablus
**2 Hamas Activists Assassinated in Nablus
**6 Palestinians Killed in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis
**5 Civilians Wounded in Random Attack West Khan Younis
**Home Demolitions in Jenin Villages
**Occupation Army Demolishes Homes and Water Well in Hebron
**Demolition of Tourist Compound and Cement Factory in Jerusalem
**Occupation Bulldozers Continue "Isolation Wall" Activities in Qalqilya
**Occupation Demolishes Storage and Vine Groves near Qalandya Refugee Camp
**Israeli Soldiers Arrest Palestinians from West Bank Towns and Cities

FEATURES
**The Eretz Trap: Palestinian Worker Tells his Blackmail Story with the
'Shabak'
**Looted Valuable Gifts from Muqata'a Distributed in Official Israeli Army
Celebration

************************************************************************

NEWS
******

*Israeli Army Shells Metal Workshop in Industrial Area, Nablus*

The Israeli army shelled a building in the industrial area of Nablus with 6
rockets this evening. Witnesses reported that a metal workshop in the
building was targeted.

************************************

*2 Hamas Activists Assassinated in Nablus*

Palestinian witnesses reported that attack helicopters targeted a car in
Nablus this afternoon, killing 2 Hamas activists. Several other people were
wounded in the attack.

It remains unclear whether the assassination came from an attack helicopter
or an explosion controlled remotely. The Israeli government has not yet
commented on the assassination.

One of those killed is Omar Sader from Askar refugee camp.

************************************

*6 Palestinians Killed in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis*

Ahmad Othman (26 years old) was killed this evening in an Israeli military
attack near Salah al-Din gate.

Three Palestinian civilians were killed last night in an Israeli military
attack on Abu Safiya area, east Gaza City. Israeli sources said that the 3
armed Palestinians tried to sneak into an area north of al-Mintar ('Karni')
crossing, east of Gaza City in an attempt to plant explosives near the
border fence on the 'green line'. The sources said Israeli soldiers
retaliated with tank missiles and heavy machine gun fire, which led to their
death. Palestinian official sources could not confirm nor deny since there
is no Palestinian security presence in the area. Witnesses in the area
confirmed that Israeli military forces waged an intense attack, in which an
old Palestinian security location was severely targeted. At midnight, the
Israeli army allowed ambulances to enter the area and pick up the three
bodies, which remain unidentified.

Israeli soldiers killed a young mentally unstable man while passing near
Soufa crossing, east Rafah, south Gaza Strip. Israeli soldiers based near
the crossing fired 5 tank missiles and heavy machine gun fire towards
surrounding Palestinian areas. Isma'il al-Masri (18 years old) who is known
to be underprivileged was passing by at the time and was directly targeted
by Israeli soldiers, despite the Israeli side's knowledge through the
coordination office of his case, according to Palestinian security sources.
The Israeli side held onto his body for several hours.

This morning, Hassan Zu'rub (36 years old) died effected by critical
injuries subjected yesterday (Sunday) noon. Zu'rub was hit in the chest when
Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire towards homes southwest Khan Younis.
He died at dawn today. Occupation soldiers had attacked the area for no
apparent reason.

************************************

*5 Civilians Wounded in Random Attack West Khan Younis*

This morning, 5 civilians, including a 4-year old child, were wounded when
Israeli occupation soldiers based in the surroundings of 'Neveh Dkalim' and
'Jani Tal' settlements opened machine gun fire randomly towards the western
Khan Younis refugee camp and al-Namsawi residential quarter.

Medical sources reported that the four wounded are:

- Jihan Saidam (4 years old), hit with live ammunition in the head
- Amani Abu Siam (18 years old), hit with live ammunition in the
shoulder
- Samir al-Anani (51 years old), hit by shrapnel in the head
- Muhammad al-Jalous (46 years old), hit with live ammunition in the
left leg
- Ramzi Raqab (33 years old), hit with live ammunition in the right
arm

Witnesses reported that the heavy attack resulted in serious damage to a
number of homes in the area as well as placed the residents especially
children on their way to schools, in a state of severe fear and panic.
Residents confirm that the attack was completely unprovoked.

************************************

*Home Demolitions in Jenin Villages*

The Israeli army this evening demolished 3 homes in Toura and Ya'bid
villages, as well as issued four other demolition orders in the area.

************************************

*Occupation Army Demolishes Homes and Water Well in Hebron*

Israeli occupation bulldozers this morning demolished 3 homes and a drinking
water well in Hebron city and Beit Marsam village. Occupation soldiers also
demolished a Diwan (Place for town gatherings), 50 square meters, under the
pretext of "no construction permit".

Israeli soldiers attacked members of Rajibi family who tried helplessly to
prevent the demolition of their home in the Birin area, Hebron. Several
other homes in the area face demolition military orders.

************************************

*Demolition of Tourist Compound and Cement Factory in Jerusalem*

Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a compound for a Tourist bus
company in al-Tour, East Jerusalem, and a cement Factory in the occupied
city under the pretext of "no construction permit". Israeli military forces
besieged the areas and declared them "closed military zones" before the
demolitions.

Yesterday (Sunday), the occupation authorities carried out wide-scale
demolition activities in al-Ram and Jaba', occupied Jerusalem. Activities
fall within the new Israeli settlement plan in the area to establish 1600
until on Palestinian land.

Several more homes northeast Jerusalem area face demolition threats.

************************************

*Occupation Bulldozers Continue "Isolation Wall" Activities in Qalqilya*

Israeli occupation bulldozers continue activities on what is referred to as
the "Isolation Wall". Demolition activities destroyed land in Jayous and
Falamiya, northeast Qalqilya, and Salman and Jal'od towns, south.

Bulldozing activities targeted 300 dunums of agricultural land in Jayous so
far on which the wall will be constructed, in addition to 9000 dunums of
land now situated on the other side of the wall. Jayous town would lose all
its agricultural land and water sources as a result of the Israeli project.

************************************

*Occupation Demolishes Storage and Vine Groves near Qalandya Refugee Camp*

The Israeli occupation army last night demolished a cement storage and vine
trees in al-Kassarat area near Qalandya refugee camp between al-Bireh and
Jerusalem.

An armored bulldozer under heavy military protection demolished the two
locations under the same pretext of "no construction permit". The owners of
the storage are also prevented from reaching their home to the east of
Qalandya military roadblock.

["Isolation Wall" construction started a few days ago in the area.]

************************************

*Israeli Soldiers Arrest Palestinians from West Bank Towns and Cities*

Nablus
---------

Israeli soldiers arrested two residents in al-Masakin al-Sha'biya
residential quarter in Nablus today.

Hebron
---------

At least 7 residents were arrested during a campaign of home raids and
searches waged by occupation soldiers in various quarters of Hebron city.
Residents reported that Israeli soldiers destroyed furniture and stole
mobile phones from the homes that were searched, mainly in Al-Sheikh and
Hawouz residential quarters.

Bethlehem
-------------

Israeli occupation military forces invaded the village of Husan, west
Bethlehem, at dawn today and broke into several of its homes. At least 3
residents were arrested in the attack. The village witnesses wide-scale
random arrests in recent weeks.

The Israeli army set up a military roadblock at the northern entrance of
Tqou' town to delay movement of residents.

Ramallah
------------

7 Palestinian policemen were attested from the city of Ramallah today during
an invasion of Ramallah Hospital and the Ministry of Education. Israeli
soldiers raided, searched and intentionally destroyed the belongings of the
two buildings before arresting the guards.

Salfeet
--------

A curfew was imposed on the residents of Jama'in town, north Salfeet.
Military reinforcements were carried out around the city.

************************************************************************

FEATURES - Clippings from the Arabic Press
**********

*The Eretz Trap: Palestinian Worker Tells his Blackmail Story with the
'Shabak'*
By Fayez Abu On (Al-Ayam daily newspaper)

Dozens of Palestinian workers who head towards work within the 'green line'
every morning submitted complaints concerning blackmail by members of the
Israeli security institution 'Shabak'. The workers are threatened with
losing their source of living if they do not cooperate with the Israeli
intelligence.

A Palestinian worker, who refrained from giving his name, and whose magnetic
card and work permission were taken away from him because he refused to
cooperate with the 'Shabak', told his story:

The first day in which Israeli media channels declared the intention of the
Israeli government to issue dozens of work permits for workers in the
sectors of construction and agriculture, my Israeli employer, a construction
contractor, called me and insisted that he needed me to work for him after a
cessation that lasted a long period of time due to the Intifada events.

Two days later he told me to pick up my work permission, and this is exactly
what I did. I started to head to work with a large group of workers, very
early in the morning to return to our homes in complete exhaustion at night
and start once again the next day.

The journey of going back and forth is a bitter one. It starts at 3:00 am,
passing through several roadblocks that search every worker closely, some
that do not allow workers to pass without taking most of their clothes off,
and ending at the 'Eretz' crossing then to the work place to sink in hard
work until the end of the day.

After around 2 months of working inside Israel, I arrived at the 'Eretz'
crossing one morning and made it to the glass room where magnetic cards are
checked. When the female soldier sitting inside the small glass room placed
my card in the machine, she pointed to one of the army captains who was
standing on the side, he came immediately with another soldier armed to the
teeth.

When they arrived and looked at the computer and read some of the
information, the captain ordered me to approach him. The soldier then put
his machinegun in my back and asked me to walk in silence.

When we reached a narrow path away from the other workers, the captain
ordered me to take my clothes off except for my underwear. He searched my
clothes and body tightly with his machine. During this time, he knocked on
the door of one of the rooms and spoke to whoever was inside. The voice
asked him to bring me in.

A number of men dressed in civilian clothes were sitting in the room. One
man, who I later found was a 'Shabak' captain asked me normal questions at
first about the nature of my work, the name of my work place, which sector,
where I live, number of my brothers and sisters, their names.

After that he said to me, "I want you to answer all my questions and to
cooperate with me in order for me to cooperate with you and facilitate your
papers."

The captain suddenly asked about the location of one of the offices that
belongs to one of the Palestinian factions.

When I denied knowledge of the location, the captain got very angry, stood
up and ordered me to stand up.

"Your magnetic card will remain with me until you change your mind and until
you confirm to me your knowledge of the location, and in case you insisted
on your position, do not dream that you will ever get this card or any work
permit no matter what kind that would allow you to enter Israel and make a
living."

The Israeli authorities prevent any Palestinian from entering Israel or the
industrial area in 'Eretz' except with a work permit and magnetic card
issued by what is referred to as the (Israeli) "civil administration".

Similarly, several workers and civilians who head to 'Eretz' to obtain
magnetic cards are subjected to humiliating measures and provocations as
well as interrogations by members of the Israeli intelligence, police and
soldiers, sometimes for over 2 hours. The result in most cases is a
rejection of the request for a magnetic card.

The Progressive Workers Association in the Gaza Strip released a statement
concerning this issue calling on International Labor Organizations to
activate their role in solving and following up on the issues and worries of
Palestinian workers, through publicizing Israeli practices against
Palestinian workers in front of the international community.

The association stressed Palestinian workers are subjected to the worst
pictures of abuse and humiliation at the death crossing referred to as
'Eretz', where thousands of Palestinian workers gather early in the morning
to head to work to make a living for themselves and their families, facing a
long campaign of humiliating searches and delays, which result in a large
number of workers pushing and suffering from suffocations. Palestinian
workers are also subjected to interrogations and blackmail by the Israeli
intelligence that uses food as a tool to force them to cheat their people
and homeland.

************************************

*Looted Valuable Gifts from Muqata'a Distributed in Official Israeli Army
Celebration*
Asharqalawsat Saudi daily newspaper

Less than two months after the declaration of Israeli Army Chief General
Moshe Ya'alon, in which he stressed that the many theft operations carried
out by his soldiers in raided homes and offices during the war waged on the
Palestinians are major breaches and their perpetrators should be tried, it
becomes clear that statements are one thing and reality is another.

A large number of Ya'alon's army captains made of these thefts gifts
distributed in an official army celebration.

It was revealed yesterday that Israeli soldiers stole not only individually
and secretively from private homes, but also as groups and openly. Israeli
soldiers, who invaded the presidential headquarters and the offices of
President Arafat in Ramallah, stole all the artwork, valuable swords, guns,
videos and anything else they found in the buildings. Head of the attacking
forces collected all these valuables and changed their appearance, such as
painted swords to change their original appearance, which means he attempted
to hide evidence.

One day last month, this captain held a celebration for his soldiers and
distributed among them honor degrees for their manly performance in the
Palestinian areas.

Then, he gave each one of them a special present on which he wrote in so
many words "a memorial gift stolen from Muqata'a (Presidential headquarters
in Ramallah)".

It was also revealed that this same leader had received a gift from the
Golani Brigades in appreciation for the cooperation expressed by himself and
his soldiers with the brigade. The gift is a gun stolen from the Muqata'a,
keeping in mind that this same captain had tried 3 of his soldiers for
steeling money from Palestinian homes and imprisoned them as punishment for
3 weeks.

It is important to mention that all Israeli army leaders slated the
phenomenon of theft and considered it a breach of army morals, including the
thieving army leaders.

The Israeli army spokesperson yesterday went back to the same position and
said that the army took back these memorials from the soldiers.

----------------------------------

Hear Palestine is a free press service offering daily mailings from the occupied Palestinian territories. Material is analysed and compiled from the Arabic press, radio and television transmissions, and direct interviews by Karma Abu-Sharif.

Last week in Palestine
24 October - 31 October 2002

The olive harvest continued under threat of militant settler attack
throughout the West Bank. A large presence of foreign GIPP volunteers has
provided protection for the Palestinian farmers during the harvest. A number
of these volunteers have also been attacked and severely wounded by Israeli
settlers.

The curfew regime is still in place in the West Bank. Israeli forces partly
pulled out of the reoccupied part of Hebron, but in all the other West Bank
cities the Israeli army continues to impose curfew at whim; Tulkarem has
been under constant curfew for the last 13 days, Jenin for the last 8 days.
In total the West Bank has been under this curfew regime for 130 days. In
Jenin a 15-year-old boy was shot last week when he went for a walk during
curfew. In the same city, a 21-year-old man was killed also during curfew
hours when he went up on the roof to check the water tank and was shot in
the head by an Israeli sniper.

Another four Palestinians men were killed in assassination attacks. The
targeted killing of civilians is illegal according to the Fourth Geneva
Convention and is considered a war crime.

Four Palestinian homes were demolished in the Jenin refugee camp leaving
more than thirty people homeless. The Israeli Army said these houses
belonged to "suicide bombers" or "wanted men". Since mid-July this year, 56
Palestinian homes have been demolished in similar illegal actions of
collective punishment.

Sharon's coalition government collapsed this last week in a dispute over the
state budget and funding for settlements. The former Israeli Army Chief of
Staff, Shaul Mofaz, will be appointed the new defence minister. Mofaz was
Chief of Staff during the Intifada and is thus responsible for atrocities
committed against the Palestinians; killing of a number of Palestinian
civilians, invasions, using Palestinians as human shields, demolition of
Palestinian homes and other collective punishment measures such as curfews
and closure. A British lawyer is currently preparing a case to try Mofaz for
war crimes.

Palestinians killed this week: 23

Total number of Palestinians killed since September 2000: 1984

For more information contact The Palestine Monitor +972 2 2985372 or
+972 (0)59 387087 and see www.palestinemonitor.org

Nov 4, 2002

Jerusalem -- at the launch of a report into the actions of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Jenin and Nablus in March and April 2002, Amnesty International said today that there is clear evidence that some of the acts committed by the IDF during Operation Defensive Shield were war crimes.

The report, Israel and the Occupied Territories: Shielded from Scrutiny - IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus, documents serious human rights violations by Israeli forces -- unlawful killings; torture and ill-treatment of prisoners; wanton destruction of hundreds of homes sometimes with the residents still inside; the blocking of ambulances and denial of humanitarian assistance; and the use of Palestinian civilians as "human shields". Following meetings with the IDF in May to discuss IDF actions and strategies, Amnesty International submitted most of the individual cases included in the report to the IDF for comment but, despite promises to answer on the cases, no response has yet been received.

Israel has the right to take measures to prevent unlawful violence, but in doing so they must not violate international law. In Jenin and Nablus, the IDF blocked access for days to ambulances, humanitarian aid and the outside world while the dead and wounded lay in streets or houses. In Jenin a whole residential quarter of the refugee camp was demolished leaving 4,000 people homeless.

"Up to now the Israeli authorities have failed in their responsibility to bring to justice the perpetrators of serious human rights violations. War crimes are among the most serious crimes under international law, and represent offences against humanity as a whole. Bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice is therefore the concern and the responsibility of the international community. All states who are parties to the Geneva Conventions must search for those alleged to have committed grave breaches of the Conventions and bring them to justice," said Amnesty International.

"There will be no peace or security in the region until human rights are respected. All attempts to end human rights violations and install a system of international protection in Israel and the Occupied Territories, in particular by introducing monitors with a clear human rights mandate, have been undermined by the refusal of the government of Israel. This refusal has been supported by the USA."

"It is imperative that the international community stop being an ineffective witness of the grave violations that take place in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Meaningful, urgent and appropriate action is long overdue," Amnesty International concluded.

Israel and the Occupied Territories Shielded from Scrutiny : IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus details the following violations:

Unlawful killings
"My family was at home on Friday 5 April. It was about 3 or 3.15 in the afternoon. We heard the knocking and calling for us to open the door. My sister 'Afaf said 'Just a moment'. She said this right away.... When she reached the door, she had just put her hand out to touch the handle of the door and it exploded. The door exploded in on her and the right side of her face was blown off.... I think she must have died instantly. We started shouting. The soldiers were just outside that door. The IDF began to shoot at the walls as if to try and scare us. We yelled at them to get an ambulance but they did not answer us."

"I looked and saw one of the large bulldozers coming from the west side bulldozing the al-Shu'bi family house and I saw the house tilt over. Without even thinking, I yelled to the soldier in the bulldozer, 'Let the residents leave the house.' At this point the soldier came out of the bulldozer, took his weapon and started to fire in my direction." Ten members of the Shu'bi family were buried under their house in Nablus for six days, only two survived.

These cases are just two of many documented by Amnesty International in Jenin and Nablus where people were killed or injured in circumstances suggesting that they were unlawfully killed. Palestinians not involved in fighting were killed as a result of disproportionate use of force and the failure of the IDF to take adequate measures to protect those not involved in the fighting.

In Jenin refugee camp and Jenin city, more than half of the 54 Palestinians who died as a result of the incursion between 3 and 17 April, appear not to have been involved in fighting. Among those killed were seven women, four children and six men aged over 55. Six had been crushed in houses. In Nablus, at least 80 Palestinians were killed by the IDF between 29 March and 22 April. Among the victims were seven women and nine children.

None of these killings has been impartially and thoroughly investigated, even where there have been strong reasons to believe they were unlawful. This failure on the part of the Israeli authorities has helped created a climate where some members of the IDF, aware that no action will be taken against them, continue to carry out unlawful killings.

The use of Palestinians for military operations or as "human shields"

"We entered my neighbour's house. The soldiers began to drill a hole in the wall. I went with three soldiers and the dog through the wall. The soldier kept the gun positioned at my head. This happened about six or seven times. In each case, when we passed from building to building the soldiers always kept me in front of them. At the last place I pulled the door back and just as I was walking out I heard shooting. The soldiers pulled me back from the alley and began to return fire. I was one metre behind them".

In both Jenin and Nablus, the IDF systematically compelled Palestinians to take part in military operations or to act as "human shields". Women as well as men were used in this way. Typically, the IDF would hold a Palestinian for several days and compel them to search property in the camp, thus putting them at serious risk of injury.

Torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in arbitrary detention

" They started to beat us on the body and chest with rifle butts.....We were all gathered there in our underwear. It was cold. When we asked for blankets, we were beaten. We were not given any water."

In Jenin, men who had been rounded up and separated from women, children and men aged over 55 were stripped to their underwear, blindfolded and handcuffed. Many said they were beaten. One detainee died as a result of beatings.

In Nablus a similar pattern of torture and ill-treatment of people detained in mass round-ups was recorded. Immediately after arrest, detainees were taken to Shomron temporary detention centre. Those interviewed said that beatings took place during and after the arrests. The centre was overcrowded and detainees were given insufficient water, little food and were sometimes denied access to toilet facilities.

Blocking medical and humanitarian relief

'Atiya Hassan Abu Irmaila, 44 , was shot in the head by the IDF while in his home on 5 April. Desperate attempts by his family to call an ambulance failed. The family was even unable to leave their home to tell relatives that he had died. 'Atiya Hassan Abu Irmaila's body remained in the house for seven days.

Suna Hafez Sabreh, 35, was shot and seriously injured on 7 April while closing the door to her house. The family called an ambulance, but it failed to reach them, on at least one occasion because it had come under fire. An ambulance finally arrived two days later, after Suna Hafez Sabreh's condition had seriously deteriorated. She has since had five operations.

In both Jenin and Nablus, the IDF denied medical and humanitarian relief organizations access to the affected areas even after the fighting had stopped.

The IDF blocked medical aid for days; in addition they shot at ambulances or fired warning shots around them. Ambulance drivers were harassed or arrested. Meanwhile, the wounded lay for hours untended or were treated in homes, and the dead remained in the street or in houses for days. In several cases, people reportedly died in circumstances where lack of access to medical care may have caused or hastened their death.

Demolition of houses and property

"There is total devastation, no whole standing house, as though someone has bulldozed a whole community. If anyone was in a house they could not have survived..... There is nothing but rubble and people walking around looking dazed. There is a smell of death under the rubble."

These are the words of an Amnesty International delegate who entered Jenin refugee camp minutes after the IDF lifted the blockade on 17 April 2002. IDF forces that entered Jenin and Nablus brought tanks or bulldozers through roads, often stripping off the front of houses. In Hawashin and neighbouring areas of Jenin refugee camp 169 houses with 374 apartment units were bulldozed, mostly after the fighting had ceased. As a result more than 4,000 people were left homeless.

In both Jenin and in Nablus there were instances when the IDF bulldozed houses while residents were still inside. IDF soldiers either gave inadequate warnings or no warnings before houses were demolished and subsequently failed to take measures to rescue those trapped in the rubble and prevented others from searching for them. Amnesty International documented three such incidents leading to the deaths of 10 people. Six others on the hospital lists of those killed in Jenin were recorded as being crushed by rubble.

The full report is available online at:
http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/MDE151432002!Open

The executive summary is available at:
http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/MDE151492002!Open