2011: Year of Israeli Violence in Gaza Strip
 

[SIZE="3"][B][CENTER][COLOR="Black"]2011: Year of Israeli Violence in Gaza Strip[/COLOR][/CENTER][/B][/SIZE]


[SIZE="3"]According to data gathered by the Gaza City based human rights organization Al Mezan, during 2011 the Israeli army killed at least 114 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, of whom 15 were children and 2 women. During this same year, some 470 Palestinians were injured, of whom 120 were children and 35 women.
Al Mezan adds that the Israeli army did not stop with harming human lives. During 2011, 152 civilian homes were damaged and ten were completely destroyed. Additionally some 31 shops, 23 workshops and 73 public buildings were damaged whilst 84 dunam of land were destroyed.
The Israeli army further prohibits Palestinians from conducting non-violent protests against the siege of Gaza. During 2011, the army attacked eight demonstrations conducted in the buffer zone alongside the western border of Gaza with Israel. During these demonstrations three people were injured, two Palestinians and one international.
Al Mezan notes that since 2008, the Israeli military has attacked some 30 Palestinian demonstrations conducted in the buffer zone. As a result of these attacks two civilians were killed, of whom one was a child, and 18 were injured.
The buffer zone is an area approximately 300 metres wide on the Gaza side of the Gaza-Israel border. Israeli policy prohibits Palestinians from entering this area. Due to this policy, 70% of the Palestinians who lived in the buffer zone prior to 2000 were forced to leave their homes and their agricultural work in the area was halted. Al Mezan estimates that some 10,000 Gaza residents were thus affected.
According to a report published by the British organization Save the Children, 50% of those who left the buffer zone were forced to leave as their homes were destroyed by the Israeli military, while 28% of the people left as they feared for their personal safety. The organization adds that 50% of these people further lost their livelihoods.[/SIZE]