5,389 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers over 8 years of intifadah

[Ma'anImages] Ramallah – Ma’an – In the eight years since the start of the Al-Aqsa Intifadah Israel has destroyed Palestine’s infrastructure and killed 5,389 Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Marking eight years since the start of the second intifadah local Palestinian organizations Al-Haq for Legal and Human Rights, and the Health Action Committee held a press conference in Ramallah. During the press conference the organizations outlined all that had been “achieved” since the second “popular uprising” in Palestine. Of those killed by Israeli forces, they said, 194 were women and 995 children. During the same time 135 Palestinian patients died at one of the 630 military checkpoints throughout the areas. The group said 32,270 Palestinians were injured over the last eight years, and 3,530 of those injured have suffered permanent handicaps, and at least 220 Palestinians have died waiting for treatment abroad. General Director of the Health Action committee Shatha Au’da said that Israel had destroyed entire infrastructures in Palestinian lands, from road networks, to health, government and security on account of occupation and siege policies. Palestinian lands and lives have been cut up by road-blocks, concrete walls, settlements and discriminatory policies. Settlements have expanded 30% since the Annapolis conference alone, and since 2000 7,934 Palestinian homes have been demolished. Israelis have collected 66million Shekels in fines from Palestinians living in East Jerusalem since 2006, and in that city alone 27 homes are currently threatened with demolition. There have been 450 kilometers of separation fence build across the land, and 45% of West Bank lands are not accessible to Palestinians. According to Sha’wan Jabareen, general director of Al-Haq, the Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley area have become completely isolated from the rest of the Palestinian areas. Jabareen accused the international community of failure in pressuring Israel to halt settlement construction, as well as all other crimes against the Palestinian people, and he expressed concern over the recent Europe-Israel partnership agreement.