LONDON, June 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israel is breaking the Geneva convention and abusing human rights by punishing Palestinians with indiscriminate security measures, human rights watchdog Amnesty International said Wednesday, June 26, 2002.

"No abuses, however atrocious, by armed groups can justify Israel's indiscriminate punishment," the London-based rights group said, adding that such action was "preventing a population of 500,000 from pursuing their daily life," Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Prolonged curfews, house demolitions and administrative detentions amounted to collective punishment, Amnesty underlined.

"The curfews are forcing Palestinians to spend long periods under virtual house arrest," said the organization.

Palestinians cannot go to work, products cannot be transported and agricultural produce cannot be harvested and sold. Cultural and social life is severely limited while children lose weeks of schooling, the organization said.

"The right to freedom of movement is further curtailed by army barriers blocking all movement between towns and villages," resulting in extreme "economic, social and psychological consequences."

Amnesty also said that Israel’s decision to demolish houses of families of “suicide bombers” or “wanted” Palestinians breaks the Geneva convention which outlaws house demolition unless it is militarily essential.

Israel has also committed human rights abuses by rounding up and arbitrarily detaining hundreds of Palestinians, held often in degrading conditions without charge or trial, it added.

“As Israel reoccupies villages and towns in the West Bank, the Palestinian population suffers the effects of widespread security measures such as prolonged curfews, house demolitions or administrative detention that amount to collective punishment,” the organization said in a report published on its website.

The heavily protected security fence in the Occupied Territories not only violates the Fourth Geneva Convention but the security measures taken by Israel also violate its obligations under international human rights standards.

Some Palestinian communities have been placed on the Israeli side of the barrier, virtually cutting them off from the rest of the West Bank.

Curfews and house demolitions have also led to violations of the right to life. On June 21, a Palestinian man aged 60 and two children, aged 11 and six, were killed in Jenin by a tank round. They came out to shop when the curfew was reportedly lifted.

The Israeli Forces admitted the shelling of the market place, claiming it was a ‘mistake’. But it is not clear whether anyone will be held accountable for the killing. On the same day, a 12-year-old child was crushed to death during an Israeli army demolition of a house in Jenin.

Israel also appears to have resumed its policy of assassination of members of Palestinian resistance groups. On June 24, the car of an alleged Hamas activist in Rafah was attacked by three missiles, killing six people, including the driver of a passing car and the Hamas activist, and wounding ten others.

"Unlawful killings of Palestinians continue as a result of the virtually complete impunity offered to Israeli soldiers who kill Palestinians," said Amnesty International.