B'Tselem: 3,386 Palestinians killed since intifada

By JOSEPH FLESH
Fifty Israelis and 197 Palestinians were killed in 2005 in the course of the conflict between them, according to the B'Tselem human rights group's annual report on the conflict released on Wednesday. Of the 50 Israelis killed, 41 were civilians and nine were security personnel, according to B'Tselem. Of the 197 Palestinians killed, 73 were killed while participating in fighting. According to the IDF, 44 Israeli civilians were killed and not 41, and 10 members of the security forces were killed instead of nine. "If the IDF did not act to prevent terrorism, then the Israeli death toll would have been much higher," the IDF Spokesman's Office said. "Contrary to B'Tselem's report, it is important to emphasize that some of the Palestinians killed were involved in various acts of terrorism [beyond the 73 the report admits were involved in fighting.]" The B'Tselem summary also included data on the security fence and freedom of movement. B'Tselem said that 490,500 Palestinians will be directly harmed by the fence if construction continues on the current approved route, and reports that there are 27 permanent Israeli checkpoints inside the West Bank, as well as 12 in Hebron.