The defining moment was the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, on June 26, after which the number of Palestinian civilians killed increased greatly.
Sarit Michaeli, communications director of B'Tselem, said: "Following the kidnapping of Corporal Shalit,
Over the same period, violations against Israeli civilians dropped considerably.
One issue relating to the rise in the number of Palestinians killed has been the increased Israeli military activity against Qassam rockets fired from the Palestinian territories.
"Of the number of Palestinians killed during 2006, over half weren't participating in any hostile activity at all," Michaeli said.
"The number of Palestinian deaths, in total, went up by over three times."
Last year, the number of Palestinians killed was 197 throughout the territories.
Israeli rocket fire
"Most Palestinians were killed during military operations, of which Israeli military fire, attempting to hit Qassam rocket launchers in the territories, ends up killing civilians," Michaeli said.
Production of Qassam rockets began in September 2001, after the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada.
Michaeli also said: "There have been a couple of concrete cases where
"When a rocket hits an area, civilians naturally rush in to help the victims of the first missile, but end up dead from the second missile strike."
Disproportionate force
In the West bank, B'Tselem documents that many Palestinians have been killed by disproportionate force.
"Where Israeli soldiers are saying they're undertaking targeted killings, they are actually using lethal force against non-combatants," Michaeli said.
"Israeli soldiers have killed people that present no danger to them. A 28-year-old labourer in the Israeli offensives increased in June [EPA]
"I
Attacks against non-combatants represent a clear contravention of international humanitarian law, he said.
Decline in Israeli deaths
The number of Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians so far this year was 17. Last year the number was 41.
"This has more than halved for a number of reasons," Michaeli said.
Factors included "disengagement from
Air strike phenomenon
A new phenomenon in
According to a number of sources, a 15- to 30-minute warning is given by telephone before homes are demolished by air-to-ground rocket strikes.
"But concrete evidence isn't given due to fears of compromising intelligence."
As of last month,