Israeli Human Rights Violations in Palestine (Weekly Update 03-09 August 2023)

August 10, 2023

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

6 Palestinians were killed, including 2 children; one succumbed to his pervious injury, and 6 others were injured, while dozens of others suffocated and sustained bruises in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and settler attacks in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Details are as follows:

On 04 August 2023, Qusai Jamal Mu’tan (18) was killed in cold blood by settler’s fire, while two other Palestinians were injured by other settlers’ fire in Burqa village, east of Ramallah. ( Details available in PCHR’s press release.)

On the same day, Mahmoud Hussam Abu Sa’an (18) was killed by IOF’s fire after he threw Molotov Cocktails at them during their incursion into Tulkarm and its camp.

On 06 August 2023, in a crime of extra-judicial executions (assassination), IOF killed 3 Palestinians, including a child, in Jenin. (Details available in PCHR’s press release.)

On 07 August 2023, medical sources at the Palestine Medical Complex announced the death of Ramzi Fathi Hamed (17), from Silwad village, east of Ramallah, who succumbed to an abdominal injury after the security guard of “Ofra” settlement established on lands confiscated from Silwad and Beitin villages, east of Ramallah, fired two live bullets at him, as Hamed threw Molotov Cocktails at the settlement on 01 August 2023.

Meanwhile, those injured were victims of excessive use of force that accompanied IOF incursions into cities and villages, or suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians.

On 04 August 2023, two Palestinians were shot with rubber-coated bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddum weekly peaceful protest against settlements in northern Qalqilya.

On the same day, Minister Moayad Sha’ban, Head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC), and other persons suffocated and sustained bruises during IOF’s suppression of Deir Istiya weekly peaceful protest in Salfit.

Also, a Palestinian was injured with a rubber-coated bullet in his leg during clashes with IOF following their incursion into Al-Eizariya village, southeast of occupied East Jerusalem. Before their withdrawal, IOF arrested a Palestinian.

In the Gaza Strip, at least 2 IOF shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip. However, neither material damage nor casualties were reported.

So far in 2023, IOF attacks have killed 208 Palestinians, including 103 civilians; amongst them 37 children, 6 women and a person with disability, and the rest were members of the Palestinian armed groups, including 7 children, 9 killed by settlers, and two died in Israeli prisons. Meanwhile, 1015 Palestinians, including 150 children, 30 women and 16 journalists, were injured in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Land razing, demolitions, notices and settlement

On 03 August 2023, IOF razed a 4-dunum plot of land in al-Dab’a area, east of Battir village in western Bethlehem, and uprooted at least 70 olive seedlings.

On 06 August 2023, IOF forced 8 families of 36, including 10 children, to leave al-Qaboun Compound located between Kafr Malik and al-Mughayyir village, east of Ramallah, after IOF closed all roads leading to them and prevented sheep-grazing, while settlers stole their sheep. 

On the same day, IOF seized a generator from a cave where ‘Aziz al-Rab’I live in Kherbet Janba, east of Yatta, south of Hebron.

On 07 August 2023, IOF confiscated 2 vehicles and ceased ad-Dhahiriya Municipality’s construction works to establish agricultural roads in al-Baha area, east of ad-Dhahiriya village in southern Hebron, under the pretext of working in Area “C”.

On 08 August 2023, IOF handed 14 eviction notices to inhabited houses and cease-construction notices to other under-construction houses in Sarta villages, west of Salfit, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area “C”.

On the same day, IOF uprooted about 20 olive seedlings and levelled agricultural lands to build a settlement road in Kafr ad-Dik village, west of Salfit.

On 09 August 2023, IOF handed 8 cease-construction notices to under-construction houses in Sinjil village, east of Ramallah, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area “C”.

Since the beginning of 2023, IOF have made 136 families homeless, a total of 796 persons, including 174 women and 352 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 136 houses; 34 were forcibly self-demolished by their owners and 14 were demolished on grounds of collective punishment. IOF also demolished 99 other civilian objects, razed other property, and delivered dozens of notices of demolition and cease-construction in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Demolitions on grounds of collective punishment

On 08 August 2023, IOF destroyed a residential unit belonging to the family of ‘Abdul-Fattah Hussein Kharousha in the old ‘Askar refugee camp, northeast of Nablus as part of IOF’s collective punishment policy against Palestinian families of those accused of carrying out attacks against IOF and/or settlers. PCHR’s fieldworker reported that IOF moved into ‘Askar refugee camp in Nablus and broke into a 4-storey house belonging to Kharousha family, as they forced 4 families living the building out, and two other families of their relatives in nearby houses under fire and teargas canisters.  As a result, a Palestinian was wounded with a live bullet in the left thigh. During the incursion, IOF implanted explosives on the 3rd floor, and remotely detonated it. As a result, the 120-sqm apartment, which housed a family of 4, including a woman, was destroyed, while 3 apartments in the same building and 2 other apartments in a nearby buildings sustained damage. It is noteworthy that IOF killed ‘Abdul-Fattah Kharousha on 07 March 2023 after he was accused of an attack that killed setters on 26 February 2023.

Settler-attacks and retaliatory acts

On 05 August 2023, settlers from “Ma’ale Adumim” settlement, threw stones at Palestinians and their vehicles at the entrance to Al-Eizariya village, east of East Jerusalem. As a result, windows of many vehicles were broken, and Palestinians, including women and children, panicked.

Since the beginning of the year, settlers have conducted at least 293 attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property. As a result, 9 Palestinians were killed, and dozens of others were injured; most of them due to being beaten and thrown with stones. Also, dozens of houses, vehicles and civilian facilities were set ablaze.

Israeli closure, restrictions on freedom of movement, and collective punishment:

Israeli occupation maintains its illegal and inhuman 17-year closure on the Gaza Strip. Details available in PCHR’s monthly-update in the Gaza crossings.

In the West Bank, IOF continues to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 110 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 134 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested Palestinians at those checkpoints.

On 06 August 2023, IOF closed the northern entrance to Tuqu’ village, south of Bethlehem, and reopened it later. The closure recurred the following day. 

On 07 August 2023, IOF closed Qalandia checkpoint and later reopened it.

On 08 August 2023, IOF closed the detector gates established at the entrances to villages of Nabi Saleh, Aboud, and Kharbatha Bani Harith, and reopened them after about an hour and a half. This comes as part of IOF’s collective punishment policy allegedly after a settler’s vehicle was exposed to shotting near the entrance to “Ateret” settlement, which is established on the lands of Umm Safa village, northwest of Ramallah. The entrances to Silwad were also closed but reopened later.

So far in 2023, IOF have established 3,692 temporary checkpoints and arrested tens of Palestinians at those checkpoints.

Palestinian Youths Confront Israeli Occupation Forces in West Bank

 August 8, 2023

The Zionist occupation forces stormed Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus, demolishing the house of the martyr Abdul Fattah Kharousha, who carried out a shooting attack in Hawarra town and killed two Israeli settlers.

On February 26, 2023, Kharousha carried out the attack and embraced martyrdom after clashing with the occupation forces on March 7.

The enemy authorities have been detaining his 3 children under the pretext that they helped him to carry out the attack.

After the demolition of the family residence, the martyr’s wife stood steadfastly and thanked Holy God, confirming the determination to confront the enemy and calling on her detained children to remain powerful.

The two Resistance Movements of Hamas and Islamic Jihad issued separate statements which considered the Israeli demolition of the martyr’s house as a reflection of incapability and failure and confirmed supporting and defending the Palestinian people in face of the Zionist aggression.

Locals sources reported clashes between the enemy troops and the Palestinian resistance fighters in Askar camp.

The Red Crescent noted that 58 Palestinians were suffocated by the Zionist gas bombs and two others were injured in the dead by the enemy’s shots during the clashes.

The Israeli enemy troops also arrested a large number of Palestinians in the various towns and cities of the occupied West Bank, reporting the arrest of 13 Palestinian youths from Kober town in northeastern Ramallah.

Source: Agencies

Resistance Fighters Clash with IOF in West Bank

 July 15, 2023

Tensions were high today in the Tulkarm and Nablus as Palestinian resistance fighters engaged in armed clashes with the occupation forces. The conflict coincided with large-scale raids in several areas of Nablus, leaving many citizens fearing for their safety.

The occupation army’s forces stormed towns and villages across Nablus, including the town of Kafr Qalil, which saw clashes between young men and the Israeli occupation soldiers. Al-Masaken Street and neighborhoods in the Askar camp were also raided, with gas and sound bombs fired at citizens in the main street.

The incursions and raids extended to the villages of Madama, Azmut, Rojit, Salem, and Qusin, causing further stress and fear for the Palestinian people. Resistance fighters also targeted occupation mechanisms during their storming of the eastern region of Nablus.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian resistance unveiled the powerful explosive device used during the recent confrontation with the Zionist occupation forces in Jenin.

Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas military wing, revealed Shawath 1 explosive device, adding that the anti-armor IED possesses a great destruction impact.

Shawath 1
Aerial view shows Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv on Saturday, March 25, 2023 (photo by AFP).

Source: Palestinian and Israeli media (translated and edited by Al-Manar English Website)

IOF Soldier Wounded in Occupied West Bank by Palestinian Resistance Fighters

 June 2, 2023

An Israeli occupation soldier was wounded in a recent shooting operation near the “Homesh” settlement in the West Bank, according to Israeli media reports. The incident highlights the increasing frequency of resistance operations, which have taken the Israeli occupation by surprise despite heightened security measures

Hamas spokesperson, Abdul Latif Al-Qanou, stated that these operations are increasing in frequency throughout the occupied West Bank, causing instability, and disrupting the occupation’s heightened state of alert.

Shootings in the West Bank have been escalating, with more than 60 incidents reported in May, according to Israel Hayom.

Resistance fighters targeted a settler’s vehicle in the Al-Aghwar region on Thursday, with the IOF on high alert and searching for the shooter.

In another incident, a child and his father were injured when the IOF opened fire on their vehicle at the entrance of a town West of Ramallah. Activist Bilal Al-Tamimi reported that the IOF ambushed the vehicle, which was situated next to the checkpoint, and wounded the child in the head and his father in the shoulder.

In yet another operation, occupation forces stormed a Nablus town on Friday morning and detained liberated prisoner Maan Al-Shaer at his home.

Some 46 Palestinians were treated for wounds during the raid on the Askar refugee camp which took place in the predawn hours of Tuesday morning, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

Tensions have been running high in the occupied West Bank over the past year, with the Israeli military conducting violent raids under the pretext of detaining what it calls “wanted” Palestinians.

As a result of these attacks, at least 112 Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested in 2023.

Finally, Hamas Resistance Movement held a rally in Gaza after Friday Prayer in support of Al-Quds against the Israeli occupation.

Source: Palestinian Agencies

Palestinians Confront Israeli Raids amid Calls to Defend Al-Quds during ‘Flag March’

 May 16, 2023

Palestinians are in continuous state of resistance against daily Israeli aggression on several areas across the West Bank, amid calls to defend the holy city of Al-Quds during the provocative Israeli so-called ‘Flag March’.

Israeli occupation forces staged on Tuesday several raids and made arrests near Jericho and in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, prompting armed clashes with Palestinian resistance.

Palestinian media reported that resistance fighters opened fire at the Zionist soldiers who raided the town of Qabatiya in Jenin, and besieged a house, where resistance fighters were allegedly residing.

Al-Quds Brigades’ Qabatiya Battalion confirmed that their Mujahideen (fighters) confronted the occupation forces, reporting fierce clashes.

Three Palestinians were reportedly injured in the raid, according to Palestinian and Israeli media.

The town of Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya, the Dheisheh camp in Beit Lahm, and the Aqabat Jaber camp in Areeha were also among the areas targeted.

The IOF reportedly deployed snipers in multiple buildings during their storming of Aqabat Jaber, where they arrested six members of one family.

Confrontations erupted between Palestinian Resistance fighters and the IOF during the Aqabat Jaber raid, during which a citizen was injured, and ambulance crews were prevented to reach him. In another raid, the IOF stormed the town of Al-Isawiya in occupied Al-Quds and conducted a campaign of arrests.

The IOF also moved into the town of Turmus Ayya, Ramallah, where they arrested Palestinian youth Mohammad Walid Abu Awwad from his home.

These raids come just one day after the IOF shot and killed Palestinian youth Saleh Sabra during their attempt to storm the Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

‘Flag March’ 

Meanwhile, Palestinian groups and activists have been mobilizing to defend Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa against Israeli provocations during the Israeli so-called ‘Flag March’ schedueled on Thursday.

Enitiled “The Great Dawn”, the calls urged Palestinians to head for Al-Aqsa at dawn in Thursday to confront the Israeli provocations planed during the provocative ‘Flag March’.

The Flag March is staged by Israeli settlers every year to mark what they call the “unification of Jerusalem”, in reference to Israeli occupation of the holy city in 1967.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the provocative parade will take place as planned in Al-Quds on Thursday, and that it will go through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu leads a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset in occupied Al-Quds (May 15, 2023).

“The flag march will continue as planned, as usual, on its route,” Netanyahu said at the outset of his Likud party’s Knesset faction meeting.

Israeli occupation Police approved the route last week, and said it plans to deploy more than 2,000 police officers to guard the march.

Source: Palestinian Agencies

IOF storm several West Bank cities, shoot dead Palestinian youth

May 15, 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen Net + Agencies

By Al Mayadeen English 

Israeli occupation forces storm the Al-Masaken Al-Shaabiyah neighborhood and the vicinity of the Askar refugee camp.

Martyr Saleh Sabra, who was murdered today by occupation forces.

Palestinian websites confirmed the martyrdom of Palestinian youth Saleh Sabra after he was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces during their attempt to storm the Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli occupation forces stormed the Al-Masaken Al-Shaabiyah neighborhood and the vicinity of the Askar refugee camp.

Local Palestinian sources reported that two Palestinian youths were injured, one of them seriously, as a result of Israeli occupation gunfire.

Other sources reported that Palestinian Resistance fighters confronted the Israeli occupation forces and opened fire on them in the vicinity of Askar camp and in the Al-Masaken Al-Shaabiyah neighborhood.

In the same context, confrontations erupted in Beit Kahil, northwest of occupied Al-Khalil, in the West Bank, after occupation forces stormed the town.

The occupation forces also stormed the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp in the city of Areeha, and the Silat Al-Harithiya area, west of Jenin, and arrested two young men from their homes.

God is great, Israel, Netanyahu receives a pen on his face, and the resistance in Gaza and the West Bank raise the flags of Egypt and Palestine
How does the Israeli occupation fail to stir up the environment of resistance?

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