Day 150 in Gaza: 13 massacres, 30,534 martyred, and 71,920 injured

4 Mar 2024 

Source: News Websites

Palestinians wounded in an Israeli strike while waiting for humanitarian aid on the beach in Gaza City are treated in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Thursday, February 29, 2024. (AP)

ByAl Mayadeen English

The IOF has carried out 13 massacres in 24 hours, killing 124 Palestinians and injuring 210 others.

On day 150 of the brutal Israeli genocide in Gaza, 13 massacres were committed by the occupation, killing 124 Palestinian civilians, and injuring 210 others within 24 hours.

Thousands of civilians remain stuck beneath the rubble, while Israeli occupation forces obstruct civil defense and rescue teams, making it impossible for them to reach victims. 

Read more: UN expert says ‘Israel’ intentionally starving Palestinians: Guardian

‘Israel’ kills starved Gazans waiting for aid

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Last night, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported the martyrdom of multiple civilians after an Israeli airstrike targeted a humanitarian aid truck in the Kuwaiti roundabout in Deir al-Balah. 

“The occupation forces committed a horrific massacre at the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza, which claimed dozens of martyrs and wounded,” Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra said. 

“The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) are carrying out systematic genocide targeting hundreds of thousands of hungry stomachs in northern Gaza,” he added.

The aggression occurred as civilians were waiting for an aid convoy containing flour to arrive near the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza City.

According to preliminary estimates, nine people have been declared martyred so far.

This is the second instance of such an aggression occuring within the same week.

On Thursday, the Israeli army opened fire on Palestinians who had gathered to collect supplies of aid at al-Rashid Street. 112 were murdered and several corpses were run over by tracked vehicles. 

Read more: Maternity in crisis: 1 in 5 pregnant women in Gaza faces malnutrition

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War on Gaza

ICJ orders ‘Israel’ to halt genocidal acts; fails to order ceasefire

Today  January 26, 2024

Source: Agencies

In the UN’s top court hearing, the World Court stated that it would not dismiss the case despite the Israeli request, calling on the occupation to halt all military action that aligns with genocide.

The United Nations’ highest court meets on Friday to announce its decision on the request presented by South Africa to enforce emergency measures against “Israel” for its war on Gaza, on January 26, 2024. (Illustrated by Arwa Makki; Al Mayadeen English)

ByAl Mayadeen English

The United Nations’ highest court asserted its jurisdiction to act on the emergency measures sought by South Africa in its lawsuit against “Israel’s” actions in the Gaza war.

Despite the Israeli request for dismissal, the World Court stated that it would not dismiss the case.
 
On Friday, the UN’s top court ordered that some rights presented by South Africa in its genocide case against the Israeli war on Gaza are plausible.

As the reading proceeded, the court recognized the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide, adding that the Palestinians are a protected group under the genocide convention.  However, the ruling does not deal with the core accusation of the case – whether genocide occurred – but focuses on the urgent intervention sought by South Africa.

Among the measures South Africa requested was an immediate halt to the Israeli military operation, which has laid waste to much of the enclave and killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

‘Israel’ expected to take measures against genocide acts

The Court ordered “Israel” to take all measures to prevent genocide acts in Gaza, ensure its forces do not commit genocide, and take measures to improve the humanitarian situation. 
 
“Israel” is required to submit a report to the court within a month, detailing its actions to comply with the order. Furthermore, it must implement measures to prevent and punish direct incitement of genocide in the context of its war on Gaza.
 
“The state of Israel shall…. take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention,” the court said. 

In a comprehensive decision, 15 of the 17-judge panel of the ICJ voted in favor of urgent measures, addressing most of South Africa’s requests, though notably excluding an order for “Israel” to cease military actions in Gaza.

S. Africa takes ‘Israel’ to court 

Last year, South Africa submitted a motion to the International Court of Justice on December 29, 2023, accusing Israeli forces of violating the UN’s Genocide Convention. South Africa’s submission to the Hague-based court reads that the Israeli occupation forces [IOF] operations “are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial, and ethnical group.”

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The International Court of Justice has the authority to issue “provisional measures,” emergency orders aimed at safeguarding Palestinians in Gaza from potential breaches of the convention. These orders are legally binding and cannot be appealed, though enforcing them poses a challenge.

On December 29, “Israel” rejected South Africa’s launch of a genocide case against it at the ICJ. Despite the sea of war crime evidence, the occupation labeled the case as groundless blood libel lacking legal merit and asserted that its army was adhering to international humanitarian law. 

On that note, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that his government might not adhere to any ICJ order, stating, “No one will stop us – not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil, and no one else,” in reference to the Axis of Resistance.

First ICJ hearing

South Africa’s legal team stated on January 11th – in its opening statement at The Hague – that South Africa has recognized the ongoing Nakba of the Palestinian people through “Israel’s” colonization since 1948, “which has systematically and forcibly dispossessed, displaced, and fragmented the Palestinian people, deliberately denying them the internationally recognized inalienable right to self-determination and their internationally recognized rights of return as refugees to their towns and villages in what is now the state of Israel.”

The team emphasized that South Africa is particularly mindful of “Israel’s” “institutionalized regime of discriminatory laws, policies, and practices designed and maintained to establish domination, subjecting the Palestinian people to apartheid on both sides of the Green Line.”

They also pointed out that the decade-long impunity for widespread and systematic human rights violations has emboldened “Israel” in its recurrence and intensification of humanitarian crimes in Palestine, while simultaneously acknowledging that “the genocidal acts and omissions” by “Israel” “inevitably form part of a continuum of illegal acts perpetrated against the Palestinian people since 1948.”

The ICJ’s limited enforcement capabilities were exemplified when it ordered Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, a directive that went unheeded. If the court rules against “Israel”, it could intensify political pressure, potentially leading to sanctions.

Second ICJ hearing 

During the second day of the hearing on January 12th, “Israel” urged judges to dismiss the genocide case, stressing that the calls to cease its aggression against the Palestinian resistance lacked merit.

“Israel’s” legal adviser argued that halting the genocidal campaign would leave the regime defenseless, citing a cross-border raid by the Palestinian resistance on October 7.

Minister Lamola countered, stating that self-defense is not a valid response to genocide. 

Despite South Africa presenting a comprehensive document citing Israeli top military and political officials calling directly or indirectly for genocide in Gaza, “Israel” urged judges to dismiss the case, claiming that the calls to cease its aggression lacked merit.

The Israeli position was aggressively backed by the United States, which was later joined by Germany which announced it would get involved as a third party in favor of “Israel.” 

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Operation Al Aqsa Flood

US-UK aggression evidence of effective Yemeni strategy: Al-Houthi

January 18, 2024

Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi says the US-UK aggression is proof of the effectiveness of the Yemeni strategy in the Arabian and Red Seas

Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses the Yemeni people, on January 11 2024 (Yemeni Armed Forces/ Military Media)

By Al Mayadeen English

Leader of the Yemeni Revolution, Sayyed Abdulmalik al-Houthi, chief of the Ansar Allah resistance movement, gave a speech earlier this afternoon going over the most recent developments after more than 104 days of aggression against Gaza.

“More than 104 days [have passed] of savage Zionist aggression against the Palestinian people; in which the enemy has committed more than 2000  massacres which are tantamount to a genocide,” Sayyed al-Houthi opened up in a speech.

“The whole world is witnessing the savage injustice towards the Palestinian people from the United Nations, the Security Council, and the Arab League,” he added. 

The enemy persists in committing these crimes before the eyes of the entire world, Sayyed Al-Houthi said: emphasizing that behind the savage aggression of the IOF is the shameless audacity of the American who is complicit in the crimes. 

“The Americans provide all forms of support to the enemy to persist with its crimes and prevent other countries from providing support and assistance to the Palestinian people.”

The Americans try to manufacture consent for the ongoing genocide against Palestinians by garnering support from the European states for the Israeli war machine, he added. 

“The Americans sought to incite against the Palestinian people and classify their resistance leaders as terrorists.”

Most European countries stand in support of the occupation and pledge military support to it despite the occupation’s massive military potential, he noted. 

“The US, the UK, and European countries support the occupation in its destructive war against the Palestinians and assist it in its savage killing operations.”

This stance is not strange for Americans and the British, for they are vehement subscribers to the Zionist ideology, he added. 

Biden and Blinken went on visits to the occupation, affirming their allegiance to Zionism and pledging to fulfill their commitments to it, he explained. 

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Read more: Fighting terrorism in the region is a common mission, Iran, Turkey say

Slamming the hypocrisy of the Western standards of human rights and morality, Sayyed al-Houthi noted that when Zionism is at stake, Westerners suddenly give up on their alleged commitments to human rights, children’s rights, and women’s rights. 

“In the eyes of Europeans and Americans, the Palestinian people do not have a right to confront injustice and defend themselves and their sanctities.”

“For more than a hundred days, the fighters in Gaza have been facing the Israeli death machine. The Americans see that, based on their Zionist commitments, they have a right to support the Israelis while they consider it unacceptable for Palestinians to defend their rights,” he compared. 

Read more: War on Gaza to cost ‘Israel’ about 10% of 2024’s GDP: Central Bank

“The mobilization of the resistance axis from Hezbollah in Lebanon to the resistance in Iraq is a result of their commitments to the oppressed Palestinian people.”

“American leaders, out of a commitment to the Zionist lobby leaders, stand with the occupation, so how can we not stand with the Palestinians? How can we not support the Palestinian people on the front lines in defending their rights and how can we not confront the oppressors and tyrants?”

“Against whom will our nation fight if it does not stand now against this Israeli, American, and British tyranny?”

“If the Yemeni people did not move to support the Palestinian people, it would be a denial of their religious duties.”

Sayyed al-Houthi said that Yemeni support has manifested in the ballistic missile attacks against the occupation and at sea by enforcing a blockade on Israeli navigation. 

“What we do at sea has had a very significant economic impact on the entity. The American-British aggression against our country confirms the effectiveness of what we do at sea in support of the Palestinians.”

Read more: Joint US-UK aggression on Yemen, fourth in less than a week

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Operation Al Aqsa Flood

Hezbollah targets 3 Israeli military sites in occupied Shebaa Farms

8 Oct 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen

Members of Hezbollah pose next to several flags of the Resistance group in a military training site, Janta, Lebanon, on August 19, 2022. (AFP)

By Al Mayadeen English

Hezbollah has announced its responsibility for a simultaneous attack on three Israeli sites in solidarity with the Palestinian Resistance and people.

The Lebanese Resistance Party, Hezbollah, has claimed responsibility for the simultaneous targeting of three Israeli military sites located in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms. 

“On the path of liberating what is left of our occupied Lebanese land and in solidarity with the triumphant Palestinian Resistance and the [persevering] and patient Palestinian people… groups of martyr leader Hajj Imad Mughniyeh, this Sunday morning, corresponding to 8 October 2023, attacked three occupation sites in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms,” the Resistance party said in a statement.

The sites were targeted with large barrages of mortar shells as well as guided missiles, and they are: ar-Radar, Zebdine, and Ruwaisat al-Alam.

The Islamic Resistance in #Lebanon has announced that a large number of artillery shells and guided rockets were used, and the sites were directly hit.

The targeted military sites are ar-Radar, Zebdine, and Ruwaisat al-Alam.#Palestine#Gaza#طوفان_الأقصى#OperationAlAqsaFlood… pic.twitter.com/6TulARxaRV— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 8, 2023

Hezbollah confirmed direct hits on all three sites.

Read more: Hezbollah hails Al-Aqsa Flood, in contact with Palestinian Resistance

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Israeli media outlets reported that the Northern Front, in reference to the area composed of the occupied Palestinian north and occupied Lebanese territories, has now been opened.

Nearby settlers were ordered to move into fortified areas into fortified areas, while resorts were shut down in the area. 

Israeli settlers in the “Metula” settlement heard explosions, as Israeli media outlets confirmed that “there were no injuries in today’s shelling from Lebanon to Israel in the Shebaa Farms area.”

Lebanese media reported that the Israeli occupation forces shelled areas in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army radio confirmed that “the artillery units of the Israeli army fired at the Lebanese area from which” mortar shells and rockets were fired toward military sites.

A spokesperson said the Israeli military is ready for all scenarios and will continue to “protect Israelis”.

Read more: Hezbollah’s precision rockets a grave threat to ‘Israel’: IOF official

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Special coverage | Palestinian resistance bombing settlements up to occupied Jerusalem 2023-10-09
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Israeli raid on Jenin camp kills two, injures 20

19 Sep 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen

An undated photo shows the martyr Mahmoud al-Saadi (L) who was killed by intruding Israeli occupation forces, in the Jenin Refugee Camp, Jenin, the occupied West Bank, Palestine (Social media)

By Al Mayadeen English

The Israeli raid has been met with armed Resistance from Palestinian fighters who have reported direct hits.

The Palestinian Ministry announces two martyrs and 20 injuries as a result of Israeli occupation raid on Jenin.

Palestinian media outlets reported on Tuesday that Resistance fighters confronted an Israeli occupation special forces unit that broke into the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank.

In detail, al-Quds Brigades – Jenin Brigade announced that its fighters discovered a special force that tried to infiltrate the Jenin refugee camp, and they confronted it with heavy fire.

It added that Resistance fighters from its Sapper Unit managed to detonate explosive devices in Israeli vehicles in the camp.

The Qassam Brigades – Jenin Camp said, for its part, that “Resistance fighters targeted an Israeli bulldozer with a powerful explosive device, resulting in confirmed injuries.”

Read more: IOF arrest several in West Bank, including al-Arida’s brother

In the meantime, the Israeli occupation sent additional military reinforcements to raid the Jenin refugee camp as Resistance fighters confronted the intruding forces.

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Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent reported that more than 40 Israeli vehicles crossed through the Jalameh and Salem checkpoints and entered the camp.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli forces stormed Jenin with armored military vehicles and light vehicles.
According to our correspondent, Israeli forces surrounded the home of Mohammad Abu Bahaa, a leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, in the Jenin refugee camp.

Our correspondent also reported that Israeli forces targeted the camp’s central square with a guided missile.

The Resistance forces IOF out of the camp  

The intruding force withdrew from the camp after Palestinian fighters confronted it with heavy fire, dealing direct hits to its units via Improvised Explosive Devices.

This follows a similar event on September 6, where the Jenin Brigade discovered an Israeli special force on the outskirts of the camp, confronting it and disabling one of its vehicles.

During the raid, Israeli occupation forces kidnapped the released prisoner Mohammad Naghnagiyah “Abu Adam,” one of the leaders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin refugee camp, after raiding his home and assaulting him before detaining him.

Read more: IOF arrest senior PIJ official, 12 others across occupied West Bank

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One Israeli settler killed, others injured in shooting in Al-Khalil

Aug 21, 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen

Site of the operation in Al-Khalil in the West Bank, occupied Palestine, on August 21, 2023 (Social media)

By Al Mayadeen English

One of the wounded settlers was described as being in critical condition while Israeli media described the area as being under heavy security surveillance.

One occupation settler was killed and another was critically injured after their car was targeted in a shooting operation in Al-Khalil on Monday, Israeli media reported.

The operation took place in an area under heavy security surveillance, the news outlets added.

Israeli occupation soldiers launched a mass manhunt looking for the individual(s) that carried out the operation after enforcing full closure on the city and its entrances, Israeli media said, adding that helicopters were deployed to the scene to participate in the combing efforts.

Read more: 1,000 Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike in IOF prisons

The new operation dealt yet another mighty blow to the Israeli occupation, as described by Channel 13, linking this operation to the previous shooting near Huwara on Saturday, which led to the death of two settlers.

Resistance operations intensified in recent months following an increase in Israeli deadly aggressions against Palestinians in different parts of the occupied West Bank, most notably the IOF mass-military aggression on Jenin in early July.

Through a series of statements, factions within the Resistance have affirmed that the increased acts of resistance come as a legitimate response to the ongoing Israeli aggression, which is resulting in the killing of Palestinians on an almost daily basis.

Read more: Palestinian man martyred at hands of Israeli occupation forces

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security meeting with opposition leader and former premier Yair Lapid later this afternoon in occupied Al-Quds, reports said.

Drones over Gaza

The Israeli military targeted two drones flying over Gaza between Sunday and Monday, Israeli media reported.

Footage circulating on social media showed the moment an Iron Dome missile targeted the UAV on Sunday, leading to its destruction.

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Martyr, injuries from IOF fire during Jenin raid

August 17, 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen

Palestinian martyr Mustafa Al-Kastouni. (Social media

Palestinian martyr Mustafa Al-Kastouni succumbed to his wounds from occupation fire during an IOF raid into the city of Jenin in the West Bank.

By Al Mayadeen English

The Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, conveyed the heart-wrenching news of a martyr who fell victim to the barrage of bullets unleashed by the Israeli occupation forces during their incursion into the city of Jenin in the West Bank at daybreak. 

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the martyr is Mustafa Al-Kastouni (32 years old), who was declared a martyr after being shot in the head, chest, and stomach by the occupation, during a raid on the city.

The Al-Quds Brigades’ Jenin Brigade mourned Al-Kastouni, one of the Palestinian Resistance fighters of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

The battalion said that the occupation’s plan to storm the city was a failure, stressing that the Resistance’s fighters confronted the occupation forces’ reinforcements, “which later arrived to dismantle and withdraw the special forces.”

The Jenin Brigade had confirmed that its resistance fighters were engaged in “violent clashes” with the occupation forces on the Bayader axis, with “heavy salvos of bullets and explosives.” Moreover, the battalion clashed with special Israeli forces that infiltrated the eastern neighborhood of Jenin.

Read next: Jenin Fury carving new rules of engagement, deterrence in WB: Analysis

In turn, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem confirmed that “the martyrs’ blood that irrigates the land of Jenin will always fuel uprisings and revolutions.”

Qassem stressed that Jenin shall forever stand as the unyielding capital of Resistance, an impregnable fortress safeguarding the indomitable resistance fighters, adding that “it shall not succumb to the heinous machinations of the Zionist adversary, but shall augment its ferocious resolve.”

With unwavering reverence, he saluted the city’s valiant resistance, “an unwavering bulwark that fearlessly confronts the incursions of the abhorrent terrorist Zionist military.” Fueled by unflinching heroism and unparalleled sacrifice, this resistance eternally contends against the invader with unparalleled valor.

Read next: Recap of events in Jenin this week: Resistance snatch landmark victory

The Israeli media, meanwhile, pointed out that the occupation’s political echelon directed the implementation of targeted arrests and operations, despite pressure from the occupation to launch an additional operation, due to the increasing threat the Resistance fighters are posing on the occupation. 

Moreover, the Israeli “Kan” channel reported that two Palestinians were arrested during the raid.

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Palestinian Journalist Seriously Injured as Israeli Army Raids Ramallah (VIDEO)

June 8, 2023

Palestinian photojournalist Momen Samreen was shot in the head while covering the Israeli military raid in Ramallah. (Photo: via WAFA)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that photojournalist Momen Samreen was shot in the head while doing his job and covering the Israeli military raid.

Two journalists were injured early on Thursday after Israeli forces raided the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Israeli and Palestinian media reported.

A large military convoy arrived in downtown Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian government, leading hundreds of Palestinians to gather in the area.

Some Palestinian youth hurled stones at the Israeli forces, who fired live bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas at the crowd, according to eyewitnesses.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least six people were transferred to the hospital for treatment, including two journalists who were injured by Israeli gunfire.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that photojournalist Momen Samreen was shot in the head while doing his job and covering the Israeli military raid.

The Israeli army claimed its forces were operating in Ramallah to demolish the residence of a Palestinian man who allegedly carried out a bombing attack in Jerusalem last November.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 158 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed by Israel since the beginning of the year in the occupied territories and the besieged Gaza Strip.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestine (Weekly Update 01-07 December 2022)

December 8, 2022

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

Two Palestinian civilians were killed, and 18 others, including 3 children, were injured, while dozens of others suffocated in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

On 12 December 2022, ‘Ammar Mefleh (23) was killed after being executed in cold blood when one of the Israeli Border Police officers opened fire at him from a gun on the main street in Huwara village, Nablus. ( Details are available in PCHR’s press release).

On 05 December 2022, ‘Omar Manna’a (23) was killed after IOF opened fire at him and left him to bleed to death during the latter’s incursion into al-Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem. ( Details are available in PCHR’s press release).

Meanwhile, those injured were victims of excessive use of force that accompanied IOF’s incursion into the Palestinian cities and villages, or suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians, and they were as follows:

On 01 December 2022, a Palestinian was wounded in his feet after IOF opened fire at him and then arrested him before taking him to Hadassa Hospital- ‘Ein Kerem in clashes near the annexation wall gate in Beit Duqqo village in East Jerusalem.

On 02 December 2022, 3 Palestinians were wounded with rubber-coated metal bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum peaceful weekly protest, northern Qalqilya.

On 03 December 2022, a Palestinian was wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet during clashes with IOF at the entrance to Qasra village, southern Nablus.

On 06 December 2022, 3 Palestinians were wounded in clashes with IOF near Psagot settlement established on the Palestinian lands of Jabal al-Taweel area, al-Bireh.

In the Gaza Strip, on 04 December 2022, IOF’s warplanes carried out several strikes on an agricultural land in al-Shokah village, Rafah and another in eastern Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, causing damage without reporting any casualties.  . Meanwhile, 8 shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip, and 7 shootings were reported on fishing boats off the western Gaza shore.

So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 180 Palestinians, including 120 civilians: 35 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers and the rest were activists; 18 of them were assassinated. Also, hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children, were wounded in IOF’s attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Moreover, 5 Palestinian detainees, including a woman, died in the Israeli prisons.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished 2 tents used as classrooms and confiscated them with the desks as well as demolishing 4 agricultural rooms and 2 facilities and razing agricultural lands in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 04 December 2022, IOF demolished a tinplate room in western Dura, Hebron, noting that the owner built it only 10 days ago on the rubble of his house that was demolished by IOF for the second time on 06 October 2022. 

IOF also demolished an agricultural room in western Ethna village, Hebron, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On 05 December 2022, IOF demolished a tinplate barrack of 1400 sqms used fot recycling steel and copper scrap in western Ethna, Hebron, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area C.  IOF also demolished a tinplate barrack of 100 sqms used as a livestock barn at the southern entrance to Terqoumia village, Hebron.  On the same day, IOF handed notices to cease construction works in 3 commercial warehouses near the entrance to Beit Rima village, northwestern Ramallah, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area C.

On 07 December 2022, Israeli vehicles razed an agricultural land and destroyed a retaining wall in al-Walajah, Bethlehem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

Since the beginning of 2022, IOF made 137 families homeless, a total of 805 persons, including 158 women and 368 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 154 houses and dozens of residential and agricultural tents. IOF also demolished 109 other civilian objects, leveled vacant areas of land and delivered hundreds of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation.

Settler-attacks on Palestinian civilians and their properties:

Israeli settlers carried out 4 attacks that included demolishing an archeological hotel’s internal walls and assaulting Palestinian vehicles as well as uprooting trees. Details are as follows:

On 02 December 2022, settlers from “Ateret Cohanim” organization destroyed the internal archeological walls of “Little Petra” Hotel, which is part of and annexed to Petra Hotel overlooking ‘Omar Square in Bab al-Khalil area, East Jerusalem, preluding to seize it completely.

On 04 December 2022, settlers backed up by IOF assaulted Palestinian vehicles passing via the western entrance to Huwara village in Nablus and broke the windows of some of them as well as causing damage to their structures.

In the afternoon, 4 settlers assaulted with batons a Palestinian vehicle at Yitsihar settlement intersection in Nablus and broke the front and side windows before the driver could flee away.

On 05 December 2022, settlers uprooted around 30 olive trees and planted forest trees in an agricultural land in Qarawet Bani Hassan, western Salfit.

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 253 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 165 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids and searches of civilian houses and facilities and establishment of checkpoints. During those incursions, 85 Palestinians were arrested, including 14 children and 4 women.

So far in 2022, IOF conducted 8,270 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 4,581 Palestinians were arrested, including 457 children and 49 women. IOF also conducted 34 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 105 Palestinians, including 64 fishermen, 32 infiltrators, and 9 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.

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

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation maintains its illegal and inhuman 15-year closure on the Gaza Strip. Details available in PCHR’s monthly-update in the Gaza crossings.

In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, IOF continues to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 108 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 85 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem arrested a Palestinian at those checkpoints.

On 05 December 2022, IOF closed the entrance to al-Jalazone refugee camp, northern al-Bireh, with cement cubes and remain it closed so far.

On 07 December 2022, IOF reclosed checkpoints and detector gates in East Jerusalem and Bethlehem and later reopened them while keeping restrictions on movement.

So far in 2022, IOF established at least 4,266 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 191 Palestinians at those checkpoints

Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestine ( Weekly )

 December 1, 2022

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

Five Palestinian civilians, including 2 brothers, were killed and 18 others, including 5 children and a paramedic, were injured, while dozens of others suffocated in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

On 29 November 2022, three Palestinian Civilians, including 2 brothers, were killed and 6 others, including 2 children, were injured by IOF fire in the West Bank. The two brothers were killed in Ramallah, while the third civilian succumbed to his injury in Hebron. ( Details are available in PCHR’s press release).

On 29 and 30 November 2022, two Palestinian civilians were killed by IOF fire during the latter’s incursion into Jenin and Ramallah in the West Bank. ( Details are available in PCHR’s press release).

Meanwhile, those injured were victims of excessive use of force that accompanied IOF’s incursion into the Palestinian cities and villages, or suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians, and they were as follows:

On 25 November 2022, three Palestinians, including a child, were shot with rubber-coated bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in northern Qalqilya.

On 29 November 2022, a Palestinian was shot with a live bullet in his foot by IOF while trying to infiltrate through a hole in the annexation wall near Rummanah village in western Jenin, to work in Israel. Also, another Palestinian sustained a rubber bullet injury in his foot during clashes with IOF in Zeita village in Tulkram.

On the same day, six Palestinians, including a paramedic and 2 children, were shot with live and rubber-coated bullets, while dozens of others suffocated during clashes with IOF following the latter’s suppression of the participants in the funeral of Mofeed Ikhlayil, who at dawn succumbed to his injury he sustained the day before by IOF fire.

In the Gaza Strip, 2 shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip, and 2 shootings were reported on fishing boats off the western Gaza shore. The shooting on 24 November 2022 wounded a fisherman with a rubber-coated bullet in his leg off Beit Lahia shore. (Details available in PCHR’s press release.)  

So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 175 Palestinians, including 118 civilians: 35 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers and the rest were activists; 18 of them were assassinated. Also, hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children, were wounded in IOF’s attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Moreover, 5 Palestinian detainees, including a woman, died in the Israeli prisons.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished 4 houses and 4 residential tents, rendering 3 families of 22, including 4 women and 14 children, homeless. Also, IOF demolished 5 economic facilities, razed, and seized a plot of land and confiscated agricultural vehicles in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 26 November 2022, IOF confiscated a bulldozer belonging to Qarawet Bani Hassan Municipality in Salfit while cleaning the sides of the main street and water channels from stones and sand. They also chased the workers while working in various areas in the village.

On 27 November 2022, the Israeli occupation authorities confiscated an excavator and a generator in al-Bowaib village in southern Hebron.

On 28 November 2022, IOF demolished a 120-sqm house in southern Hebron, displacing a family of 7, including 5 children. In the same area, IOF demolished another 105-sqm house, displacing a family of 8, including 6 children. Additionally, IOF demolished a 2-storey house of 170 sqms in Kafr ad-Dik village, west of Salfit.  Moreover, IOF demolished a plant nursery and a stone chain and arrested 3 Palestinian young men in al_Jib village in occupied East Jerusalem.

On the same day, IOF handed a demolition notice to Khashm al-Karam School built of bricks and tinplate a week ago with European funds in eastern Yatta city in Hebron, under the pretext that the construction located in the firing zone (917). The school was built to serve 50 male and female students from the village, who were receiving their education in Hamida School, which is about 6 km away from their houses. Also, IOF distributed a notice to raze a 500-meter-long paved street in Wad al-‘Amayir area in southern Hebron, under the pretext of working without a prior Israeli permission.

On 29 November 2022, IOF demolished a 70-sqm residential barrack in ‘Anata village in occupied East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction, rendering a family of 7, including 2 women and 3 children, homeless. Also, IOF razed a 2-dunum agricultural land (2 dunums) and uprooted olive, citrus and palm trees in Hizma village in occupied East Jerusalem for settlement expansion purposes. It is worth noting that last year the Israeli authorities announced the confiscation of 13 dunums from Hizma village’s lands to build a new settlement road (one kilometer long and 16 meters wide), including the land mentioned above.

On 30 November 2022, IOF demolished 4 residential tents and 4 livestock barns in eastern Aqraba village in Nablus, under the pretext of illegal construction in Area C.

Since the beginning of 2022, IOF made 137 families homeless, a total of 805 persons, including 158 women and 368 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 154 houses and dozens of residential and agricultural tents. IOF also demolished 107 other civilian objects, leveled vacant areas of land and delivered dozens of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation.

Settler-attacks on Palestinian civilians and their properties:

On 24 November 2022, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles travelling on Yitzhar Bypass Road, southeast of Nablus, with stones and sticks, causing material damage to two vehicles.

On 29 November 2022, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles traveling on Road (90), northeast of Ramallah, wounding a Palestinian and damaging two vehicles.

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 249 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 181 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids and searches of civilian houses and facilities and establishment of checkpoints. During those incursions, 54 Palestinians were arrested, including 4 children and a journalist. In the Gaza Strip, on 27 November 2022, Israeli naval forces arrested 6 fishermen on board of 2 fishing boats off Gaza shore and confiscated the fishing boats. The fishermen were released later. (Details available in PCHR’s press release)

So far in 2022, IOF conducted 8094 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 4496 Palestinians were arrested, including 443 children and 45 women. IOF also conducted 34 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 105 Palestinians, including 64 fishermen, 32 infiltrators, and 9 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.

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

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation maintains its illegal and inhuman 15-year closure on the Gaza Strip. Details available in PCHR’s monthly-update in the Gaza crossings.

In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, IOF continues to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 108 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 92 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem arrested 5 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

So far in 2022, IOF established at least 4181 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 190 Palestinians at those checkpoints

Whom Did Hezbollah Defeat?!

November 30, 2022

By Al-Ahed News

Whom Did Hezbollah Defeat?!

Crime Amounting to Extra-judicial Execution: IOF Kill Palestinian after Wounding Him and Neutralizing Any Threats in Occupied East Jerusalem

Date: 09 March 2022

Ref: 27/2022

Time: 09:25 GMT

On Monday, in a crime amounting to extrajudicial execution, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) shot and killed a Palestinian male, who stabbed two Israeli police officers in occupied East Jerusalem; even though IOF had shot and wounded him, neutralizing any threats he proposed. Data collected by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and footage that documented the incident showed that one of the Israeli police officers fired a live bullet from zero distance at a Palestinian male, despite that he was wounded and had fallen to the  ground. This is the 3rd Palestinian killed in Jerusalem within two days; one of them was a child and the other was killed after carrying out a stabbing attack.

According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 17: 35 on Monday, 07 March 2022, a Palestinian male arrived at a military checkpoint established on the stairs of Bab al-Qataneen, one of al-Aqsa Mosque’s gates in occupied East Jerusalem. He took a knife out and assaulted two Israeli police officers present in the area, wounding them. Afterwards, an Israeli police officer immediately opened fire at the Palestinian. As a result, he sustained several live bullets wounds and fell on the market’s stairs.  Despite wounding him and neutralizing any threats he proposed, the officer continued to fire several bullets at him, wounding him with a live bullet from zero distance. A footage documented that Israeli police officer cursed the attacker and loudly shouted at him after he was wounded and fallen on the ground. During which, a police officer fired a live bullet from his pistol at the wounded from the zero distance.  

After that, backup police officers rushed to the scene ad only provide first aid to the wounded officers while the Palestinian was left on the stairs. Also, they prevented the ambulance crews from reaching him to provide any help. He bled to death before transferring his body and keeping it under custody. The victim’s identity was later confirmed as ‘Abed al-Rahman Jamal Qasem (22), from Jifna village in Ramallah.

The Israeli police said in a statement that: ” the attacker came from Palestinian areas through Bab al-Qataneen in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. He has had a knife and stabbed two Israeli police officers present in the area. The officer opened fire at him and neutralized him. He was pronounced dead later.”

This crime brings back to memory many cold-blooded murders against Palestinians by IOF, whether by targeting and killing the wounded, killing on grounds of suspicion, or killing without presence of any threat or danger to soldiers’ lives.

As these crimes continue with the full support of the Israeli government, it suggests that a high-level political office authorized these murder crimes that amount to extrajudicial execution. It is also another proof that the absence of accountability and the complicit silence of the international community encourages the occupation to commit more crimes.

PCHR demands the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to ensure Israel abidance, as a Member State, to the application of the Conventions in the occupied Palestinian territory.

PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to fulfill their obligations to ensure respect to the Conventions and to take practical steps towards holing Israeli war criminals accountable by ending the impunity enjoyed by the occupation for many decades.

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Why is Israel Amending Its Open-Fire Policy: Three Possible Answers

December 29, 2021

Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. (Photo: UNRWA)

By Ramzy Baroud

At the outset, the Israeli military decision to revise its open-fire policies in the occupied West Bank seems puzzling. What would be the logic of giving Israeli soldiers the space to shoot more Palestinians when existing army manuals had already granted them near-total immunity and little legal accountability?

The military’s new rules now allow Isreali soldiers to shoot, even kill, fleeing Palestinian youngsters with live ammunition for allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli ‘civilian’ cars. This also applies to situations where the alleged Palestinian ‘attackers’ are not holding rocks at the time of the shooting.

The reference to ‘civilians’ in the revised army manual applies to armed Israeli Jewish settlers who have colonized the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in defiance of international law and Palestinian sovereignty. These settlers, who often operate as paramilitary forces in direct coordination with the Israeli army, endanger the lives of their own families by residing on occupied Palestinian land. Per Israel’s twisted standards, these violent Israelis, who have killed and wounded numerous Palestinians throughout the years, are ‘civilians’ in need of protection from rock-throwing Palestinian ‘assailants’.

In Israel, throwing rocks is a “serious crime” and Palestinians who throw rocks are “criminals”, according to Liron Libman, Israel’s former chief military prosecutor, commenting on the new rules. For Israelis, there is little disagreement on these assertions, even by those who are questioning the legality of the new rules. The point of contention, according to Libman and others, is that “a person who is fleeing does not present a threat,” though, according to Libman himself, “the new policy could potentially be justified,” The Times of Israel reported.

The ‘debate’ on the new open-fire policy in Israeli media, gives one the false impression that something fundamental has changed in the Israeli army’s relationship with occupied Palestinians. This is not the case at all. There are numerous, daily examples in which Palestinians, including children, are shot and killed with impunity, whether throwing rocks or not, going to school or merely protesting the illegal confiscation of their land by the Israeli military or armed settlers.

In the Palestinian village of Beita, in the northern occupied West Bank, eight unarmed Palestinians have been killed since May. This small village has been the scene of regular demonstrations against Jewish settlement expansion and against the illegal settlement outpost of Eviatar, in the Palestinian rural area of Mount Sabih. The victims include Muhammad Ali Khabisa, the 28-year-old father of an eight-month-old child, who was shot dead last September.

Though the new rules have placed much emphasis on the status of the supposed Israeli victims, labeling them ‘civilians’, in practice, the Israeli military has used the exact same standard to shoot, maim and kill Palestinian alleged rock-throwers, even when armed settlers are not present.

A famous case, in 2015, involved the killing of a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager, Mohammad Kosba, at the hands of an Israeli army colonel, Yisrael Shomer. The latter alleged that Kosba had thrown a rock at his car. Subsequently, Shomer chased down the Palestinian teenager and shot him in the back, killing him.

The Israeli officer was “censored” for his conduct, not for killing the boy, but for not stopping “in order to aim properly,” according to The Times of Israel. The Israeli military chief prosecutor at the time concluded that “Shomer’s use of deadly force under the framework of the arrest protocol was justified from the circumstances of the incident.”

Israel’s disregard of international law in its targeting of Palestinians is not a secret. Israeli and international human rights groups have repeatedly condemned the Israeli army’s inhumane and barbaric behavior in the occupied territories.

In an extensive report as early as 2014, Amnesty International condemned Israel’s “callous disregard for human life by killing dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children, in the occupied West Bank” over the years. AI said that such killings had taken place “with near total impunity.”

“The frequency and persistence of arbitrary and abusive force against peaceful protesters in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and police officers – and the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators – suggests that it is carried out as a matter of policy,” the Amnesty report read.

Even Israel’s own rights group, B’tselem, concurs. The organization decried the Israeli army’s “shoot-to-kill policy”, which is also applied to “people who have already been ‘neutralized’”. Indeed, in the case of Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, a Palestinian man who was shot point-blank in Al-Khalil (Hebron), by an Israeli military medic, Elor Azaria, in 2016, was not only ‘neutralized’ but also unconscious.

According to B’tselem, Israeli “soldiers and police officers have become judge, jury and executioner”. With this tragic and sinister trajectory in mind, one is left to wonder why the Israeli army would amend its open-fire policy at this particular moment. There are three possible answers:

One, the Israeli government and army are anticipating a surge in Palestinian popular resistance in the coming months, possibly as a result of the massive expansion of illegal settlements and forced evictions in occupied East Jerusalem.

Two, by perfectly aligning the existing open-fire policy with the aggressive shoot-to-kill military practice already in place, Israeli courts would no longer have to contend with any legal repercussions for killing Palestinians, including children, regardless of the circumstances of their murders.

Finally, the revised rules would allow Israel to make a case for itself in response to the open investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC), concerning human rights violations and war crimes in occupied Palestine. Israel’s Attorney General will now argue that no war crimes are taking place in Palestine since the killing of Palestinians is consistent with Israel’s own military conduct and judicial system. Since the ICC is investigating alleged war criminals, not the government itself, Israel hopes that it can spare its own murderers from having to contend with the legal expectations of the Court.

Though the timing of the Israeli military decision to amend its open-fire policy may appear sudden and without much context, the decision is still ominous, nonetheless. When a country’s military decides that shooting a child in the back without any proof that the alleged ‘criminal’ posed any danger whatsoever is a legal act, the international community must take notice.

It is true that Israel operates outside the minimum standards of international and humanitarian laws, but it is the responsibility of the international community to protect Palestinians, whose lives remain precious even if Israel disagrees.

Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website iswww.ramzybaroud.net

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