Israeli Aggression on Gaza Strip, May 2023 (Daily Update: 13 May 2023),

2 Palestinians Killed, and 10 Houses and 1 Apartment Bombed in Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Strip, Death Toll Rises to 33, including 4 Women and 6 Children

Ref: 56/2023

Date: 13 May 2023

Time: 15:30 GMT

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue their widescale aggression on the Gaza Strip, which began at dawn on Tuesday, 09 May 2023. After the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a previous press release, IOF warplanes conducted more airstrikes on residential houses, agricultural lands, sites of the Palestinian armed groups, and others. As a result, 2 members of the Palestinian armed groups were killed, and other Palestinians were wounded. Thus, the death toll since the Israeli aggression started has risen to 33, including 15 civilians, amongst them 6 children and 4 women. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the number of injuries has risen to 147, including 48 children, 26 women and 10 elderlies. Also, 10 residential houses and a residential apartment were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, bringing the number of targeted houses and apartments to 24, including 22 completely destroyed. Moreover, a hospital and a healthcare center sustained damage due to nearby airstrikes.

This comes at a time the humanitarian crisis and disruption of public life exacerbate, as schools have been closed and fishing at Gaza Sear has been suspended for the fourth consecutive day, leaving 3500 fishermen without a source of income. Also, due to closure of crossings, movement of Gaza imports and exports has stopped, including the entry of fuel needed for the operation of Gaza Power Plant that is about to run out, forcing the Plant’s administration to turn off one of the three turbines to prolong its working hours and implying that the plant will totally shut down within 72 hours.

The following are the most significant developments:

12 May 2023

At 14:15: IOF warplanes bombed and completely destroyed Sameer Taha’s 2-storey house of 3 apartments in Jablia.

Around the same time, IOF warplanes launched 2 missiles at Ahmed al-Hashash’s asbestos house in northern Rafah. As a result, al-Hashash’s house was completely destroyed in addition to 3 other asbestos houses while a person was injured. 

At 15:55: IOF warplanes bombed and completely destroyed Kamal Abu Tair’s 3-storey house of 5 apartments in ‘Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis.

At 16:20: Eyad al-‘Abed al-Hasani (51), a commander of Al-Quds Brigades, and his Deputy, Mohammed Waleed ‘Abed al-‘Aal (33) were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment on the 5^th floor of a building in al-Nasser neighborhood in western Gaza City. As a result, the apartment was destroyed and 5 Palestinians, including 2 children, were injured. IOF announced that IOF and Shin Bet (Shabak) killed in a joint targeted operation Eyad al-Hasani, head of the Palestinian Islamic ‘s (PIJ) operations unit at, along with another operative.

Around the same time, IOF warplanes launched 2 missiles at Hussain Ma’rouf’s 3-storey house of 4 apartments in Beit Lahia, destroying it completely. 

At 20:30: IOF warplanes bombed and completely destroyed a 5-storey house belonging to Mohammad Yassin in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood.

At 20:35: IOF warplanes launched two missiles at a house belonging to Yehya Abo ‘Obeid behind the southern side of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah.  As a result, the house was completely destroyed while the Hospital sustained partial damage as well as the Ministry of Health (MOH)’s Ambulance and Emergency building, that is 100 meters away from it. Also, 10 Palestinians, including 2 children and 4 women, were injured; among them three were injured inside the hospital, including an ill child.

Moreover, as a result of recurrent airstrikes on nearby lands, MOH’s Muscat Primary HealthCare Center sustained partial damage.  The Center is comprised of 2 floors and a basement on an area of 1500 sqm and houses other departments including South Central Ambulance Department serving the Rafah and Khan Yunis areas and is located in Gizan Al-Najjar area. MOH has also announced the evacuation of the ambulance station and referring all its services to Nasser Medical Complex, following the damage inflicted to the Center and breakdown of the communications network.

13 May 2022:

At 01:30: IOF warplanes bombed a 3-storey house belonging to Salim Hasan Abu Al-‘Ata in eastern Shuja’iyya neighborhood, east of Gaza, extensively destroying two floors, and injuring one person.

At 03:00: IOF warplanes bombed and completely destroyed a 5-storey house belonging to Hazem Muhanna on Yarmouk Street, north of Gaza City.

At 10:05: IOF warplanes launched 2 missiles at a 3-storey house belonging to Faraj Banat housing 3 apartments near Beit Lahiya roundabout. As a result, 2 women were injured, and the house was completely destroyed.

At 11:45: IOF warplanes launched two missiles at a 3-storey house belonging to Al-Za’anin family and housing 6 apartments in Beit Hanoun. As a result, the house was completely destroyed.

PCHR strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip and warns of any further losses of civilian life and damage to civilian property, urging the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take serious action into the situation of Palestine.

PCHR reiterates its call upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfil their obligations as per Common Article 1 of the Convention, “undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances,” and their obligations under Article 146 of the same Conventions, i.e., to hold accountable persons accused of committing grave breaches of the Convention.

European Diplomats Visit Palestinian School at Risk of IsraelI Demolition

April 27, 2023

The Jubbet Adh Dhib school near Bethlehem is threatened with demolition by Israeli authorities. (Photo: via UK in Jerusalem Twitter page)

European diplomats visited a Palestinian school at risk of Israeli demolition in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, The New Arab reported.

The British Consulate in Jerusalem said it had joined other missions at the Jubbet Al-Dhib school near Bethlehem, noting that the school is one of 58 in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that is threatened with demolition.

“We urge Israel to reverse the demolition order and protect the right to education for all,” the consulate tweeted.

The EU Delegation to the Palestinians said about 70 children in the first to fourth grades would be impacted and lose the chance to attend school if the demolition goes ahead.

“Such demolitions should not take place,” the mission said on Twitter.

“The EU remains concerned at the continued humanitarian suffering of such actions to Palestinians.”

The Irish mission in Ramallah tweeted that Israel “must safeguard access to children’s education” in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The Society of St. Yves Catholic rights group said it brought the diplomats up to speed on news concerning the school, with pupils urging them to save it from demolition, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Ramzy Baroud: Palestinians’ battle for education is pivotal to their fight for freedom https://t.co/HPebOlcgQL pic.twitter.com/so4RsJJQEJ

— IMEU (@theIMEU) October 23, 2018

The rights group said “We need to do everything” to prevent the school’s demolition and “guarantee Palestinians’ right to education”.

It also urged greater advocacy and the release of statements urging a stop to school demolitions, calling for international presence at schools threatened with demolition.

The visit comes after the general secretaries of eight British and Irish trade unions last month “urged the Israeli government immediately to call a halt” to the demolition of the Jubbet Al-Dhib school and other planned West Bank school demolitions.

(The New Arab, PC)

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Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Palestine (Weekly Update 16 – 22 March 2023)

 March 23, 2023

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

5 Palestinians, including 3 civilians; one of them was a child, were killed, while 42 others were wounded, and dozens of others suffocated in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 16 March 2023, an Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Special Force killed 4 Palestinians, including 2 members of the Palestinian armed groups who were directly shot and assassinated in cold blood as part of IOF’s crimes of extra-juridical executions.  Of those killed, two civilians, including a child, were killed in a random shooting by the Israeli Special Force that have also injured 23 Palestinians, including 4 in serious condition. (Details available at PCHR’s press release).

On 17 March 2023, Yazan ‘Omar Khasib (23), was deliberately and directly shot dead by IOF near al-Mahkama military checkpoint at the northern entrance to al-Bireh, claiming that he attempted to carry out a stabbing attack using a knife, but there was no Palestinian eyewitness to the incident. Khasib was a student at Birzeit University in Ramallah, and IOF kept his body in their custody to be handed later in the evening. He was transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah where it was found out that he was shot with 2 bullets in the neck and the chest.

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

On 17 March 2023, 8 Palestinians, including a child, were injured with rubber-coated metal bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in northern Qalqilya.

On the same day, 8 Palestinians, including 3 children, were wounded with live and metal bullets during clashes with IOF at the entrance to Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, where IOF established a military observation point at the intersection leading to Bypass Road (60).

On 18 March 2023, a child was wounded with a live bullet in the left leg unjustifiably by IOF nearby Faqqu’a cemetery in Jenin, about 200 meters away from the annexational wall.

On the same day, a girl sustained a fracture in left ankle after being unjustifiably kicked by an Israeli soldier when she was detained with her family in their agricultural land in southeastern Yatta in Hebron.

On 22 March 2023, dozens of Palestinians, including patients and newborns, suffocated after IOF fired tear gas canister during the latter’s incursion into the vicinity of the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. IOF also opened fire enticing fear among patients, women, and children.

On the same day, 2 Palestinian, including a photojournalist, were wounded with IOF’s fire during their incursion into the city of Jericho. Before withdrawing, IOF arrested 4 Palestinians, including a child.

In the Gaza Strip, 6 IOF shootings were reported on agricultural lands, and 3 shootings were reported on fishing boats off the Gaza western Gaza shores).

”

So far in 2023, IOF attacks killed 87 Palestinians, including 45 civilians; 15 of them were children, a woman, and the rest were members of the Palestinian armed groups, including 2 children, 6 killed by settlers, and one died in Israeli prisons. Meanwhile, 391 Palestinians, including 51 children, 2 women and 10 journalists, were injured.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished 3 houses and handed notices to demolish and cease construction work in 8 houses and facilities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, rendering two families of 11, homeless. Details are as follows:

On 16 March 2023, IOF demolished a 35-sqm under-construction house in Deir ‘Ammar in Ramallah under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On 18 March 2023, IOF demolished two residential houses built of wood and tin, with an area of 100-sqms each, in Al-Za’im village in East Jerusalem, displacing 2 families of 11.

On 21 March 2023, IOF handed notices to cease construction works in 8 houses, agricultural rooms, and commercial facilities in Deir Ballut village, west of Salfit, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area (C).

”

Since the beginning of 2023, IOF made 64 families homeless, a total of 406 persons, including 81 women and 183 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 66 houses; 16 were forcibly self-demolished by their owners and 6 were demolished on grounds of collective punishment. IOF also demolished 56 other civilian objects, razed other property, and delivered dozens of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Settler-attacks and retaliatory attacks

Settlers carried out 8 attacks on Palestinians and their property in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, most notably a raid on a church and attempting to vandalize its contents. Details are as follows:

On 16 March 2023, a Palestinian was injured after being beaten and pepper-sprayed by settler in Khirbet al-Tuba in Masafer Yatta in Hebron. This attack came after the Palestinian attempted to prevent the settler, who came from the “Hafat Ma’on” settlement outpost, established on the Palestinian lands, from sheep-grazing in the Palestinian’s agricultural land in the area.

On 17 March 2023, settlers from the “Beitar Illit” settlement established on the Palestinian lands cut about 50 fruitful and old olive trees in the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem. The settlers also destroyed barbed wires and stone chains surrounding a 5-dunum plot of land.

On 19 March 2023, settlers, from “Yitzhar” settlement, established on the Palestinian lands, south of Nablus, attacked Palestinian vehicles passing through Al-Muraba’a Road towards Maadama Gate, southeast of Nablus. As a result, the front, rear and right-side windows of a Palestinian vehicles were broken. The attack took place amid a shooting that resulted in the injury of two settlers in Huwara village, southeast of Nablus.

On the same day, two settlers raided the Church of the Tomb of Virgin Mary in East Jerusalem and attempted to vandalize it. The Jerusalem governorate reported that the two settlers broke into the church and tried to vandalize its contents. However, a Palestinian confronted the settlers and arrested one of them while the other fled away.

Settlers also threw stones at a number of vehicles at the entrance to Beitin village, east of Ramallah, smashing the windows of many of them.

On 20 March 2023, settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles and damaged them on Al-Ma’rajat road, west of Jericho.  As a result, some of them sustained damage while a Palestinian sustained injury and his wife fainted.

On 21 March 2023, settlers slashed the tires of Palestinian vehicles and wrote racist slogans in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

On 22 March 2023, a Palestinian woman sustained bruises after settlers attacked the Palestinian tents in Khirbet Al-Farisiya in the northern Jordan Valley.

”

Since the beginning of the year, settlers have conducted at least 157 attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property. As a result, 6 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others were injured; most of them after being beaten and thrown with stones. Also, dozens of houses, vehicles and civilian facilities were set ablaze.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 218 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, 102 Palestinians were arrested, including 8 children. In the Gaza Strip, IOF arrested 4 Palestinians, including 2 children while trying to infiltrate east of Al-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on 15 March 2023, and the other two were arrested at Beit Hanoun “Erez” checkpoint, including a patient who was arrested on his way back to Gaza from treatment. (Details available at PCHR’s press release).

”

So far in 2023, IOF conducted 2,392 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 1162 Palestinians were arrested, including 20 women and 148 children. Also, IOF arrested 23 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip: 6 were fishermen and 14 were trying to infiltrate into Israel, and 3 travelers at Erez Crossing. IOF also conducted 9 incursions.

Closure of Jerusalem institutions

On 20 March 2023, the Israeli authorities hanged a decision signed by the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, at Marcel Company for production and media services in Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem. Also, they summoned 5 journalists for investigation on grounds of working for Palestine TV upon Ben-Gvir’s decision to close the Voice of Palestine Radio Station offices, an official Palestinian Authority (PA) channel, and ban their representatives from operating and broadcasting in occupied Jerusalem and Israel for six months. (Details available at PCHR’s press release.)

Israeli closure and restrictions on freedom of movement:

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 continue to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 110 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 127 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 3 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

On 17 March 2023, IOF closed many streets in East Jerusalem, under the pretext of securing a marathon organized by the Israeli Occupation Municipality with hundreds of Israelis participating in it. The closure reached ten of streets from north of Jerusalem (French Hill and Sheikh Jarrah) and all the way to the south (Jerusalem-Hebron Street), including Al-Musrara neighborhood, Hebron Gate, Al-Jadeed Gate, and Jaffa Street, amid heavy deployment of the IOF on the roads, under the pretext of securing the 2023 Jerusalem Marathon.

On 19 March 2023, IOF closed the iron detector gate at the entrance to Nabi Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah.

”

So far in 2023, IOF established 1453 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 63 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

Ahead of Ramadan: Over 20,000 Leaflets Distributed to Urge Boycott of Israeli Dates in UK

March 17, 2023

Over 20,000 leaflets were distributed at mosques across the UK to call on Muslims to boycott Israeli dates. (Photo: FoA, Supplied)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

On the last Friday before Ramadan, over 20,000 leaflets were distributed at mosques across the UK, in an effort to urge Muslims to boycott Israeli dates during the holy month of Ramadan.

This is part of the Check the Label Campaign, promoted by the UK-based Friends of Al-Aqsa organization. 

“Running since the early 2010s, #CheckTheLabel has had an unprecedented impact on the British public’s understanding of the connection between the products they buy and Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine,” FoA said in a statement, adding that: 

“Many individuals have become ethical consumers who avoid buying Israeli produce as a result of this campaign.”

“This Ramadan, it’s more important than ever that we boycott Israel,” said Shamiul Joarder, Head of Public Affairs at FOA. 

“By checking the label and avoiding Israeli dates, we can send a clear message: we won’t give our money to an apartheid state that breaks international law and kills Palestinian children”.

Israel has killed at least 88 Palestinians since the beginning of the year, including 16 children, in the occupied West Bank.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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Israeli Forces Kill Four Palestinians, Including Child, in Jenin (VIDEO)

March 16, 2023

Omar Awadin, 16, is among the four Palestinians killed by Isreali undercover forces in Jenin. (Photo: via Social Media)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

Undercover Israeli occupation forces on Thursday killed four Palestinians, including a child in the city of Jenin, north of the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The Ministry said in a statement that four Palestinians were killed by undercover Israeli occupation soldiers who broke into downtown Jenin.

In broad daylight, lsraeli undercover force infiltrates into Jenin and fatally shoots two Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/fzZZRX1yyh

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) March 16, 2023

The four Palestinians killed by Israeli forces were identified as Nedal Khazem, 28, Omar Awadin, 16, Yousef Khreim, 29, and Louay Khalil Al-Zughair, 37.

The Ministry added that over 20 Palestinians were injured, including five minors and four who are reported in critical condition.

Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces have killed at least 88 Palestinians, including 16 children, in the occupied West Bank.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

• Four Palestinians, Including Minor, Martyred in Latest ‘Israeli’ Raid on Jenin

Victory is Defeat: Palestinian Children’s Art Exposes Israel’s Cultural Genocide

March 8, 2023

Palestinian children’s art was removed from a London hospital. (Photo: via WarmongerHodges TW Page)

– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak out”. Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net

By Ramzy Baroud

The following text tells the whole story of what pro-Palestinian communities around the world are fighting for, and what pro-Israelis are fighting against: “We are delighted to report that Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has removed a display of artwork designed by children from Gaza.”

That was the summary of a news report published on the homepage of the pro-Israel group, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI). The group is credited for being the party that managed to successfully persuade the administration of a hospital in West London to take down a few pieces of artwork created by refugee children from Gaza.

Explaining the logic behind their relentless campaign to remove the children’s art, UKLFI said that “Jewish patients” in the hospital “felt vulnerable and victimized by the display”. The few pieces of artwork were those of the Dome of the Rock in occupied East Jerusalem, the Palestinian flag and other symbols that should hardly victimize anyone.

The UKLFI article was later edited, with the offensive summary removed, although it is still accessible via social media.

As ridiculous as this story sounds, it is, in fact, the very essence of the anti-Palestinian campaign launched by Israel and its allies worldwide. While Palestinians are fighting for basic human rights, freedom and sovereignty as enshrined in international law, the pro-Israel camp is fighting for a total and complete erasure of everything Palestinian.

Some call this cultural genocide or ethnocide. While Palestinians have been familiar with this Israeli practice in Palestine since the very inception of the state of Israel, the boundaries of the war have been expanded to reach anywhere in the world, especially in the western hemisphere.

The inhumanity of UKLFI and their allies is quite palpable, but the group cannot be the only party deserving blame. Those lawyers are but a continuation of an Israeli colonial culture that sees the very existence of a Palestinian people with a political discourse, including children refugees’ art, as an ‘existential threat’ to Israel.

The relationship between the very existence of a country and children’s art may seem absurd – and it is – but it has its own, albeit strange, logic: as long as these refugee children recognize themselves as Palestinian, as long as they will continue to count as part of a larger whole, the Palestinian people. This self-awareness, and the recognition by others – for example, patients and staff at a London hospital – of this collective Palestinian identity, makes it difficult, in fact, impossible, for Israel to win.

For Palestinians and Israelis, victory means two entirely different things, which cannot be consolidated. For Palestinians, victory means freedom for the Palestinian people and equality for all. For Israel, victory can only be achieved through the erasure of Palestinians – geographically, historically, culturally and in every way that could be part of a people’s identity.

Sadly, the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is now an active participant in this tragic erasure of the Palestinians, the same way that Virgin Airlines bowed to pressure in 2018 when it agreed to remove “Palestinian-inspired couscous” off its menu. At the time, this story appeared as if it was a strange episode in the so-called ‘Palestinian-Israeli conflict’, though, in reality, the story represented the very core of this ‘conflict’.

For Israel, the war in Palestine revolved around three basic tasks: acquiring land; erasing the people and rewriting history.

The first task has been largely achieved through a process of ethnic cleansing and unhinged colonization of Palestine since 1947-48. The current right-wing extremist government of Benjamin Netanyahu is only hoping to finalize this process.

The second task involves more than ethnic cleansing, because even the mere awareness of Palestinians, wherever they are, of their collective identity, constitutes a problem. Thus, the active process of cultural genocide.

Though Israel has succeeded in rewriting history for many years, that task is now being challenged, thanks to the tenacity of Palestinians and their allies, and the power of social and digital media.

Palestinians are arguably the greatest beneficiary of the rise of digital media. The latter has contributed to the decentralization of political and even historical narratives. For decades, the popular understanding of what constitutes ‘Israel’ and ‘Palestine’ in mainstream imagination was largely controlled through a specific Israeli-sanctioned narrative. Those who deviated from this narrative were attacked and marginalized, and almost always accused of ‘antisemitism’. While these tactics are still unleashed at critics of Israel, the outcome is no longer guaranteed.

For example, a single tweet exposing the ‘delight’ of UKLFI has received over 2 million views on Twitter. Millions of outraged Brits and social media users around the world have turned what was meant to be a local story into one of the most discussed topics, worldwide, on Palestine and Israel. Expectedly, not many social media users took part in the ‘delight’ of the UKLFI, thus forcing them to reword their original article. More importantly, millions of people have, in a single day, been introduced to a whole new topic on Palestine and Israel: that of cultural erasure. The ‘victory’ has turned into a complete embarrassment, let alone defeat.

Thanks to the growing popularity of the Palestinian cause and the impact of social media, initial Israeli victories almost always backfire. A more recent example is the dismissal and the quick reinstatement of the former Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth.

In January, Roth’s fellowship at Harvard University’s Kennedy School was revoked due to the recent HRW report that defines Israel as an apartheid regime. A major campaign, which was started by small alternative media organizations, resulted in the reinstatement of Roth within days. This, and other cases, demonstrates that criticizing Israel is no longer a career-ender, as was often the case in the past.

Israel continues to employ old tactics to control the conversation on the Israeli occupation of Palestine. It is failing because those traditional tactics can no longer work in a modern world in which access to information is decentralized, and where no amount of censorship can control the conversation.

For Palestinians, this new reality is an opportunity to widen their circle of support around the world. For Israel, the mission is a precarious one, especially when initial victories could, in hours, become utter defeats.

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Israeli Human Rights Violations in Palestine (Weekly Update 02 – 08 February 2023)

February 9, 2023

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

7 Palestinians, including 2 civilians; one of them was a child, were killed, and 22 others were injured by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) fire.  Meanwhile, dozens of others suffocated in IOF attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 03 February 2023, Abdullah Sameh Ahmad Qalaloh (26) was shot dead with 4 live bullets directly fired by IOF at him as soon as he got out of a taxi in front of Huwara military checkpoint, south of Nablus. The Israeli media cited IOF that the soldiers shot and killed Qalaloh allegedly after he tried to snatch a soldier’s weapon, but it later turned out that he was unarmed.

On 06 February 2023, IOF raided Jericho to arrest allegedly “wanted” Palestinians.  They surrounded a wooden hut next to a house on Al-Quds Street and killed 5 members of the Palestinian armed groups during armed clashes.  IOF detained their bodies and arrested 2 others. During the raid, a number of young men gathered and threw stones at IOF, who fired live bullets at them, injuring a Palestinian with a live bullet in the head. Before withdrawing, IOF arrested a Palestinian after injuring him with a live bullet in the abdomen.

On 07 February 2023, Hamza Amjad Al-Ashqar (17) was killed with a live bullet in the face fired by IOF during clashes that accompanied the raid on ‘Askar refugee camp in Nablus. Before withdrawing, IOF arrested 3 Palestinians.

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

On 03 February 2023, 3 Palestinians were wounded with rubber-coated metal bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum peaceful weekly protest, northern Qalqilya.

On 04 February 2023, 13 Palestinians were wounded with live and rubber-coated metal bullets during clashes after IOF’s incursion into ‘Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, south of Jericho. Before their withdrawal, IOF arrested 18 Palestinians, and released them at a later time except for 2 Palestinians.

On 08/02/2023, 4 members of the Palestinian armed groups were injured during armed clashes with IOF, after the latter raided Nablus to secure the settlers’ entry into Joseph Tomb.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF warplanes carried out an airstrike on 02 February 2023 on a Palestinian armed group site, west of Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central governorate, causing damage but no injuries were reported. Also, 7 IOF shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip, and 3 shootings were reported on fishing boats off the Western Gaza shores.

”

So far in 2023, IOF attacks killed 43 Palestinians, including 19 civilians; 7 of them were children, and the rest were members of the Palestinian armed groups, including a child, while 3 were killed by settlers allegedly for carrying out shooting and stabbing attacks. Meanwhile, dozens were injured in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF displaced 2 families of 22, including 12 children and 6 women, after demolishing 3 houses, 3 civilian objects and agricultural rooms, razing agricultural lands and handing land confiscation notices in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 02 February 2023, IOF demolished a 250-sqm house in Douma village in Nablus, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area C, displacing a family of 14, including 4 women and 8 children.

In the same area, IOF demolished a 150-sqm agricultural house, a water well, and two 230-sqm animal barns.

Also, on the same day, IOF delivered a notice to the heirs of a Palestinian to confiscate a 45-dunum plot of land in Deir Istiya village, northwest of Salfit.

On 04 February 2023, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolish his 90-sqm house in Jabel Mukaber in East Jerusalem under the pretext of unlicensed construction. As a result, a family of 8, including 2 women and 4 children, was displaced.

On 06 February 2023, IOF razed hundreds of dunums planted with old olive trees in Marda village, north of Salfit, in favor of a project implemented by Mekorot “National Water Company of Israel” to supply settlements with water.

On 07 February 2023, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolish two 100-sqm agricultural rooms built of bricks and tinplate and used for breeding horses and poultry in Al-Thawri neighborhood in East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On the same day, IOF demolished a 30-sqm agricultural house built of bricks and tinplate in Al-Thawri neighborhood in East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

”

Since the beginning of 2023, IOF made 33 families homeless, a total of 229 persons, including 43 women and 108 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 34 houses; 6 were forcibly self-demolished by their owners and 3 were demolished on grounds of collective punishment. IOF also demolished 39 other civilian objects, razed other property, and delivered dozens of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Settler-attacks

On 02 February 2023, a settler broke into the “Prison of Christ” Church in East Jerusalem’s Old City, broke part of a large statue of Christ with a hammer and attempted to set the church on fire before the guards were able to stop him.

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 30 attacks against civilian Palestinians and their property.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 192 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, 128 Palestinians were arrested, including a journalist, 6 children and 3 women; one of them was a female school principal in East Jerusalem.  In the Gaza Strip, IOF arrested 2 Palestinians while trying to infiltrate via the border fence adjacent to eastern Gaza Strip on 05 February 2023.

”

So far in 2023, IOF conducted 1449 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 638 Palestinians were arrested, including 11 women and 61 children.

Israeli closure and restrictions on freedom of movement:

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 continue to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 110 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 116 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, arrested 6 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

On 02 February 2023, IOF closed Beit Iksa military checkpoint, northwest of East Jerusalem, and later reopened it.

”

So far in 2023, IOF established 812 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 37 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

‘Israel’ cracks down on Palestinian female prisoners

January 31, 2023

Source: Agencies

By Al Mayadeen English 

In a new report titled “Pulling the trigger is the first resort”,  Euro-Med Monitor revealed that the recorded number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) increased by 82% in 2022 over 2021.

The funeral of Jana Zakarneh, a 16-year-old Palestinian girl who was shot by IOF in her family’s house. (Reuters)

The alarming increase in Israeli occupation forces’ killings of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in 2022 is extremely disturbing, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor cautioned in a statement, emphasizing the need to activate accountability and end “Israel’s” decades-long state of impunity.

In a new report titled “Pulling the trigger is the first resort”, the Euro-Med Monitor revealed that the recorded number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) increased by 82% in 2022 over 2021, and nearly fivefold (491%) over 2020.

The report acknowledged that the Palestinians were murdered in unjustifiable operations and contexts where they posed no imminent threat or danger to IOF or illegal Israeli settlers.

On his account, the Chairman of Euro-Med Monitor Ramy Abdu said, “The Israeli army’s killings and summary executions of Palestinian civilians, as evidenced by its lax open-fire regulations and official protection system for perpetrators of horrific violations, demonstrate that these are state-sanctioned rather than individual actions.”

“Regardless of whether Israel’s government is on the political left, centre, or right, the use of lethal force against Palestinians remains a key element of its policy.”

– Chairman of Euro-Med Monitor Ramy Abdu

It is worth noting that the report provides detailed statistics on Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces and settlers in 2022, documenting the murder of 204 Palestinians by IOF in 2022, 142 of whom were from the occupied West Bank (69.6%), 37 from Gaza (18.1%), 20 from Al-Quds (9.8%), and five from the ’48 occupied territories (2.4%).

According to the data presented in the report, Israeli occupation forces carried out 32 summary executions, 18 of which occurred amid allegations that Palestinians had either completed or attempted a stabbing or vehicular assault against Israeli settlers near checkpoints or hotspots; the remaining executions were generally carried out without any rationale or solely based on suspicion.

Jenin Governorate had the highest number of Palestinian murdered in 2022, accounting for 26.9% of total deaths, with 55 Palestinians murdered, compared to other Palestinian towns and governorates. The governorate of Nablus came in second with 35 deaths, accounting for 17.1% of all deaths; this is owing to the increased frequency of Israeli raids and the execution of targeted operations in the two governorates.

Children made up nearly 20% of victims of Israeli killings in 2022, according to the report’s findings, with 41 children slain in Israeli attacks and assaults, in addition to eight women killed the same year, three of whom were field-executed in the occupied West Bank.

Shoot to kill

The report highlighted that the Israeli political echelon’s authorization for the army and security forces to act with “complete freedom” under the guise of “counter-terrorism” appears to have paved the way for the unjust killing and oppression of Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints and in cities, villages, and towns throughout the occupied West Bank and Al-Quds.

The conduct of Israeli forces toward Palestinian civilians demonstrates the entity’s clear disregard for its international obligations under the Geneva Conventions, most notably the Fourth Geneva Convention, under which Israeli practices amount to war crimes, the report stressed.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor urged the European Union to review the implementation of its partnership agreement with the Israeli government in light of Israeli violations of human rights, as well as to halt cooperation programs until “Israel’s” government meets its obligations and ceases its gross violations of human rights in Palestine.

The report also stressed that relevant UN processes and bodies must act immediately to safeguard civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as to ensure investigation and accountability for egregious violations and offenses that may constitute war crimes.

The International Criminal Court must conduct its investigations as soon as possible and tackle the situation in the Palestinian Territory in the same manner as it does in other parts of the world, the report tersely stated.

Related Stories

•  “It Is Fun to Shoot Palestinians”: Six Former Israeli Soldiers Speak Up
• Report unmasks surge in Israeli barbarism against Palestinians
• Captive movement: Assaulting prisoners will not pass unanswered
• IOF raid ‘Megiddo’ Prison, isolate 40 Palestinian prisoners
• Number of martyrs in Jenin massacre rises to 10 Palestinians

Israeli Human Rights Violations in Palestine (Weekly Update 29 December 2022- 04 January 2023)

 January 5, 2023

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

Three Palestinians, including 2 children, were killed, noting that the 2 children were killed within 24 hours.  Meanwhile, 31 other Palestinians, including 5 children, a journalist and a paramedic, were injured, and dozens of others suffocated in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

On 02 January 2023, IOF killed 2 Palestinians, including a child namely Fo’ad Mahmoud ‘Abed (17), and injured 6 others during IOF’s incursion into Kafr Dan village in Jenin. Before withdrawing, IOF arrested a Palestinian and demolished 2 houses as part of their collective punishment policy. (Details available in PCHR’s press release)

On 03 January 2023, IOF killed Adam ‘Issam ‘Ayyad (15) after being shot with a live bullet in his chest while another child sustained wounds by IOF fire during clashes that accompanied their incursion into al-Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.  (Details available in this press release)

Meanwhile, those injured were victims of IOF excessive use of force and shooting during their incursions into the Palestinian cities and villages, or IOF suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians, and they were as follows:

On 30 December 2022, 7 Palestinians were injured, including a journalist and a child, with rubber-coated bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly peaceful protest in northern Qalqilya. On the same day, 5 Palestinians, including a paramedic in serious condition, were injured by IOF fire during the latter’s incursion into Nablus’s Old City. Before withdrawing, IOF arrested a child claiming he was wanted.

On 31 December 2022, a 22-year-old Palestinian was injured with a rubber bullet in his foot during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly peaceful protest in northern Qallqiliya.

On 02 January 2023, 11 Palestinians, including 3 children, were wounded: 7 with live bullets and 4 with rubber-coated bullets during IOF’s incursion into Beit Rima village in Ramallah.  Before withdrawing, IOF arrested a Palestinian after assaulting his family and searching their house.

On 03 January 2023, 7 Palestinians were wounded, including suffocation of 4 children, after their house was burnt due to IOF’s firing 4 teargas canisters in clashes that accompanied their incursion into Abu Dis village in occupied East Jerusalem.  Fadi Abu ‘Awwad, the house owner, said that his house was completely burnt and he could difficultly rescue his wife and children and leave from the house.  His 4-month-old baby girl severely suffocated due to teargas inhalation.

In the Gaza Strip, 8 shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Khan Yuni and northern Gaza Strip, but  no casualties were reported.   

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished 8 houses, displacing 8 families of 50, including 8 women and 22 children.  Meanwhile, they demolished 2 civilian facilities and confiscated a tent used as a classroom as well as an excavator in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 31 December 2022, IOF forced 2 Palestinians to self-demolish their two residential buildings of 2 floors built on an area of 140 sqms in al-Joz Valley neighborhood in East Jerusalem under the pretext of unlicensed construction.  As a result, 2 families of 9, including 2 women and 5 children, were displaced.

On the same day, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolish his 100-sqm house in Silwan village, East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction, displacing a family of 5, including 3 children.

On 03 January 2023, IOF confiscated a tent built of shed and steel by the villagers on the rubble of Safi School that was destroyed by IOF on 23 November 2022 in Safi village, southern Hebron.  It should be noted that 22 female and male students used to study in that school.

On the same day, IOF demolished four 60-sqm dwellings after vacating their contents in Sha’ab al-Batem village, southern Hebron, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area C. As a result, 4 families of 30, including 10 children, were displaced.  On 22 March 2022, IOF demolished dwellings for the same persons under the same pretext and they were rebuilt and funded by ACTED Foundation after 2 months of their demolition; however, IOF re-demolished them.

Moreover, IOF demolished a 170-sqm under-construction house and a 150-cbm water well in Ma’in village, southern Hebron, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area C. It should be noted that a family of 6, including 4 children, was supposed to live in that house.

On 04 January 2023, IOF demolished a livestock barrack of 70 sqms in al-Khader village in Bethlehem under the pretext of unlicensed construction.  IOF also demolished an under-construction house of 160 sqms in Silwan village in East Jerusalem.

On the same day, IOF confiscated an excavator for Ad-Dahiriya Municipality, southern Hebron, and arrested mayor Bahjat Jabarin and Nayef Makharzah, a municipal council member.  They were later released and notified that the excavator will be kept under IOF’s custody allegedly for working in Area C. 

Settler-attacks:

Settlers carried out 5 attacks, most notably destroying 30 graves in a Christian Cemetery in East Jerusalem and assaulting shepherds and vehicles in the West Bank.

On 01 January 2023, settlers broke into Jerusalem Protestant Cemetery that is maintained by the Lutheran and Anglican Churches on Mount Zion in central East Jerusalem.  They broke crosses and destroyed headstones of 30 graves. 

Hosam Na’oum, a bishop in the Anglican Church, said in a press conference on 04 January 2023 that the surveillance cameras in the cemetery showed how settlers assaulted and vandalized the cemetery as well as breaking crosses and smashing iconography.

On 02 January 2023, settlers, under IOF’s protection, assaulted and opened fire at shepherds in ‘Arab al-Maleihat area, northwest of Jericho, while herding their sheep near their houses. However, no casualties were reported.

On the same day, settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles while on their way out of Kafl Haris village, northern Salfit, smashing the windows of vehicles parked in the area.

On 03 January 2023, dozens of settlers gathered near al-Aqsa Mosque and organized a provocatory protest that included dances and rituals.  When the protest arrived near Hatta Gate, IOF assaulted Palestinians and arrested one of them.

On the same day, settlers threw stones at a restaurant in Kafl Haris village in Salfit, smashing the front door.

Israeli Minister’s raid into al-Aqsa Mosque:

On 03 January 2023, the Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, under IOF’s protection, raided al-Aqsa Mosque via al-Magharbah Gate in his first raid after taking office.  During the raid, IOF prevented Muslim worshipers from entering al-Aqsa Mosque.  Before the dawn, large forces of Israeli soldiers stationed around the Old City and at al-Aqsa gates and turned the alleys and streets into a military barrack.  They also imposed restrictions on the entry of worshipers into al-Aqsa Mosque, including banning entry of men under 50 years old.

Collective Punishment:

On 02 January 2023, IOF demolished 2 houses as part of their collective punishment policy against the families of Palestinians who are allegedly accused of carrying out attacks against IOF or settlers. (Details available here)

On 03 January 2023, IOF raided 2 houses belonging to the family of Islam Harbi al-Faroukh (26) in Ramallah and Kafr ‘Aqab in East Jerusalem.  They took the houses’ measurements preluding to demolish them as part of their collective punishment policy.  IOF announced in a statement that their forces took measurements of the 2 houses to review the possibility of their demolition based on decisions will be taken.  IOF allegedly accuse al-Faroukh of carrying out bombing attacks in Jerusalem on 23 November 2022 that killed 2 Israelis and wounded 2 others.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 161 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, 72 Palestinians were arrested, including 9 children. In the Gaza Strip, on 02 January 2023, IOF conducted a limited incursion into eastern al-Fokhari, east of Khan Younis.

Israeli closure and restrictions on freedom of movement:

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 continue to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 110 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 87 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, arrested a Palestinian at those checkpoints.

During this week, IOF closed Qalendia, Jab’a and al-Za’eem checkpoints in East Jerusalem several times to the vehicles and later reopened them. Also, on 31 December 2022, IOF closed the detector gate at Beit Jala village, western Bethelhem, and on 03 January 2023 closed the western entrance to Tekoa village, eastern Bethlehem, but reopened both of them later.

• Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Weekly Update 22-28 December 2022)

Israeli Human Rights Violations in Palestine (Weekly Update 15 – 21 December 2022)

December 22, 2022

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

A Palestinian detainee died in the Israeli prisons due to the medical negligence policy, while 6 Palestinians, including 2 children, were injured, and dozens of others suffocated in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 20 December 2022, Naser Abu Hmeid (50), a Palestinian detainee in the Israeli prisons from Al-Ama’ri refugee camp in Ramallah, died at “Assaf Harofeh” Hospital in Israel after battling lung cancer for more than a year.  Abu Hmeid’s health condition got worse due to the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) systematic medical negligence policy against the ill detainees. Details available in PCHR’s press release.

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

On 15 December 2022, a Palestinian child was injured with a rubber-coated bullet during clashes with IOF, after the latter’s incursion into Shufat refugee camp in East Jerusalem.

On 17 December 2022, A Palestinian was wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum peaceful weekly protest, northern Qalqilya.

On 18 December 2022, a Palestinian was wounded with a live bullet in the foot during clashes with IOF following the latter’s incursion into the old ‘Askar refugee camp in Nablus. Before withdrawing, IOF arrested a citizen and his son.

On 20 December 2022, a Palestinian was wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet during clashes with IOF after the latter’s incursion into Abu Dis in East Jerusalem.

On 21 December 2022, a Palestinian child was wounded with a live bullet in his foot during clashes with IOF at the entrance to al-Shuhada Street in Hebron. On the same day, a Palestinian was wounded with a live bullet in his right thigh during clashes with IOF in Beit Ummar village in Hebron.

In the Gaza Strip, 4 IOF shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip, and 3 shootings were reported on fishing boats off the western Gaza shores.

”

So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 185 Palestinians, including 123 civilians: 37 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers and the rest were activists; 20 of them were assassinated in IOF’s attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Moreover, 6 Palestinian detainees, including a woman, died in the Israeli prisons.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished 4 houses, including one inhabited, rendering a family of 2 homeless, and 2 civilian facilities.  They also confiscated 7 agricultural tents and handed notices to cease construction works in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 15 December 2022, IOF demolished a 170-sqm under-construction house in Farsh Al-Hawa area, west of Hebron, and confiscated 2 tents in Tarqumiya village, northwest of Hebron, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area C.

On the same day, IOF demolished a livestock barrack and a 180-sqm horse stable and dismantled agricultural barracks under the pretext of unlicensed construction in East Jerusalem. IOF also handed notices to 7 citizens to stop construction in their houses in Kafr Al-Dik, west of Salfit, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area C.

On 17 December 2022, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolish his under-construction house in Jabal Al-Mukaber in East Jerusalem upon an Israeli municipal decision, under the pretext of unlicensed construction, rendering a family of 2 homeless.

On 19 December 2022, IOF demolished 2 under-construction houses: a 2-storey house of 220 sqms and a 1-story house of 140 sqms, in the airport area, east of Jericho, under the pretext of illegal construction in Area C.

On 20 December 2022, IOF confiscated 5 agricultural tents in Wadi Jahish area in southern Yatta, south of Hebron.

”

Since the beginning of 2022, Israeli occupation forces made 140 families homeless, a total of 823 persons, including 162 women and 373 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 163 houses and many residential and agricultural tents. IOF also demolished 118 other civilian objects, leveled vacant areas of land and delivered dozens of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation.

Settler-attacks

On 15 December 2022, settlers attacked a Palestinian with sticks and smashed his vehicle’s windows, near the intersection of Al-Taybeh village in Ramallah.

On 17 December 2022, settlers cut 12 olive trees in Yasuf village, east of Salfit.

”

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 257 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.

Forced displacement and deportation:

On 18 December 2022, the Israeli occupation authorities deported lawyer and human rights defender Salah Al-Hamouri (37) from East Jerusalem to France, after 9 months of administrative detention, under the pretext of breaching “the allegiance to the State of Israel;” thus, this deportation amounts to a war crime. Details available in PCHR’s press release.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 171 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, 83 Palestinians were arrested, including 14 children and 3 women. In the Gaza Strip, IOF carried out a limited incursion into eastern Rafah.

”

So far in 2022, IOF conducted 8,609 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 4,781 Palestinians were arrested, including 480 children and 52 women. IOF also conducted 35 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 105 Palestinians, including 64 fishermen, 32 infiltrators, and 9 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.

Closure and restrictions on freedom of movement

On 16 December 2022, Mahmoud Al-Kurd (45), from Deir Al-Balah, died in Al-Mutala’ Hospital in East Jerusalem, due to the deterioration of his health condition after battling lung cancer and due to IOF’s obstruction of his travel for treatment. IOF allowed him to travel on 15 December 2022 after repeatedly rejecting his 5 travel permit requests from July to mid-December 2022.

This comes while IOF maintain their 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 continue to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 110 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 115 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 4 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

”

So far in 2022, IOF established 4,457 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 201 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Weekly Update 08-14 December 2022)

 December 15, 2022

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

Five Palestinian, including 3 civilians, were killed and 7 others, including 2 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 08 December 2022, as part of extrajudicial executions, IOF directly shot and killed three Palestinians: one was a civilian and the two others were members of Palestinian armed groups, in an IOF ambush in eastern Jenin. Before their withdrawal, IOF arrested three Palestinians. ( Details are available in PCHR’s press release).

On the same day, IOF killed a child namely Diaa Irhamieh (16) and wounded 3 other Palestinians; one was arrested, in clashes at the main entrance to ‘Aboud village in Ramallah. (Details are available in PCHR’s press release).

On 11 December 2022, IOF killed a 16-year-old Palestinian girl namely Jana Zakarneh and arrested three Palestinians, including two brothers, during IOF’s incursion into Jenin’s eastern neighborhood. (Details are available in PCHR’s press release). IOF admitted that following an initial inquiry it was determined that the girl might have been unintentionally shot by an Israeli sniper[1].

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 08 December 2022, a Palestinian was shot with a rubber-coated bullet during clashes with IOF stationed near Detector Gate (104), which is established at the annexation wall, west of Tulkarm.

On 09 December 2022, three Palestinians, including two children, were shot with rubber-coated bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in northern Qalqilya.

On 10 December 2022, IOF suppressed a gathering organized by dozens of Palestinians at the Damascus Gate in occupied East Jerusalem, in celebration of the winning of the Moroccan team in the World Cup. They also assaulted a person with a mobility impairment and arrested him in a detention center. He was then taken to a hospital for treatment.

In the Gaza Strip, 9 shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip, and 3 shootings were reported on fishing boats off the western Gaza shores.

”

So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 185 Palestinians, including 123 civilians: 37 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settler and the rest were activists; 20 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 5 houses, displacing 3 families of 16, including 5 children and 3 women. They also demolished 7 civilian facilities and handed notices to cease construction works in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 11 December 2022, IOF handed five Palestinians notices to cease construction works in three inhabited houses, a plot of land, and a tinplate shop selling construction materials in al-Zuwaidin Bedouin village in Yatta, south of Hebron, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On 12 December 2022, in implementation of an Israeli municipality’s order, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolish his under-construction house built on an area of 100 square meters in Isawiya village in occupied East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction. On the same day, IOF dismantled a 100-square-meter agricultural nursery in Tuqu village in Bethlehem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.  Also, IOF handed 18 notices to cease construction in 9 house, 4 agricultural rooms, 3 industrial facilities, and two plots of lands in Qarawat Bani Hassan village, west of Saflit, under the pretext of being in area classified as Area C.  The notices say that you may appeal the notices before 28 December 2022.

On 13 December 2022, IOF demolished a 135-square-meter house comprised of one floor in Al-Jiftlik village, north of Jericho, rendering two families of 9, including 3 children, homeless. In the same area, IOF demolished a 36-square-meter house, displacing a family of 7, including 2 children. Also, IOF demolished two under-construction houses; one built on an area of 165 sqms and comprised of two floors while the other built on an area of 100 sqms. Additionally, IOF demolished a tinplate barrack built on an area of 150 sqms and four plastic livestock barns built on an area of 240 sqms, under the pretext of illegal construction in Area C.

On the same day, IOF demolished an under-construction house built on an area of 100 sqms in Furush Beit Dajan village in central valleys in Nablus, under the pretext of illegal construction in Area C. Also, IOF demolished a barrack used as an auto repair shop, a container, a barrack, an agricultural room, a fence, and a stone chain in an agricultural land in al-Jib village in occupied East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

”

Since the beginning of 2022, Israeli occupation forces made 139 families homeless, a total of 821 persons, including 161 women and 373 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 159 houses and dozens of residential and agricultural tents. IOF also demolished 116 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:

On 08 December 2022, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles passing near Kedumim settlement square on the main street connecting Nablus with Qalqilya.

On 10 December 2022, Israeli settlers uprooted 15 olive trees in the lands of Haris village, north of Salfit.

”

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 255 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 168 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, 117 Palestinians were arrested, including 9 children, and a Palestinian vehicle was confiscated.

”

So far in 2022, IOF conducted 8,438 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 4,698 Palestinians were arrested, including 466 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.

On 08 December 2022, IOF have banned 382 Christians from Gaza to travel to Bethlehem in order to join the Christmas celebrations after refusing to issue travel permits for them. Mr. Elias al-Jalda, Member of the Arab Orthodox Churchwarden Council in Gaza, said to PCHR’s fieldworker that those banned travel were on a list of 900 persons whose names were sent by the churches in the Gaza Strip to obtain travel permits.

In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, IOF continues to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 110 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 76 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem arrested 6 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

On 08 December 2022, IOF closed the metal detector gate established at the western entrance to Husan village, west of Bethlehem.

On 09 December 2022, IOF closed the metal detector gate established at the western entrance to Tekoa village, east of Bethlehem.

”

So far in 2022, IOF established at least 4,342 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 197 Palestinians at those checkpoints

Palestine Urges UN to Place Israel on ‘List of Shame’ after Killing of 16-Year-Old Girl

December 12, 2022

PA PM Mohammed Shtayyeh. (Photo: via PM of Palestine, Twitter)

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Monday called on the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, to include Israel on the United Nations Secretary-General’s ‘list of shame’, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The request comes following the Israeli army’s killing of 16-year-old Jana Zakarneh, last night, in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

#Israeli Forces Kill 16-Year-Old Girl in #Jenin (VIDEO) https://t.co/M27ZRnnAuv via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/kaWUnzbh2d

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 12, 2022

Shtayyeh described the killing of Zakarneh as another crime to be added to the horrifying crimes of murdering children committed by Israeli occupation forces.

Gamba began today a special visit to Palestine, which includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, during which she will meet with the families of the Palestinian children murdered by Israeli forces to hear from them about the grave violations that rise to the level of crimes committed by the occupation forces against Palestinian children.

(WAFA, PC, SOCIAL)

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

Israel’s Relentless War against the Children of Palestine

November 17, 2022

The funeral of 5-year-old Alaa Qaddum, killed by an Israeli airstrike in besieged Gaza. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

By Ilan Pappe

“Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give.” Preamble, UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959)

More than half of the population living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are below 18; in fact, one can confidently say that half of the people of the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip are children. Anyone who wages a war against these two territories, through house demolition, arrests without trial, shoot-to-kill policy, and humiliation, is waging war against children.

At times, whole military brigades of the Israeli army, accompanied by elite units, border police, and police chase a boy and, in most cases, kill him or at best arrest him.

If there is anything that changed in the last few years in what finally the United Nations was willing to call the colonization of Palestine, it is the intensification of the Israeli shoot-to-kill policy. And although so many of us understand that the new Israeli government will not change the policies the previous governments pursued, one can expect further brutalization in the war against the children of Palestine.

As I write this column, the news has reached us of the murder by Israeli soldiers of Fulla Rasmi Abd al-Aziz al-Musalamah. She was on her way to celebrating her 16^th birthday. She was with others in a car near Beitunia, when the soldiers, without any reason, opened fire on the car and killed her. Needless to say, the Israeli newspaper reporting the “incident” blamed the driver and did not even bother to mention her name.

The killing of children is not a new aspect of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. By April 1948, the military leadership of the Zionist forces began to strategize more clearly its policy towards any population that would be left in the villages they occupied during the 1948 ethnic cleansing. One of its clear guidelines was to either kill or send to a prison camp, at the discretion of the commander on the spot, “men at a fighting age”. The command clearly defines what is meant by men: anyone above the age of ten.

Very much like any destructive Israeli policy since the massive expulsion and killings of 1948, a new method of incremental piecemeal action and policy became the norm. It is a very deceptive policy as whomever you want to alert is faced with a killing of one or two persons every now and then, and the dots are not easily connected to produce a damming indictment. This was true in the early 1950s, but of course, since then, the numbers are massive and this incremental killing is far more visible.

In November 1950, the Israeli army shot dead three children, ages 8, 10 and 12, from the village of Yalo, while in 1952, the Israeli commando murdered 4 children, ranging from ages 6 to 14, in Beit Jalla. A year later, among the five shepherds the Israeli killed in February 1953, one was a 13-year-old boy from al-Burg.

The incremental infanticide at times is replaced by a more intensive killing of children. During the First Intifada, according to the association of Israeli and Palestinian physicians for human rights, every two weeks, a child under six was shot in the head by the Israeli army.

During the Second Intifada, 600 Palestinian children were killed. Among them, are the 12-year-old Muhammad al-Dura, the 14-year-old Fairs Odeh, and the 11-year-old Khalil al-Mughrabi. Five thousand children were wounded. In 2007, the Israeli air force killed 8 children of the Shehadeh family in Gaza.

In the first wave of attack on Gaza in 2008, more than 300 children died, and another 30 in 2012. And the highest death recorded in 2014, with more than 550 children. Put differently, since 2000, 2,250 Palestinian children were killed by the Israeli army and security forces. This is equivalent to the killing of nearly 45,000 children in Britain by a military or police force since 2000.

Why is it so important to record these grim and horrifying data and define clearly its legal and moral significance? For a few reasons. First, the fact that only here, in an alternative media outlet, you will be aware of these atrocities, is an indication of the hypocrisy of the Western media and political elite when it comes to Palestine, compared to the compassion shown towards children in the Ukraine or Iran.

Secondly, these figures accentuate the existential threat Zionism and Israel still pose to the Palestinian people and their future. It is not only land that Israel covets; it is intent on continuing the destruction of the people themselves.

But most important than all is the infuriating exemption of Palestine from the international discussion of the mass killing in general and that of children in particular. Take for example the international definition of mass killing. It is defined as:

“The deliberate actions of armed groups, including but not limited to state security forces…that result in the death of at least 1000 non-combatant civilians targeted as part of a specific group over a period of one year or less.”

In the First and Second Intifada, in 2009 and in 2014, the number of Palestinians killed by Israel exceeded by far one thousand. Nowhere in the UN or another human organization recording mass killings worldwide, do the Palestinians appear as a case study.

The game is not of numbers of course, but much more about the ideology that facilitates such mass killing; a kind of inhumanity only possible if the humans you target are dehumanized. An ideology that leads in many cases to genocidal policies. The definition of genocide according to article 2 of the UN charter on Genocide includes mass killing, bodily and mental harm, and physical desertion as indicators of such policies.

The report of the special representative of the Secretary-General in October 2009 and updated in November 2013, lists six grave violations of international human right law regarding children’s rights in armed conflict. There is no armed conflict in Palestine and yet, three of these grave violations occur daily in the colonized West Bank and occasionally, in massive numbers, in besieged Gaza Strip.

Killing and maiming of children, attacks against schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. Some of the Israeli policies enacted during the siege on Gaza, in terms of denial of food, energy, and above all medical help, create a criterion by itself that should have been added to this document.

In August this year, UN Human Rights Chief, Michelle Bachelet, expressed alarm at the high number of Palestinians, including children, killed and injured in the occupied Palestinian territory since the beginning of 2022. She was referring to the killing of 37 children from the beginning of the year until that August and was particularly horrified by the killing of 19 children in one week. She stated:

“Inflicting hurt on any child during the course of conflict is deeply disturbing, and the killing and maiming of so many children this year is unconscionable.”

As a father myself, I would have used a stronger word than “unconscionable”. But I will be content with it if the Israeli mass killing of Palestinian children will not be denied anymore or marginalized and will appear as an urgent topic in the venues where the international community discusses the gravest violations of human rights in our time, and act upon it.

– Ilan Pappé is a professor at the University of Exeter. He was formerly a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Haifa. He is the author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, The Modern Middle East, A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples, and Ten Myths about Israel. Pappé is described as one of Israel’s ‘New Historians’ who, since the release of pertinent British and Israeli government documents in the early 1980s, have been rewriting the history of Israel’s creation in 1948. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.

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Israeli Human Rights Violations in Occupied Palestine (Weekly Update 03 – 09 November 2022)

10.11. 2022

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

5 Palestinians, including a child, were killed, and 14 others, including 2 children and a foreign solidarity activist, were wounded, and dozens of others suffocated in IOF attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 03 November 2022, Dawoud Rayan was shot dead by IOF after their incursion into Beit Duqqu village, in East Jerusalem. Details available in PCHR’s press release.

On the same day, 2 Palestinians, including a child and a member of the Palestinian Resistance, were killed, and 3 others were wounded by IOF’s fire during the latter’s incursion into Jenin refugee camp, northern West Bank. Details available in PCHR’s press release.

On 05 November 2022, Mosa’b Nafal was killed and another was injured before his arrest after IOF directly opened fire at them near Sinjil village, east of Ramallah. Details available in PCHR’s press release.

On 09 November 2022, Rafat ‘Ali ‘Issa (29) was killed after IOF opened fire at him. ‘Issa was shit with 2 bullets in the highs, leaving him to bleed for about 2 hours while he was trying to cross the Annexation Wall near the town of ‘Anin in Jenin where he was heading to his work in Israel, noting that IOF handed his corpse to the Palestinian ambulance and was transferred to Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin.

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

On 04 November 2022, 3 Palestinians and a foreign solidarity activist were injured with metal bullets during the IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in north of Qalqilya. In addition, a Palestinian was wounded with a metal bullet during clashes with IOF after the latter’s incursion into the town of ‘Azzoun, east of Qalqilya. On the same day, 2 civilian facilities and agricultural land were damage as a result of IOF warplanes that fired around 16 missiles at a resistance site, adjacent to agricultural lands in Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza Strip.

On 05 November 2022, a Palestinian sustained a live bullet wound, and dozens suffocated and bruised during confrontations with IOF near the Annexation Wall adjacent to al-Quds University in the town of Abu Dis in East Jerusalem, following a solidarity stand by the students inside the campus. IOF attacks caused 40 trees and greenhouses in the area to burn. On the same day, 2 Palestinians were wounded by IOF’s bullets during clashes at the northern entrance to Al-Bireh city.

On 09 November 2022, 2 children were shot by IOF during crashes after that latter obstructed a funeral, east of Beit Umar in Hebron.

In the Gaza Strip, 8 IOF shootings were reported on fishing boats off the Gaza shores (Western Gaza shores) mostly in northern Gaza Strip, and 10 other shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip.

”

So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 164 Palestinians, including 110 civilians: 33 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settler and the rest were activists; 18 of them were assassinated in IOF’s attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Moreover, 5 Palestinian prisoners, including a woman, died in the Israeli jails.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished 5 houses, most of them were under construction, and 4 agricultural facilities and rooms, and confiscated property in the West Bank. Details are as follows:

On 03 November 2022, IOF demolished an agricultural room of bricks, tin and slate, a concrete wall and a 230-sqm water well, a bathroom of bricks and tin, and a 90-sqm tin house, and confiscated 2 iron containers, one was used as an office and the other as a store, south of Hebron, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area C.

On 06 November 2022, IOF forced a citizen to self-demolish his under-construction house in ‘Anata in occupied East Jerusalem upon the Israeli municipality decision, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On 07 November 2022, IOF demolished using bulldozers, a bakery of 3 shops with an area of 110 square meters in Shu’fat neighborhood, in East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction. IOF also demolished a 200-square-meter under-construction house, and a fence nearby, in East of Jericho. On the same day, IOF demolished 2-storey 200-sqm house in the village of Qibya in Ramallah, under the pretext that it was in Area C, rendering a family of 6, including 2 women, homeless.

On 09 November 2022, IOF dismantled an insulated tin room, notified to stop working on the concrete floor on which the room was built, and confiscated an iron container used for storing equipment, south of Hebron.

On 09 November 2022, IOF demolished an under-construction house of about 230 square meters in Beit Hanin in East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

”

Since the beginning of 2022, Israeli occupation forces made 128 families homeless, a total of 754 persons, including 148 women and 339 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of `44 houses and many residential tents. IOF also demolished 93 other civilian objects, leveled vacant areas of land and delivered dozens of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation.

Settler-attacks

5 Palestinian were injured and bruised, and agricultural lands and properties were also damaged in 8 attacks carried out by settlers in the West Bank. Details as follows:

On 03 November 2022, a Palestinian, his wife and 3 of their children were injured and bruised as a result of an attack by settlers from Asfar settlement in Hebron, while the Family were harvesting olives in Al-Majalis area.

On 05 November 2022, settlers attacked citizens who were harvesting olives in the town of Kafr al-Deik, west of Salfit, and seized an olive-harvesting machine and a bag containing personal documents. Settlers, protected by IOF, gathered at the western entrance to Hares village in Salfit, and threw stones at the passing vehicles.

On 06 November 2022, settlers from Adora settlement in Hebron destroyed the irrigation system of crops in ‘Ein Fara’ area, nearby the settlement. Also, settlers attacked agricultural land in Kafr Qaddoum village in Qalqilya and cut down several olive trees. On the same day, settlers stole about 19 bags of olives from agricultural land in the town of Kafr al-Deik, west of Salfit.

On 07 November 2022, settlers cut down 116 olive trees in east of Turmusa’ya in Ramallah

On 09 November 2022, settlers vandalized plastic water tanks used to irrigate olive grove, south of Yatta in Hebron.

”

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 232 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 190 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, 81 Palestinians were arrested, including 11 children, and 2 women. In the Gaza Strip, on 06 November 2022, IOF arrested a citizen from Rafah at Beit Hanon “Erez” crossing. On 09 November 2022, IOF penetrated a limited distance east of Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip.

”

So far in 2022, IOF conducted 7713 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 4331 Palestinians were arrested, including 432 children and 45 women. IOF also conducted 34 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 97 Palestinians, including 58 fishermen, 32 infiltrators, and 7 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.

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

The 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 95 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 4 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

On 05 November 2022, IOF closed the entrance to the villages of Janba and Al-Markaz in Masafafer Yatta city in Hebron, with cement blocks and sand berms.

During this week, IOF closed Qalanda and Al-Za’eem checkpoints several times and reopened them later, tightening their procedures at Jerusalem checkpoints.

”

So far in 2022, IOF established 3961 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 181 Palestinians at those checkpoints

Israeli Human Rights Violations in Palestine (Weekly Update 20– 26 October 2022)

October 27, 2022

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

7 Palestinians, including 5 civilians, were killed in addition to a child who succumbed to his injury, and 44 others were wounded, including 14 children, while dozens of others suffocated in the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 20 October 2022, Mohammad Fadi Nuri (16) succumbed to a live bullet injury in the abdomen during IOF’s incursion into Al-Bireh city on 28 September 2022.

On 21 October 2022, Salah al-Breiki (19) was killed, and 3 others were wounded by IOF’s fire during the latter’s incursion into Jenin. IOF withdrew after they had arrested a Palestinian from a house they cordoned off. Details available in PCHR’s press release.

On 22 October 2022, Rabi ‘Arafa Rabi (32), from Qalqilya, was shot in the head with a live bullet after IOF opened fire at a vehicle traveling him and other workers near the Israeli gate (109), south of Qalqilya. IOF claimed that the soldiers opened fire at the vehicle after the latter tried to run over an Israeli soldier at the checkpoint.

On 25 October 2022, 5 Palestinians, including 3 civilians, were killed and 20 others, mostly civilians, including 3 children, were wounded by IOF fire in Nablus and Ramallah in the West Bank. Among those killed, four, including 2 civilians, were killed in a military operation conducted by IOF in Nablus’s Old City while the fifth person was killed due to excessive use of force in Ramallah during clashes with IOF. Details available in PCHR’s press release.

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, and they were as follows:

On 20 October 2022, 5 Palestinian, including 4 children, were injured: one of them in serious condition, during clashes with IOF in Sa’ir village, on al-Shuhada street, and at the entrance to Beit Ummar in Hebron. Also, 4 Palestinians were injured during confrontations with IOF in Biddu village and between the entrance to al-Ram village and Abu Al-Shaheed roundabout near Qalandia checkpoint in East Jerusalem. Moreover, two children were wounded with 2 live bullets during IOF clashes near the military checkpoint (300), north of Bethlehem. Meanwhile, 2 Palestinians were wounded with rubber bullets; others suffocated; and a Palestinian was arrested during confrontations with IOF near al-Mahkamah checkpoint at the northern entrance to al-Bireh city.

On 21 October 2022, a child was wounded with a rubber bullet during clashes with IOF in Bethlehem.

On 22 October 2022, IOF arrested a child after directly opening fire at him and seriously wounding him in a football field in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, taking him to an Israeli hospital.  IOF claimed that they went after the child after he carried out a stabbing attack in the French Hill area. Later on, IOF raided the child’s family house and arrested his father and brother.

On 25 October 2022, 2 Palestinians, including a child, were wounded with 2 live bullets during clashes with IOF at the northern entrance to ‘Azzun village, east of Qalqilya. On the same day, the IOF arrested 2 children after one of them was shot in clashes with IOF at the entrance to the closed al-Shuhada Street in Hebron. Also, a Palestinian was wounded after IOF opened fire at him near the annexation wall, west of Hebron.

In the Gaza Strip, 10 IOF shootings were reported on fishing boats off Western Gaza shore, mostly in northern Gaza Strip, and one of the shootings caused damage to a lighting boat. Also, 3 other shootings were reported on agricultural lands in the eastern Gaza Strip. (Fishermen were also arrested late on Wednesday. Details available in PCHR’s press release).

”

So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 153 Palestinians, including 106 civilians: 32 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settler and the rest were activists; 17 of them were assassinated 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 3 houses, rendering 2 families of 15, including 2 women and 8 children, homeless, and confiscated 5 agricultural tents after dismantling them in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 20 October 2022, IOF demolished an under-construction house in Hebron under the pretext of unlicensed construction. It should be noted that This is the third time for the house to be demolished.

On 10 October 2022, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolish his house in Jabal Mukabber in occupied East Jerusalem under the pretext of unlicensed construction, displacing a family of 7, including a woman and 3 children.

On 25 October 2022, IOF demolished an under-construction house, north of Bani Na’im village in Hebron, to which a family of 8, including 5 children, intended to move to. After the demolition, clashes erupted in the area where IOF assaulted and arrested a Palestinian. On the same day, IOF confiscated 5 agricultural tents after dismantling them, south of Susiya village in Hebron.

”

Since the beginning of 2022, IOF made 121 families homeless, a total of 717 persons, including 136 women and 326 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 130 houses and many residential and agricultural tents. IOF also demolished 92 other civilian and economic objects, leveled vacant areas of land and delivered hundreds of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation.

Settler-attacks

The settlers escalated their attacks simultaneously with the olive harvest season in the West Bank. Details as follows:

On 20 October 2022, Israeli settlers set fire to a vehicle and uprooted about 80 olive and almond seedlings in Al-Mughir village, east of Ramallah. In the evening, settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles near (al-Mahkamah) checkpoint in al-Bireh city, causing damage to 3 vehicles. They also attacked a house in Salfit with stones.

On 21 October 2022, settlers, protected by IOF, attacked farmers who were harvesting olives in Tulkarm and Salfit.

On 22 October 2022, settlers, protected by IOF, attacked farmers who were harvesting olives in Salfit and conducted riots by gathering on roads and blocking vehicles’ movement on those roads as well as throwing stones at them in Qalqilya.

On 23 October 2022, settlers, protected by IOF, broke into Tekoa, Minya and Dar Nahla villages in Bethlehem, threw stones at Palestinian houses and properties, and broke vehicles’ windows. Also, they attacked famers while harvesting olives in Tulkarm.

On 24 October 2022, settlers, protected by IOF, attacked carried out attacks on farmers and conducted riots on roads in Salfit.

On 25 October 2022, settlers attacked farmers who were harvesting olives in Turmusa’ya village in Ramallah. Meanwhile, settlers set fire to 2 vehicles, including one belonging to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee.  Also, settlers carried out street riots in Salfit.

”

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 218 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 203 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, 84 Palestinians were arrested, including 26 children, and a woman. In the Gaza Strip, on 26 October 2022, Israeli navy forces arrested 5 fishermen and confiscated their boat after it was intercepted off the northern Gaza Strip. Details available in PCHR’s press release.

”

So far in 2022, IOF conducted 7339 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 4176 Palestinians were arrested, including 414 children and 39 women. IOF also conducted 33 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 91 Palestinians, including 54 fishermen, 32 infiltrators, and 5 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.

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

The 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 continue to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 108 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 84 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 3 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

On 20 October 2022, IOF closed the iron gate established at the western entrance to Husan village.

On 20 October 2022, IOF closed most of the sub-roads in Hawara village, southeast of Nablus until 25 October 2022 with sand berms to obstruct the movement of Palestinians on the main street, as part of IOF’s collective punishment policy.

On 23 October 2022, The Israeli authorities closed the entrance to Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, the entrance to ‘Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, and the entrance to ‘Abod village, northwest of Ramallah, with iron gates.

On 24 October 2022, IOF closed the iron gate at the northern entrance to Tekoa village.

On 25 October 2022, IOF closed the gate established at the main entrance to Nabi Saleh village, detained the vehicles of passersby and confiscated their vehicle keys. The following iron gates were also closed in these areas: the gate on Wadi Al-Delb Road near Ras Karkar village, the entrance to Kafr Ni’ma village, and the entrance to Rantis village, west of Ramallah.

”

So far in 2022, IOF established 3767 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 168 Palestinians at those checkpoints

The Israeli occupation’s master plan against Palestinian Christians

19 Oct 2022

Source: Al Mayadeen English

Makram Khoury-Machool 

Shadi Khoury is a case among so many Palestinian children that are being harassed, tortured, and imprisoned for no reason other than being Palestinian.

The Israeli occupation’s master plan against Palestinian Christians

Five months ago, one of the most brutal killings of a human being took place; a crime was committed by the members of the Israeli occupation forces against the female journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian Christian. Two weeks before her assassination, during Easter, the occupation limited, separated, and violently prevented Palestinian Christians in particular from performing their acts of worship in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the old city of Al-Quds; the holiest of Christian sites that is beyond imagination. 

Holy Christian sites, clergymen, and laymen Christians are being attacked, harassed, and arrested. Categorizing them into “sects” and not as a Nation, the occupation, and for at least seven decades, has craftily been implementing the divide and rule policy (between Christians and Muslims) aiming at ‘gently’ and indirectly emptying Palestine from its original Palestinian Christian community in particular in Eastern Palestine occupied in 1967 and chiefly from East Jerusalem. 

Despite targeting many Palestinian Christian figures including assassinations, the Israeli occupation spread the most vicious propaganda, claiming (chiefly amongst ignorant segments in the West) that it is “protecting” Christians in the Holy Land. 

The criminal lie that the Israeli occupation “protects” Palestinian Christians was smashed yet again in the early hours of October 18, 2022, when Israeli occupation elements, in a group of 12 persons consisting of “soldiers” and Shabak (Secret services), conducted a dawn-raid at the house of Palestinian Christian Maestro Souheil Khoury after breaking the gate at the entrance of the compound where the whole family lives, to arrest his son Shadi Khoury, a sixteen-year-old child, a pupil at the Quakers “Friends School” in Ramallah. They beat him so hard until he was bleeding and dragged him across the room and along the path on the way out of the house barefoot and blindfolded, not allowing the parents to see where the blood was coming from.  Shadi was taken to the interrogation section in the notorious Maskobiyeh “Moscovan” Israeli secret police compound in which they interrogate mainly Palestinian residents of occupied Al-Quds. 

Shadi’s grandmother Samia, 89, told us that Shadi is being “interrogated” without the presence of either his parents or a lawyer; “a tactic used systematically to terrorize children into submission, and ultimately using their own words to incriminate them.”

Shadi is a case among so many Palestinian children that are being harassed, tortured, and imprisoned for no reason other than being a Palestinian seeking to live in dignity and freedom in their own country. 

Back in July 2020, the Israeli occupation arrested Shadi’s parents (Souheil and Rania Elias). Rania is the director of the Jebus Cultural Center (Jebus is an ancient name of Al-Quds, given by the Jebusites, the ones who first built the city) and her husband Souheil Khoury is the director of the National Conservatory.

The arrest of Shadi is not a random act; rather, it was “perfectly” calculated. The occupation is working diligently to separate Palestinian cultural organizations (especially those based in Al-Quds) from their international financiers. The easiest thing the occupation can do is describe the Palestinian people as “terrorists” and “murderers”, thus reincarnating the Euro-Western anti-Semitic past, triggering Western guilt and preventing the latter from sympathizing with the Palestinian victim. The West would “prefer” to settle its problems “with its own victim” first because it can always be extorted with such accusations. 

The new “regulations” of finance imposed by the EU in early 2020 go well in line with the policies, practices, and decisions of the occupation in October 2021 against Palestinian NGOs and are yet another testament to this kind of pressure policy that can lead to ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in their own home.

This is why the occupation invents ties and fabricates links between “terrorism” and culture, forming fierce campaigns led by Zionist lobbies in the media, demanding an end to what it calls the indirect “financing of Palestinian terrorism,” which constitutes a burden for the backers and financiers of any cultural activity.

Through this dirty game, the occupation attempts to don the robe of the “classy, music-connoisseur intellectual,” the defender of the bastion of civilization against the barbarians.

The occupation has understood that culture, with its many building blocks, is a (political) power that goes hand in hand in the fight alongside another kind of political power (the military), and this is what the occupation dreads. The occupation would love nothing else than to have the Palestinians remain within the confines of military power (the occupation in the “legitimate” uniform of its soldiers – against the “terrorist” Palestinian without an official uniform) because it is easy to attack this kind of power and promote a negative image of the Palestinians. The occupation has invested billions of dollars across the decades in crystallizing this image in order to weaken the other forms of power in the Palestinian’s possession.

Although the occupation reiterates in all international events and before donor states always that Palestinians (in ’67 occupied Palestine) teach their children to be “anti-Semitic” and anti-“Israel”, including in their educational programs (the last time was in a hostile question against Palestine in the UK Parliament in July 2020), with the aim of targeting the backers of Palestine’s educational institutions, the persecution in occupied eastern Al-Quds takes on a different form.

The Israeli occupation hasn’t stopped (since the expulsion of half of the Palestinian people back in 1948) using violent “solutions” against Palestinians, not even sparing cultural leaders, such as poets and writers including the grand uncle of Shadi Khoury the late poet and writer Kamal Butros Nasser in April 1973. In Palestine, cultural counter-hegemony is considered an “act of terror”, whereas the “moralists” of the West call for arming Ukrainians to defend their country against the Russians. Stop looking for “double standards” and start looking for hidden intentional brutality unless we choose to establish yet another mental health global hospital to treat “Western” hypocrites. If we do, we won’t be asking the EU for funding.

The opinions mentioned in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Al mayadeen, but rather express the opinion of its writer exclusively.

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Israeli Human Rights Violations in Palestine (Weekly Update 22 – 28 September 2022)

September 29, 2022

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

6 Palestinians were killed, and 48 others were wounded, including 6 children and a journalist, while dozens of others suffocated in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 22 September 2022, Mohammad Osama Abo Jom’a (23), resident of Al-Tor neighborhood in East Jerusalem was killed by Israeli police fire near Beit Sira military checkpoint at the entrance to Modi’in settlement, west of Ramallah, after a fight with an Israeli settler. No statement was published by the Israeli forces or police, while the Israeli media reported injuries among settlers in a stabbing attack while eyewitnesses refuted these claims.

On 24 September 2022, Mohammad ‘Awad Abu Koufa (37), from Beit Ijza in East Jerusalem, was killed when IOF opened fire at a Palestinian vehicle he was driving and after colliding with an Israeli police vehicle, west of Nablus. As a result, an Israeli police officer and a soldier were wounded.

On 28 September 2022, IOF killed 4 Palestinians, including one civilian, and wounded 20 others; mostly civilians including 4 children: 2 in critical condition, following IOF’s incursion into Jenin refugee camp. IOF cordoned off a residential house and targeted it with a barrage of bullets and missiles. (Details available here)

Meanwhile, those injured were victims of excessive use of force during IOF incursions into cities and villages or suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians, and they were as follows:

On 23 September 2022, 11 Palestinians, including a journalist and a child, were injured when IOF opened fire during clashes that followed the latter’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in northern Qalqilya. On the same day, a person with disability was wounded with a bullet in his foot in IOF shooting following their incursion into Al-Dhahr area near “Karmei Tzur” settlement, north of Hebron.

On 25 September 2022, a Palestinian sustained a rubber bullet wound, and 15 others suffocated due to teargas inhalation during confrontations with IOF in Silwan village in East Jerusalem.

On 26 September 2022, an elderly was injured, and others sustained bruises, while 13 others were arrested during IOF suppression of worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque to secure the settlers’ raid into the Mosque’s yards on the occasion of Jewish New Year.  IOF cordoned off Al-Aqsa Mosque and closed its gates while they were heavily deployed across Jerusalem, particularly the Old City. Meanwhile, IOF attacked the participants in a woman’s funeral after attempting to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the funeral prayer and arrested 5 members of her family.

On 28 September 2022, 3 Palestinians were wounded with live bullets during clashes at the entrance to Beit Ummar village in Hebron. Moreover, 12 others, including a child in serious condition, sustained shrapnel and bullet wounds, and 14 suffocated during clashes with IOF near the Military Court Checkpoint at the northern entrance to Al-Bireh.

In separate incidents, dozens suffocated after IOF fired tear gas canisters during the latter’s suppression of protests or incursions into Palestinian neighborhoods or near seam zones in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In the Gaza Strip, 5 IOF shootings were reported on fishing boats off the Gaza shores (Western Gaza shores), and 10 other shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip.

”

So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 128 Palestinians, including 87 civilians: 26 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settler and the rest were activists; 15 of them were assassinated. Thirty-two of those killed, including 19 civilians: 8 children and 3 women, were in the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. Also, 1,373 Palestinians, including 212 children, 40 women, and 23 journalists, were wounded in IOF’s attacks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Moreover, 4 Palestinian detainees, including a woman, died in the Israeli prisons.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished 2 houses, rendering 2 families of 16 homeless. Details are as follows:

On 22 September 2022, IOF demolished a house in Yatta, south of Hebron, displacing a family of 10 as they previously handed the house’s owner notices of cease-construction and then demolition.

On 25 September 2022, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolish his house in Wadi Al-Joz neighborhood in East Jerusalem upon an Israeli municipal decision under the pretext of unlicensed construction. The house was established years ago and repaired 15 years ago as he added another structure, making the total area of the house about 80 sqms. He lived there with his wife who suffers from complete disability and his 4 children.

”

Since the beginning of 2022, Israeli occupation forces made 115 families homeless, a total of 686 persons, including 132 women and 310 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 121 houses and 41 residential tents. IOF also demolished 92 other civilian economic objects, leveled vacant areas of land, and delivered dozens of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation.

Settler-attacks

On 23 September 2022, Israeli settlers accompanied with Knesset Member, Samha Rotman, raided Bab Al-Rahma Islamic Cemetery, and the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque gates in East Jerusalem under IOF protection.  They blew the trumpet and performed religious rituals there.

”

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 184 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 188 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, 86 Palestinians were arrested, including 4 children, 2 journalists and a woman.

”

So far in 2022, IOF conducted 6,515 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 3,802 Palestinians were arrested, including 353 children and 33 women. IOF also conducted 32 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 85 Palestinians, including 49 fishermen, 31 infiltrators, and 5 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.

Israeli closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement:

IOF maintain their illegal and inhuman 15-year closure on the Gaza Strip. Details available in PCHR’s monthly-update in the Gaza crossings.

On 23 September 2022, Waseem Sameer ‘Azzam (28), from northern Gaza Strip, died because he was denied travel to receive treatment at Al-Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. ‘Azzam sustained a fracture in the neck, complete cerebral palsy and Hypoesthesia “loss of sensation” when swimming on 15 September 2022. Accordingly, since the beginning of this year, the number of patients died due to preventing their travel for treatment abroad has risen to 7, including 3 children.

IOF announced the closure of the crossings with the Gaza Strip and West Bank from Sunday, 25 September to 27 September 2022, under the pretext of the Jewish New Year while Al-Jalama crossing remains open to the movement of Israeli vehicles into Jenin only on 27 September.

In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, IOF continue to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 108 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 95 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 5 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

On 26 September 2022, IOF closed 3 gates of the East Jerusalem wall, and erupted dozens of police checkpoints in the vicinity of the Old city, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and its gates, coinciding with the beginning of the Jewish New Year holiday.

”

So far in 2022, IOF established 3,298 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 151 Palestinians at those checkpoints

Israeli Human Rights Violations in Palestine (Weekly Update 15-21 September 2022)

 September 22, 2022

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

A Palestinian child was killed and 9 other civilians, including 2 children, were injured, while dozens of others suffocated in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 15 September 2022, ‘Odai Salah (17) was killed and 3 other Palestinians, including a child, were wounded by IOF fire during the latter’s incursion into Kafr Dan village, west of Jenin in the West Bank. Before their withdrawal, IOF arrested 3 Palestinians. (Details available in this press release). 

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

On 15 September 2022, 5 students suffocated due to teargas inhalation after IOF fired stun grenades and teargas canisters at the yard of ‘Isawiya High School for Boys during IOF’s incursion into Isawiya village in occupied East Jerusalem.

On 16 September 2022m 4 Palestinians, including a child, were shot with rubber-coated bullets in clashes Following IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in northern Qalqilya. 

On 18 September 2022, a Palestinian was wounded by IOF’s fire in clashes following the latter’s incursion into Husan village, west of Bethlehem.

On 20 September 2022, a Palestinian was wounded in his foot by IOF fire in clashes following IOF’s suppression of a funeral near Bypass Road 60 in Beit Ummar village in Hebron.

In the Gaza Strip, 2 shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip, and one shooting was reported on fishing boats off the western Gaza shores.

”

So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 121 Palestinians, including 86 civilians: 26 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settler and the rest were activists; 15 of them were assassinated. Thirty-two of those killed, including 19 civilians: 8 children and 3 women were in the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. Also, 1,325 Palestinians were wounded in IOF’s attacks, including 206 children, 40 women, and 22 journalists, in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Moreover, 4 Palestinian detainees, including a woman, died in the Israeli prisons.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished a house and a facility, handed notices to cease construction works in 4 other facilities, and dismantled and confiscated 7 tents. Details are as follows:

On 15 September 2022, IOF handed notices to cease construction works in 4 industrial facilities in Qarawat Bani Hassan village, west of Salfit, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On 19 September 2022, IOF demolished a house and a livestock barrack in ad-Duyuk al-Foqa village, west of Jericho, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area C.

On the same day, IOF dismantled and confiscated 7 tents established for an entertainment project in Al-Auja village, northeast of Jericho.

”

Since the beginning of 2022, Israeli occupation forces made 113 families homeless, a total of 670 persons, including 130 women and 310 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 119 houses and 41 residential tents. IOF also demolished 92 other civilian economic 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 15 September 2022, under IOF’s protection, the Extremist Israeli Members of Knesset (MKs), Rabbi Yehuda Glick, moved into Bab Al-Rahma Islamic cemetery located next to al-Aqsa Mosque from the eastern direction. He blew the trumpet and raised the Israeli flag.

On 17 September 2022, an armed Israeli settler raided ‘Ein al-Qasis area in al-Khader village, west of Bethlehem, detained a Palestinian farmer at gunpoint and later released him.

On 20 September 2022, Israeli settlers assaulted al-Khawajat Market’s merchants in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City and heavily teargassed the market. As a result, tens of merchants and passersby suffocated due to teargas inhalation.

”

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 183 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 187 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, 98 Palestinians were arrested, including 10 children. In the Gaza Strip, on 17 September 2022, IOF arrested a Palestinian who tried to infiltrate via the border fence adjacent to the northern Gaza Strip.

”

So far in 2022, IOF conducted 6327 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 3716 Palestinians were arrested, including 349 children and 32 women. IOF also conducted 32 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 85 Palestinians, including 49 fishermen, 31 infiltrators, and 5 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.

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

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

On 20 September 2022, a patient namely Tayseer Daoud Yousuf Al-Sayegh (67), from Gaza City, died when the Israeli authorities denied his travel for treatment at Al-Muttala’ Hospital in occupied Jerusalem. Accordingly, since the beginning of this year, the number of patients denied travel for treatment abroad has risen to 6, including 3 children. (Details available in this press release).

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 98 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 5 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

On 18 September 2022, IOF re-opened al-Jalama and Salem crossings, while they put Kafr Dan villagers’ permits on hold for, including work permits. It is worth noting that on 14 September 2022, IOF decided closure of the two crossings mentioned above and imposition of restrictions as part of the collective punishment policy following a shooting attack near al-Jalamah crossing in Jenin. (Details available in this press release.)

”

So far in 2022, IOF established at least 3203 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 151 Palestinians at those checkpoints

Israeli Human Rights Violations in Palestine ( Weekly Update 08 – 14 September 2022)

15. 09. 2022

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

A child was killed, 8 others were wounded, and dozens of others suffocated in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 08 September 2022, IOF killed Haytham Hani Mubarak (17) from Beitounia, West of Ramallah, with several bullets at the DCO checkpoint near the entrance to Beitin village, east of Ramallah, and kept his body in custody, claiming that Mubarak tried to stab a soldier with a knife, yet there was no eyewitness to the incident.

Meanwhile, those injured were victims of excessive use of force during IOF incursions into cities and villages and suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians, and they were as follows:

On 08 September 2022, A Palestinian was injured with a rubber bullet in the foot in IOF clashes following their incursion into Qalandia refugee camp in East Jerusalem. Also, a Palestinian was injured with a live bullet when IOF opened fire at Palestinians, who tried to confront settlers’ attacks in Sinjil village in Ramallah.

On the same day, IOF violently attacked Palestine TV journalist, Yousuf Mohammad ‘Aadi (36), when he was on Al-Wad Street in East Jerusalem, causing him bruises, wounds and fractures before arresting and later releasing him on bail the following day. ‘Aadi said to PCHR’s staff that IOF violently assaulted him and dragged him to the ground when he started screaming for help to passersby, who tried to intervene, but the soldiers prevented them and continued hitting him on the head, grabbed his hair and yanking him many times to the ground between the iron bars of a barrier.  Although he fainted, they continued beating him and then tied him up and arrested him.

On 09 September 2022, 4 Palestinians were shot by IOF’s rubber bullets in clashes that followed IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in northern Qalqilya. On the same day, an elderly suffocated due to teargas inhalations and others were sustained brises and suffocated during IOF suppression of a peaceful protest in support of Al-Nabi Samuel village residents, near al-Jib military checkpoint, northwestern East Jerusalem. In addition, 2 Palestinians were wounded and 5 suffocated during IOF suppression of a peaceful protest against land confiscations and settlers’ attacks in Sinjil village in Ramallah.

In the Gaza Strip, 2 IOF shootings were reported on fishing boats off the western Gaza shore, and 2 other shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip.

”

So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 120 Palestinians, including 85 civilians: 25 children, 8 women; 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers; and the rest were activists; 15 of them were assassinated. Thirty-two of those killed, including 19 civilians: 8 children and 3 women were in the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. Also, 1,316 Palestinians, including 204 children, 40 women, and 22 journalists, were wounded in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Moreover, 4 Palestinian prisoners, including a woman, died in the Israeli prisons.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF forced 2 Palestinians to self-demolish 2 houses and an animal barn in East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 08 September 2022, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolish his under-construction house in Silwan village in East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction. Also, they demolished retaining walls in al-Walaja village, west of Bethlehem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On 09 September 2022, IOF forced a Palestinian to self-demolish a barrack he owned and used as an animal barn in Al-Isawiya village in occupied East Jerusalem under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On 12 September 2022, IOF forced a widow to self-demolish her house in Silwan village in occupied East Jerusalem under the pretext of unlicensed construction, rendering her and her 3 children homeless.

”

Since the beginning of 2022, Israeli occupation forces made 113 families homeless, a total of 670 persons, including 130 women and 310 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 118 houses and 41 residential tents. IOF also demolished 90 other civilian economic objects, leveled vacant areas of land and delivered dozens of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation.

Settler-attacks

On 08 September 2022, an Israeli settler threw stones at a vehicle travelling on Bypass Road (60) near Bani Na’im village, east of Hebron, and broke its windshield. On the same day, 2 Palestinians were injured and sustained bruises while 5 cars were badly damaged  as a result of the settlers’ attacks in Sinjil village in Ramallah

On 13 September 2022, a Palestinian sustained wounds and fractures when Israeli settlers assaulted him in his land near at-Tuwani village close to Havat Ma’oun settlement outpost, south of Hebron. When a Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance arrived and tried to evacuate the injured, the settlers intercepted it and damaged its tires. IOF arrested the injured and took him via an Israeli ambulance to Soroka Hospital.  He was then referred for investigation to the police station in Kiryat Aba’ settlement, claiming that he attempted to kill a settler. Later on, IOF backups arrived in the area, opened fire, and fired tear gas canisters at the Palestinians there.  As a result, some of them suffocated.  Also, IOF arrested 10 Palestinians and interrogated them about a settler’s injury in clashes against Palestinians in the area.

”

Since the beginning of the year, settlers conducted at least 180 attacks. In two of the attacks, 2 Palestinians were killed.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 210 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, 78 Palestinians were arrested, including 5 children and a woman. In the Gaza Strip, IOF carried out 4 limited incursions into eastern Khan Yunis, eastern Gaza Valley village, southeast of Gaza, and Deir Al-Balah in the central governorate.

On 08 September 2022, IOF arrested 2 Palestinians, including a child, while trying to infiltrate via the border fence, east of Rafah, and released them the next day. On 13 September 2022, the Israeli Naval Forces arrested 4 fishermen after intercepting their boat off Gaza Valley shore.

”

So far in 2022, IOF conducted 6,140 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 3,618 Palestinians were arrested, including 339 children and 32 women. IOF also conducted 32 limited incursions into eastern Gaza Strip and arrested 84 Palestinians, including 49 fishermen, 30 infiltrators, and 5 travelers via Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing.

Israeli closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement:

The 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 100 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 4 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

On 08 September 2022, IOF established a military watchtower near the western entrance to Taqou’ village, east of Bethlehem.

On 11 September 2022, IOF closed the metal detector gate established at the western entrance to Husan village in Bethlehem and later reopened it.

”

So far in 2022, IOF established 3,105 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 146 Palestinians at those checkpoints