Palestinian Centre for Human Rights:

Israeli forces continue systematic crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt)

18 – 24 January 2018:

A Palestinian was killed, 4 others were wounded, and 3 houses were levelled in a military operation in Jenin.

25 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, 2 women, a journalist and paramedic, were killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

13 of them were hit with live bullets, 5 were hit with rubber-coated metal bullets, and 7 were hit with sound bomb shrapnel.

A Palestinian ill prisoner died of cancer in the Israeli jails.

Israeli forces conducted 74 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and 8 similar ones into Jerusalem.

79 civilians, including 16 children, a woman and PLC Member, were arrested.

24 of them, including 9 children and a woman, were arrested in Jerusalem.

Seven shooting incidents targeting the Palestinian fishing boats occurred in the northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli authorities continued their settlement activities in the West Bank.

Israeli settlers started to establish a settlement road between Nablus and Qalqiliya.

Shooting was reported towards the border areas of the Gaza Strip, but no casualties were reported.

Israeli forces turned the West Bank into cantons and continued to impose the illegal closure on the Gaza Strip for the 11th consecutive year.

Dozens of temporary checkpoints were established in the West Bank and others were re-established to obstruct the movement of Palestinian civilians.

4 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children and a woman, were arrested at the checkpoints in the West Bank.

Summary

Shooting:

During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian in Jenin in the northern West Bank while a Palestinian prisoner died in the Israeli jails due to the medical negligence policy adopted by the Israeli forces against Palestinian prisoners in the jails. The Israeli forces also wounded 29 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, 2 women, a journalist and a paramedic, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli forces continued to chase Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Sea and target border areas.

In the West Bank, On 18 January 2018, using disproportionate force, on Thursday morning, 18 January 2018, Israeli forces conducted a wide-scale military operation in Jenin and its suburbs targeting Ahmed Nasser Khalid Jarrar (22). Ahmed survived, but the Israeli forces killed his cousin and demolished 3 houses belonging to Jarrar family. The Israeli forces claimed that the killed civilian carried out a shooting attack on 09 January 2018, in the vicinity of Surrah village, southwest of Nablus, resulting in the death of a settler. During the operation, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered in the vicinity of the targeted houses and then threw stones and empty bottles at the Israeli forces. The Israeli forces immediately fired live bullets and rubber-coated metal bullets at them. As a result, 4 Palestinian civilians were wounded; the condition of one of them is serious.

On 20 January 2018, Palestinian prisoner in the Israeli jails, Husain ‘Atallah (57) from Nablus, who suffered cancer, died in Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Israel in circumstances that raise suspicion of deliberate medical negligence in the Israeli prisons. ‘Atallah was sentenced with 32 years in prison and spent 21 years of them in the Israeli prisons. While in prison, ‘Atallah was diagnosed with cancer in 5 parts of his body, in the lungs, spine, liver, and head. Despite the rapid deterioration of his health condition in his last days, the Israeli authorities refused the repeated calls to release him as a humanitarian case. ‘Atallah’s death sheds light on the deterioration of Palestinian prisoners detention conditions in Israeli jails and the punitive measures against them, particularly the medical negligence they are subject to.

On 23 January 2018, two Palestinian children were wounded when Israeli forces stationed at Za’atarah Cehckpoint, south of Nablus, opened fire at them. The two children were wounded to the lower limbs while they were crossing the checkpoint. The Israeli forces claimed that the children attempted to stab Israeli soldier.

On 24 January 2018, a 15-year-old child was superficially wounded to the right cheek when Israeli forces moved into Borqa village, northwest of Nablus, via its main entrance and a number of children and youngsters protested against them.

During the reporting period, the West Bank witnessed protests against the U.S. President’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. During the protests, the Israeli forces used force against the protesters, and the shooting to disperse the protests resulted in the injury of 12 civilians, including a child, a photojournalist and a paramedic. Five of them were hit with live bullets, and 7 sustained sound bomb shrapnel.

In the Gaza Strip, the border areas with Israel witnessed protests against the U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. Embassy to it. During the protests, the Israeli forces used force against the protestors. Due to opening fire to disperse the protests, 10 Palestinian civilians were wounded, including 2 children, with live bullets.

As part of targeting fishermen in the sea, on 20 January 2018, Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Sudaniyah Shore, west of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, heavily opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. The shooting recurred once in the above-mentioned area on 21 January 2018 and 3 times on 20 January 2018. On 20 January 2018, the gunboats opened fire at the Palestinian fishing boats offshore, west of Beit Lahia Municipality in the northern Gaza Strip. The shooting recurred in the same area on 21 January 2018. In all the shooting incidents, fishermen panicked and fled to the shore. Neither causalities nor damage to the boat was reported.

As part of targeting the border areas, on 22 January 2018, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the agricultural lands, east of Gaza Valley village near the eastern borders of the village. However, no casualties were reported in both incidents.

Incursions:

During the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted at least 74 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank while they conducted 8 incursions into Jerusalem and its suburbs. During those incursions, Israeli forces arrested at least 79 Palestinian civilians, including 16 children and a woman, in the West Bank. Twenty-four of them, including 9 children and a woman, were arrested in Jerusalem and its suburbs. Among those arrested this week was Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Member and former Palestinian Finance Minister, Dr ‘Omer ‘Abdel Razeq.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Gaza City.

[Photo:  Palestinian old man Walid Haddad tries to find usable wares after Israeli army demolished his house due to unlicensed construction license accusation, in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem on January 17, 2018. Photographer: Mahmoud İbrahim/AA]