Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (29 Oct
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Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (29 Oct. – 04 Nov. 2015) Thursday, 05 November 2015 00:00 Israeli forces continue systematic crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) (29 October – 04 November 2015) Israeli forces have escalated the use of excessive force against peaceful protests in the oPt. 8 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, were killed in the West Bank; one of whom was killed in occupied Jerusalem. 129 Palestinian civilians, including 25 children, were wounded in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Among the wounded were 3 journalists and 9 paramedics. A paramedic sustained shrapnel wounds and the others suffered tear gas inhalation. Israeli forces conducted 91 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, including 14 ones in Jerusalem. 119 Palestinian civilians, including 35 children and a woman, were arrested. 48 of them, including 14 children, were arrested in occupied Jerusalem. The offices of Menber al-Hurriya Radio and Adwar "Roles" for Social Change Association in Hebron were raided and their contents were confiscated. Israeli forces have continued their efforts to create Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem. A house in al-Mukaber Mountain and 3 apartments in a residential building in Beit Hanina neighbourhood were demolished. 10 families were notified to vacate their houses, southeast of Nablus, to be demolished as they are close to "Ahya" settlement. Israeli forces raided houses belonging to families of Palestinians who carried out run-over and stabbing attacks, and threatened to demolish them on grounds of collective punishment. Israeli settlers have escalated their attacks against Palestinian civilians and property and settlement activities have continued in the West Bank. 5 dunums[1], east of Salfit, were confiscated. A Palestinian civilian was run over by a settler, east of Qalqilya, due to which he sustained several fractures. Israeli forces have turned the West Bank into cantons and continued to impose the illegal closure on the Gaza Strip for the 9th year. Many temporary checkpoints were established in the West Bank and many others were re-established in a way obstructing the traffic. 9 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, were arrested at checkpoints. Maltreatment at checkpoints have escalated. Summary Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law in the oPt continued during the reporting period (29 October – 04 November 2015). Shooting: Israeli forces have continued to flagrantly commit crimes, inflicting civilian casualties. They have also continued to use excessive force against Palestinian civilians participating in peaceful protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the majority of whom were youngsters. Occupied East Jerusalem witnessed similar attacks. During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 8 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, in the West Bank; one of whom was killed in occupied Jerusalem. Moreover, 129 Palestinian civilians, including 25 children, 3 journalists and a paramedic, were wounded. In addition, 8 other paramedics suffered tear gas inhalation. Fifty-six of the wounded, including a child, a journalist and a paramedic, sustained shrapnel wounds and 4 others suffered tear gas inhalation in the Gaza Strip, while the remaining others were wounded in the West Bank. Concerning the nature of injury, 87 Palestinian civilians were hit with live ammunition and 41 were hit with rubber-coated metal bullets. In the West Bank, killings committed by Israeli forces were as follows: On 29 October 2015, Israeli Border Guard officers stationed at the military checkpoint (160), south of Hebron's Old City, shot Mahdi al-Mohtaseb (22) dead under the pretext of a stabbing attempt. On the same day, Israeli soldiers deployed in al-Shuhada Street, in the centre of Hebron's Old City, killed Farouq Seder (19), from Izone neighbourhood, east of Hebron, by opening fire at him from behind. Israeli forces claimed that he attempted to stab a soldier. However, some photos posted by Israeli soldiers on social media showed that there was no knife in the crime scene. On 30 October 2015, Israeli forces stationed at Za'tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, killed Qasem Saba'na (20), from Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin, and seriously wounded another in a stabbing attempt. On the same day, a light rail security officer on Bar Lev Street near Shaikh Jarrah neighbourhood, north of East Jerusalem's Old City, opened fire at Ahmed Qnaibi (23), from Kufor Aqeb neighbourhood, north of the city. As a result, he sustained several bullet wounds from a close range, due to which he was transported to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in West Jerusalem to receive the necessary medical treatment, but he succumbed to his injuries few hours later. Israeli forces claimed that the aforementioned person attempted to stab 2 settlers in the city. On 31 October 2015, Israeli security officers serving the Israeli forces and guarding al-Jalama crossing, northeast of Jenin, killed Mahmoud Nazzal (17), from Qabatya village, southeast of the city, who was running towards the crossing and crying "Allah Akbar". It should be noted that he was not holding any sharp tool with him. On 01 November 2015, Israeli forces deployed at the entrance of Beit Aynoun village, east of Hebron, killed Fadi al-Faroukh (27) while being present in an agricultural land near the main street leading to the said village. It should be noted that there were confrontations between Palestinian civilians and Israeli forces in that area. Israeli forces claimed that the aforementioned person attempted to carry out a stabbing. On 02 November 2015, Israeli forces stationed at al-Jalama crossing, northeast of Jenin, killed Ahmed Abu al-Rob (16) and wounded Mahmoud Kmail (17); both are from Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. The first was killed when Israeli forces ordered both of them to pull up their clothes, but Abu al-Rob pulled a knife out; therefore, Israeli soldiers opened fire at him and shot him dead and wounded the other, who was then arrested. On 04 November 2015, Israeli infantry deployed at the entrance to Halahoul northern entrance opened fire at a vehicle with a Palestinian registration plate after its driver had run over 2 Israeli police officers. As a result, the driver namely Ibrahim Eskafi (22), from Khellet Hadour, south of Hebron, was killed. During the reporting period, 73 Palestinian civilians, including 24 children, were wounded in the West Bank; one of whom was wounded in occupied East Jerusalem. The Palestinian civilians wounded in the West Bank were as follows: In peaceful protests against Israeli policies: 52 Palestinian civilians, including 17 children, were wounded. Ninety-three of them were hit with live ammunition and 13 others were hit with rubber-coated metal bullets. In peaceful protests against Israeli incursion: 20 Palestinian civilians, including 7 children, were wounded. Four of them were hit with live ammunition and 16 others were hit with rubber-coated metal bullets. Palestinian civilians wounded in occupied Jerusalem: 28 Palestinian civilians were wounded with rubber-coated metal bullets. In the Gaza Strip, 56 Palestinian civilians, including a child, a journalist and a paramedic, were wounded, while 4 other paramedics suffered tear gas inhalation. Forty-four of whom were hit with live ammunition, 11 others were hit with rubber- coated metal bullets and dozens of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation. The Palestinian civilians wounded in the Gaza Strip were as follows: North of the Gaza Strip: 6 civilians were wounded; 5 of whom sustained live bullet wounds and the 6th sustained a rubber bullet wound. Gaza City: 17 Palestinian civilians were wounded; 7 of whom sustained live bullet wounds and the 10 others sustained rubber bullet wounds. Central Gaza Strip: 19 Palestinian civilians, including a child, sustained live bullet wounds. Khan Yunis: 14 Palestinian civilians, including a paramedic and a journalist, sustained live bullet wounds. Incursions: During the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted at least 77 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and 14 ones in occupied East Jerusalem. During these incursions, Israeli forces arrested at least 119 Palestinian civilians, including 35 children and a woman. Forty-eight of these civilians, including 14 children, were arrested in East Jerusalem. During the reporting period, Israeli forces raided the offices of Menbar al-Hurriya Radio and Adwar "Roles" for Social Change Association in Hebron and issued a decision to close the aforementioned radio for 6 months. Moreover, they raided houses of a number of families of Palestinians accused of carrying out stabbing and run-over attacks. They also verbally threatened these families to confiscate and demolish their houses within a week. Restrictions on movement: Israel continued to impose a tight closure of the oPt, imposing severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. The illegal closure of the Gaza Strip, which has been steadily tightened since June 2007 has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli authorities impose measures to undermine the freedom of trade, including the basic needs for the Gaza Strip population and the agricultural and industrial products to be exported. For 9 consecutive years, Israel has tightened the land and naval closure to isolate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, and other countries around the world. This resulted in grave violations of the economic, social and cultural rights and a deterioration of living conditions for 1.8 million people. The Israeli authorities have established Karm Abu Salem (KeremShaloum) as the sole crossing for imports and exports in order to exercise its control over the Gaza Strip’s economy. They also aim at imposing a complete ban on the Gaza Strip’s exports. The Israeli closure raised the rate of poverty to 38.8%, 21.1% of which suffer from extreme poverty.