Updates

Open-Fire Policy

Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinians, including a paramedic, during ‘Return March’ protests east of Rafah, 10 Aug. 2018

On 10 Aug. 2018, thousands of Palestinians held a demonstration east of Rafah. Some burned tires and threw stones at Israeli forces on the other side of the fence. The forces fired tear gas and live bullets, killing three demonstrators. B'Tselem found that two of those killed were not endangering the forces in any way. These fatalities are the direct result of Israel’s open-fire policy, and another example of the lack of concern shown by Israeli authorities for Palestinian life and limb.

18 October 2018

Open-Fire Policy

In 6 months of Gaza protests, Israeli forces fatally shoot 31 Palestinian minors

In protests near the Gaza fence from 30 March to 8 Oct. 2018, Israeli forces shot and killed at least 166 Palestinians, 31 of them minors, and injured more than 5,300 with live gunfire. Most of those killed or injured did not endanger the forces, who were on the other side of the fence. The high casualty count is a direct result of Israel’s open-fire policy in the area. Its lethal outcomes, which are well-known, convey the Israeli authorities’ disregard for the life and death of Palestinians. Testimonies regarding the killing of four of the minors follow.

15 October 2018

A Routine Founded on Violence

Summer 2018 – Israeli military harasses residents of Beit Ummar for about a month

From 17 July to 13 August 2018, Israeli security forces raided 20 homes in Beit Ummar on five occasions, most of the times as punishment for fires that broke out in settlement fields nearby. The forces used violence and threats and confiscated money and a car. This is another example of how the military wantonly abuses its power to terrorize families and disrupt their lives, sparing no one, and evidence of the military’s profound disregard for the privacy and dignity of Palestinians and their right to live their lives without interference.

11 October 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Civil Administration personnel demolish three homes and confiscated solar power components in Khirbet al-Halwah in Masafer Yatta

Today, Tuesday, 9 October 2018, at around 10:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel, soldiers, Border Police officers and two bulldozers arrived at Khirbet al-Halwa in the Masafer Yatta area in the South Hebron Hills. The forces demolished three dwellings, donated to local residents by a humanitarian aid organization with European Union funding. The demolition left 21 people, including 13 children, homeless. The forces also confiscated four solar panel batteries and an electrical box donated to the residents by COMET ME, with funding from the Dutch government. Earlier this month, the Civil Administration confiscated a tent in the community, which a family of six, including four minors, homeless.

9 October 2018

Attacks on Israeli Civilians by Palestinians

Palestinian shoots and kills two Israeli civilians, Barkan Industrial Zone, the West Bank

B’Tselem expresses its deep sorrow at the deaths of Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel – a 28-year-old married mother of a toddler, from Rosh Ha’ayin, Israel – and of Ziv Hajbi - a 35-year-old married father of three, from Rishon Letzion, Israel. They were shot and killed yesterday morning (October 7) by a Palestinian from the village of Sheweikah, Tulkarm District. B’Tselem conveys its sincerest condolences to the Levengrond-Yehezkel and Hajbi families, and send its best wishes for a speedy recovery to the woman injured in the incident. The deliberate targeting of civilians undermines every moral, legal and human standard. B’Tselem strongly condemns any and all deliberate attacks against civilians and reiterates its call to politicians and leaders to act responsibly and avoid fanning the flames of violence.

8 October 2018

A Routine Founded on Violence

Israeli soldiers raid two homes in Bethlehem and use a dog to attack two people

On Tuesday, 24 July 2018, about ten masked soldiers accompanied by an assault dog raided two homes in Bethlehem. The soldiers forced open the doors and set dogs on two members of the families. In the first home the forces did not ask anyone anything, leaving through the rear door. In the second they detained one young man. This kind of brutal behavior is typical of the routine imposed by the occupation regime in the West Bank and forms part of military policy.

2 October 2018

Open-Fire Policy

Israel bombs Deir al-Balah home, killing pregnant mother and toddler

On 9 August 2018, Israel’s air force dropped a guided bomb on the home of the Abu Khamash family in Deir al-Balah, killing a pregnant woman and her toddler. The bomb was dropped as part of a massive exchange of fire between Israel and armed operatives in the Gaza Strip, who fired rockets at Israeli communities injuring 23 people, one of them seriously. Firing missiles in densely-populated areas such as the Gaza Strip by definition endangers civilians. Israel has killed thousands of civilians in Gaza with airstrikes. As Israel insists that this patently illegal policy is lawful, no one has been held accountable for the horrifying outcomes.

17 September 2018

Attacks on Israeli Civilians by Palestinians

Palestinian stabs and kills Israeli civilian in Gush Etzion Junction

B’Tselem expresses its deep sorrow over the killing of Ari Fuld, a 40-year-old husband and father of four who lived in the settlement of Efrat in the Bethlehem district. He was fatally stabbed today at the Gush Etzion junction by a Palestinian from the town of Yatta, and died of his wounds in Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem. B’Tselem conveys its sincerest condolences to the Fuld family. The deliberate targeting of civilians undermines every moral, legal and human standard. B’Tselem strongly condemns any and all deliberate attacks against civilians and calls once again on politicians and leaders to act responsibly and avoid fanning the flames of violence.

16 September 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

B'Tselem to EU: Clarify to Israel demolition of Khan al-Ahmar will have consequences

After the High Court ruling, which greenlighted the state’s plan to demolish the community within a week, B’Tselem’s director wrote urgently to EU foreign policy chief Mogherini yesterday, warning that Israel is trampling the shared values that are at the core of its relationship with the EU.

8 September 2018

Settler Violence = State Violence

Settlers and military continue their joint assaults on the village of ‘Urif with impunity

The village of ‘Urif, southwest of Nablus, has suffered from attacks by settlers from Yitzhar and its outposts. Since March, B'Tselem has documented six such attacks, some cases with the active participation of soldiers, as well as the seizure of private land, These actions seek to de facto annex the land to the settlements. As a result, Palestinians lose not only their land but also their livelihood. The consistent behavior of the security forces shows total disregard for Palestinian lives, safety, and property.

6 September 2018

The Supreme Court of the Occupation

The Israeli Supreme Court in the Service of the Occupation

In their ruling, Justices Amit, Meltzer, and Baron described an imaginary world with an egalitarian planning system that takes into account the needs of the Palestinians, as if there had never been an occupation. The reality is diametrically opposed to this fantasy: Palestinians cannot build legally and are excluded from the decision-making mechanisms that determine how their lives will look. The planning systems are intended solely for the benefit of the settlers.This ruling shows once again that those under occupation cannot seek justice in the occupier’s courts. If the demolition of the community of Khan al-Ahmar goes ahead, the Supreme Court Justices will be among those who will bear responsibility for this war crime.

5 September 2018

A Routine Founded on Violence

Summer of 2018 in al-Jalazun R.C.: Israeli forces raid homes and cultural center, assault and humiliate residents and shoot passersby

For the last 5 years, the military has raided al-Jalazun R.C. once a week, on average. Two recent raids included arrests, live fire and incursions into nine homes, with damage to property. Night raids have become a staple of the occupation regime in the West Bank, where the military has adopted sweeping arbitrary powers. Abusing civilians as a form of intimidation and pressure is unjustified and constitutes collective punishment, which is prohibited under international law. This is yet another example of daily life under occupation.

2 September 2018

A Routine Founded on Violence

A life exposed: Night raids, violence and collective punishment in al-Mazra'ah al-Qibliyah

On the night of 5 July 2018, soldiers raided 7 homes in the village, waking families, overturning their homes and questioning some about ties to a former prisoner expelled to Gaza in the Shalit deal. Soldiers mistreated an ill man and severely beat another. Nocturnal raids on Palestinian homes, by now a West Bank routine, are clearly designed to intimidate and have no justification. Abusing civilians to pressure them is collective punishment that is prohibited by international law. This is yet another example of daily life under the occupation.

21 August 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Khan al-Ahmar expulsion: August 2018 update

On 1 Aug. 2018, the court ordered the state to detail its proposed alternative for the community. On 7 Aug., the state responded in bad faith, suggesting a site to be prepared sometime in the future that does not meet the residents’ needs, lies close to a sewage treatment plant and requires expropriation of Palestinian land. It also demanded that the residents first move to the site near the Abu Dis garbage dump, cynically tying the alternative to their persuading 3 other communities to move, too. The immediate threat to Khan al-Ahmar must be stopped now. Its fulfillment will heighten the danger facing ~200 other Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

15 August 2018

Detainees & Prisoners

Israel continues to mistreat relatives of thousands of Palestinians held illegally in its territory

On 30 June 2018, Israel was holding ~5,300 Palestinians from the West Bank on security grounds, in facilities all – barring Ofer Prison – within Israel. Imprisoning residents of the Occupied Territories in Israel contravenes international humanitarian law and violates the rights of families to visit loved ones. Palestinians undergo a bureaucratic ordeal to secure permits to visit, and lengthy journeys to and from prisons. These difficulties are another example of the exhausting routine of occupation that Palestinians face daily.

9 August 2018

Settler Violence = State Violence

Settlers destroy 2,000+ Palestinian-owned trees and vines, backed by Israeli authorities

From 1 May to 7 July 2018, B'Tselem documented 10 cases in which settlers destroyed 2,000+ trees and vines and burned a barley field and hay bales in the West Bank. Some of the farmers have suffered repeat attacks. Despite this upsurge, settler violence is routine and fully backed by Israeli authorities: soldiers take part in some assaults and stand by in others; the police do not seriously investigate or act to prevent or stop attacks. Israel benefits from this gradual dispossession of Palestinians, which paves the way for a state takeover.

5 August 2018

Administrative Detention

With no cause or end in sight: Administrative detention a routine matter

Hundreds of Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, in Israel and in the West Bank, without charges, without being seeing the alleged evidence against them and without knowing when they will be released. Israel calls this routine practice “administrative detention” and has held hundreds of Palestinians this way at any given moment over decades. Administrative detention powers are extreme and sweeping, and while the detentions are ostensibly subject to judicial review, they are routinely upheld by the military courts and the Supreme Court.

30 July 2018

Attacks on Israeli Civilians by Palestinians

Palestinian stabs Israeli civilian to death and wounds two others in the settlement of Adam

B’Tselem expresses deep sorrow at the death of Yotam Ovadia, 31, a married father of two from the settlement of Adam who was stabbed to death yesterday by a Palestinian from Kobar, and the injury of two others, one moderately and one severely. B’Tselem conveys its sincerest condolences to Ovadia’s family and wishes the injured a speedy recovery. The deliberate targeting of civilians undermines every moral, legal and human standard. B’Tselem strongly condemns any and all deliberate attacks against civilians and reiterates its call to politicians and leaders to act responsibly and avoid fanning the flames of violence.

27 July 2018

A Routine Founded on Violence

#Occupation365 - Updates from the West Bank routine.

Every day, Israel determines what the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank will look like – while they, themselves, are barred from taking part in decisions that shape their present and their future. Israel uses its power in a violent, arbitrary fashion, with blatant disregard for the safety, wellbeing and quality of life of the Palestinians who live under its control.

26 July 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Israel is about to demolish Khan al-Ahmar. Tens of thousands more Palestinians may be next. Stop the transfer! Save Khan al-Ahmar!

For years Israel has been endeavoring to displace this community for a variety of reasons, including the expansion of nearby settlements, de facto annexation of the area – without its Palestinian residents – and bisecting the West Bank, cutting it in two. To that end, Israeli authorities have made the lives of the residents intolerable, hoping to make them leave their homes, ostensibly of their own volition.

26 July 2018

Open-Fire Policy

Israeli soldiers deliberately and fatally shot Palestinian paramedic Rozan a-Najar in the Gaza Strip

On 1 June 2018, during a protest held north of Khuza’ah in the Gaza Strip, Israeli security forces deliberately fired at Palestinian paramedics who were clearly identified as medical crew and were 25 meters from the fence: Rozan a-Najar, a 20-year-old paramedic from Khza’ah was killed; two others were wounded. Since the Gaza protests began in late March, security forces have killed 127 protesters, including at least 18 minors, and wounded some 4,100 people with live fire. The military persists in this lethal policy despite its predictable outcome from the very outset.

17 July 2018