On Tuesday, 24 November. 2020, at around midday, several dozen Palestinians and Israelis held a demonstration near the Tayasir Checkpoint in the northern Jordan Valley, with several dozen soldiers standing nearby. They were protesting Israel’s intention to annex the Jordan Valley and its harassment of Palestinian area residents, such as confiscating agricultural machinery, temporarily displacing communities – allegedly due to military training by their homes or in their pastureland – and demolishing the community of Khirbet Humsah in the northern Jordan Valley in early November. During the demonstration, several protesters threw stones at the soldiers, who hurled stun grenades and fired tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets at them. About 20 protesters suffered gas inhalation, one was hit by a “rubber” bullet and another was hit in the head by a tear gas canister. According to the IDF Spokesperson, two soldiers who were driving by were lightly injured.
Image
Protesters cross the Tayasir Checkpoint
Tayasir resident Fadi Wahdan (25) took part in the demonstration. At around 1:00 P.M., he was hit in the abdomen by a “rubber” bullet and carried to an ambulance. As the paramedics started giving him first aid, soldiers opened the doors and tried to pull Wahdan out. In video footage shared on social media, soldiers are seen trying to force Wahdan out of the ambulance while a paramedic tries to protect him. A few minutes later, an officer arrived and ordered the soldiers to withdraw. Wahdan was taken to hospital in Tubas, where he was treated and discharged about three hours later.
Image
Soldiers trying to force Wahdan out of the ambulance
Clearly, the soldiers’ violent attempt to drag a wounded person out of an ambulance while he was receiving urgent medical assistance cannot be considered legal – regardless of the circumstances Israeli officials will later cite to justify it. Along with the violent suppression of the protest, it is part of the daily, systemic oppression of Palestinians under occupation.
Yusef Daraghmeh (34), a paramedic from Tubas, was treating Wahdan in the ambulance along with a volunteer paramedic when the soldiers burst in and tried to drag the wounded man out.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher ‘Aref Daraghmeh on 29 November 2020, Daraghmeh described what happened:
Image
The paramedic Yusef Daraghmeh. Photo courtesy of the witness
Yusef Daraghmeh (34), a paramedic from Tubas, was treating Wahdan in the ambulance along with a volunteer paramedic when the soldiers burst in and tried to drag the wounded man out. In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher ‘Aref Daraghmeh on 29 November 2020, Daraghmeh described what happened:
I opened the side door of the ambulance and the guy carrying the wounded man helped me get him inside. He was screaming and writhing in pain. I closed the door and laid him on the stretcher. Suddenly, I heard banging on the ambulance and someone shouting to us to open the door. Two soldiers opened the side door. One came in and tried to pull the wounded man out while we were bandaging his wound and icing it. Another soldier opened the back door and tried to pull the stretcher out with the guy on it. He was terrified and screaming hysterically. The soldier couldn’t get the stretcher out. I yelled at him that he was crazy. The soldiers kept trying to pull the guy out. They were swearing and shouting. A few moments later, an officer arrived and ordered the soldiers away. Then he spoke to me in Hebrew, and from what I could understand, he asked me to keep treating the man because he wanted to arrest him.
I went to shut the side door, but a soldier held it to stop me. Again, the officer again ordered him to let go. We closed the doors and drove the man to the Turkish Hospital in Tubas.
Those were a terrifying few minutes. I’ve worked with the Red Crescent for years and nothing like this has ever happened to me. I can’t believe we got out of there safely.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher ‘Aref Daraghmeh on 29 November 2020, Wahdan recounted:
Image
Fadi Wahdan. Photo courtesy of the witness
At around 1:00 P.M., I was next to the checkpoint and was about to cross it, like some of the other protesters. Suddenly, I don’t know how, I found myself lying on the ground. I put my hand to my stomach because I felt really sharp pain. Someone next to me tried to lift me up and then an ambulance drove up and he put me in it. There were two paramedics in the ambulance and they put bandages and ice on my stomach to ease the intense pain. Suddenly, I heard a commotion and yelling outside. The door opened and a soldier tried to pull me off the stretcher I was lying on. Another soldier came around the back of the ambulance and tried to pull me out on the stretcher. I was terrified and started screaming hysterically and trying to hang on to the stretcher. I heard the paramedic tell them they were crazy. I thought they were going to kill me. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the ambulance door shut. The ambulance rushed to the Turkish Hospital in Tubas, where I was treated and released three hours later.
I can’t believe what I went through. When I think about it, I get nervous and scared they’ll come to arrest me, even though I didn’t do anything. The soldiers were violent and opened fire at the protesters. Thank God it ended peacefully.
Image
A soldier firing tear gas canisters during the protest
Since the current Israeli government took office at the end of 2022, and even more so since October 2023, Israel has dramatically escalated its assault on all aspects of Palestinian life in the West Bank. At any moment, Palestinians may be exposed to violence by soldiers or armed settler militias, arrested and imprisoned, subjected to abuse and humiliation, and sometimes even killed.The Elimination Project draws on more than 2,000 testimonies B’Tselem collected from Palestinians since October 2023 and over three decades of documenting the Israeli apartheid regime’s human rights abuses in the West Bank. The report looks at the current reality not as a collection of isolated incidents or specific harms, but as part of a comprehensive mechanism of elimination that works to dismantle the conditions for continued Palestinian existence in the West Bank, while deepening Jewish control and supremacy in an irreversible manner. An examination of the current reality in the West Bank reveals that the project of elimination is now being implemented more openly, directly and violently than before, and increasingly relies on cooperation between official state authorities and settler militias operating in the West Bank with state backing and support.
On Thursday, 19 January 2023, at around 2:30 A.M., Israeli troops entered Jenin Refugee Camp. Local youths threw stones at them as soon as they arrived, and the Israeli military claims explosives were thrown as well. Some soldiers made their way into the camp, while others climbed onto the roof of a building. Several entered an apartment on the fifth floor of the building, ordered its occupants to go to another apartment, and then engaged in an exchange of fire with armed Palestinians who were hiding in an alley in the camp. At around 4:00 A.M., one of the Palestinian gunmen, Adham Jabarin (26), an Islamic Jihad military wing operative, went towards the nearby camp square. Soldiers who were in the building, about 150 meters away, shot and severely wounded him. Neighborhood resident Alaa Bawaqneh (34) heard young men calling for help and went outside to see what was happening. She saw Jabarin, whom she did not know, lying wounded near the eastern corner of her building. She managed to drag him about three meters towards her house and then her father, Jawwad Bawaqneh (57), came out and helped her drag him a few more meters to their doorway. All the while, the two heard gunfire close by. When they got to the doorway, a soldier fired two shots from the building the soldiers were hiding in, hitting the father in the upper body. He fell face down. The family managed to get the father into their inner courtyard, out of the soldiers’ firing range. A volunteer paramedic who was in the area arrived and, with Alaa’s help, drove Jawwad in the family’s car to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Shortly afterwards, Jabarin was also taken to hospital and he, too, was pronounced dead. The troops left the camp after arresting three residents, including one who lived in the building from which they fired. All three were released soon after. The IDF Spokesperson stated that “during activity in Jenin Refugee Camp, the forces fired at gunmen who fired massively at them, and hits were detected,” adding that one soldier was lightly injured and treated in hospital. stated that “during activity in Jenin Refugee Camp, the forces fired at gunmen who fired massively at them, and hits were detected,” adding that one soldier was lightly injured and treated in hospital. A sniper shot and killed an unarmed civilian who was trying to give a wounded man first aid. The victim posed a threat to no one, certainly not to the soldiers who were far away from him and well-protected. B’Tselem’s findings raise a strong suspicion that Bawaqneh was deliberately killed, without any justification. The IDF Spokesperson’s response and past experience clearly indicate that no one will be held to account for killing Bawaqneh – the sniper who fired the shot, the commanders who allowed it, the legal advisors who signed off on the orders the higher military command. B’Tselem field researcher Abdulkarim Sadi spoke with Jawwad Bawaqneh’s relatives and with eyewitnesses on 19 and 22 January 2023. Alaa Bawaqneh (34) said: On Thursday, 19 January 2023, at around 2:30 A.M., my sister and I were in our room when we heard the alarm the young guys usually sound to warn residents of a military raid. A few moments later, we heard gunfire and explosions start up in areas near the camp center. My father, Jawwad, called us all to gather in my parents’ bedroom because it’s the safest room in the house. Our windows have been hit by soldiers’ gunfire before. At around 4:00 A.M., we heard shouting outside. Young guys were calling out for first aid and an ambulance. We gathered a guy was hit near our house. Before that, I read on social media that the military told the Palestinian DCO ambulances and journalists were forbidden to move around the camp without coordinating with them. Despite the warnings, I couldn’t ignore the shouting outside. I felt a human and emotional obligation to help him. I went quickly went out towards the eastern corner of our building and found a young man I didn’t know there, lying on his back and unable to move. He was bleeding heavily and didn’t say anything. I pulled him by the arm and he groaned in pain. I told him I was pulling him to our doorway to get him out of the line of fire and to try and help him. I asked him to try to help me get there but he couldn’t move. I managed to drag him two or three meters, even though there was massive gunfire all around us. I focused on trying to help. Then my father came to help me. He was in his pajamas. He grabbed the guy by the other arm and together, we managed to drag him about eight meters to our front door. I heard live fire closer to us, and suddenly saw my father falling slowly to the ground. He hit his head against the doorway and landed next to the wounded guy. I was in shock. Horrified. Those were terrifying moments. My mother, brothers and I pulled my father into our inner courtyard. I saw bullet wounds in his upper body. Then a young guy in a paramedic’s uniform came and helped us get my father into our car. I drove quickly to Ibn Sina Hospital. I didn’t care about the shooting, I just wanted to get my father to hospital quickly. I reached the trauma unit and the doctors there tried to save him, but he passed away. Volunteer paramedic S.M. said: At a round 2:30 A.M., I was at home in the western part of the camp. I was woken by the alarm warning of an army raid. I immediately iput on the al-Ighathah al-Tibiyeh (Palestinian Medical Aid Association) vest, took the first aid kit and headed towards the camp center. At around 3:30, I was at the center with friends and other volunteers, giving first aid to a young guy who was shot by soldiers. Then the guys took him to hospital. I heard people shouting there was an injured guy nearby who needed first aid and an ambulance. I headed towards the sound of the shouting alone, through alleyways. I knew there were Israeli snipers on the rooftops and saw on social media that the army was forbidding ambulances and journalists from moving around. When I reached the injured guy, I found Jawwad Bawaqneh and his daughter there, trying to drag him to their doorway. Just as I was in front of their home, I saw Jawwad shot and fall slowly, face down, at his doorway. I reached them and, with the help of his family, we got Jawwad into the courtyard. The wounded guy, Adham Taha (Jabarin), was lying motionless in the doorway, but I couldn’t check him because of the sniper fire. Jawwad was bleeding heavily from the chest and abdomen. I tried pressing with pads on the wounds to stop the bleeding, but it didn’t help. We put him in the family car right away. His daughter Alaa drove, and I went with them to Ibn Sina Hospital nearby. We got there within a few minutes and the doctors tried to save Jawwad’s life, but he died of the fatal injuries to his chest and abdomen. While we were in the trauma unit, they also brought in the young guy, Adham, who arrived lifeless. A resident of one of the apartments from which the soldiers fired said: At first, six soldiers came in. One of them signaled to us not to move. Another turned off the lights in the living room. I heard a soldier break the lamp above the front door to the building, outside. Another soldier brought in a stand about one meter high. He moved the dining table that’s in the kitchen, which is connected to the living room. One of the soldiers fixed a long rifle to the stand. The soldiers went into all the rooms and checked them. A few minutes later, one of them ordered us to go from the living room to another room. We went into that room, and two soldiers who had flashlights on their helmets stood guard at the door. We heard shots fired from the living room, which overlooks the main square of the camp. Then another soldier arrived. I think it was the commanding officer. He spoke in Hebrew to the two soldiers. I know abit of Hebrew, and I understood he was telling them to move us to another apartment in the building, which they did. He continued: At around 5:00 A.M., the gunfire stopped and we couldn’t hear the soldiers moving around anymore. We went back to the apartment and found it almost destroyed. The soldiers took the mattress out of the bedroom and used it as a shield. They knocked everything the kitchen counter. We also found holes in the curtains. While we were cleaning up I found the casing of of the bullet the soldiers shot at the young men. They didn’t leave behind any other casings than the one I found. It was a difficult, frightening experience for us and for the neighbors.
On Thursday, 12 January 2023, at around 2:30 P.M., dozens of soldiers and Border Police officers – both uniformed and undercover – and Israel Security Agency personnel raided the town of Qabatiyah in Jenin District and entered the yard of the Kmeil family home. Muhammad Kmeil (26) was working on the house he is building near the main family home, and was sitting in it at the time along with his friend Muhammad ‘Alawneh and his cousin Habiballah Kmeil (26). When Muhammad Kmeil heard the forces entering the yard, he went outside to see what was going on. As soon as he came out, the forces pounced on him, knocked him down, and then handcuffed and blindfolded him as he lay on the ground. After about 40 minutes, they took him to the living room of his parents’ house, made him lie on the floor and left him there on his own. In the meantime, the forces held the rest of the family under guard in one of the rooms and searched the house, throwing objects on the floor and moving furniture in the process. ‘Alawneh and Habiballah tried to escape through a nearby olive grove, but the forces apprehended ‘Alawneh and took him to one of the jeeps. Habiballah managed to go a few dozen meters into the grove, but the forces gave chase and then opened fire, hitting him in the head. Habiballah fell down. About 10 soldiers went over to him, frisked him and then abandoned him in the grove and left. About an hour later, the forces left the Kmeil home. When the family members came out of the room, they were surprised to find Muhammad lying on the living room floor, handcuffed and blindfolded. Immediately afterwards, they learned Habiballah had been shot in the nearby grove. They took him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. During ‘Alawneh’s arrest, clashes broke out about a kilometer away from the Kmeil home between local Palestinian youths and a different group of soldiers and police officers. In the clashes, youths threw stones and several of them also fired live rounds at the forces, who responded with live fire, killing one of the armed youths – ‘Abd al-Hadi Nazzal (18). Following the incident, the IDF Spokesperson said that “during an operation in the village of Qabatiyah, the wanted man fled with another suspect, and the forces fired at them. The wanted man was arrested, and a hit was detected on the other suspect.” Clearly, these vague references to a “suspect” in an unknown crime and a hit being “detected,” which completely gloss over the fact that a man was killed, provide no justification for Habiballah’s killing. This incident illustrates what little regard the apartheid regime has for the lives, property and daily routines of Palestinians, all blatantly disregarded by forces in the field. B’Tselem’s investigation found that Israeli forces shot a Palestinian suspected of nothing in the head as he was fleeing them, and then searched him and left him in an olive grove, as though nothing happened. In the apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, such conduct is not only possible but considered justified by everyone responsible. Under this regime, which works tenaciously to perpetuate the supremacy of one group – Jews – over another – Palestinians, incidents of this kind have become routine and therefore, no one will be held accountable. B’Tselem field researcher Abdulkarim Sadi collected testimonies from members of Habiballah Kmeil’s family: ‘Alaa Kmeil (28), a married father of one, said on 14 January 2023 On Thursday, 12 January 2023, around 2:30 P.M., I came home from work at the Qabatiyah municipality. I live with my wife and our little girl on the second floor, and my parents live on the first floor with my brothers. When I got to the front of the house, I saw my cousin Habiballah, who was back from a trip. He was with my brother Muhammad and our neighbor, Muhammad ‘Alawneh. They were sitting in Muhammad’s house, which is still under construction, a few meters away from our home. I went over to say hello to them. Habiballah wanted us to have coffee together, so I said I would make the coffee at my house and bring it over. When I left Muhammad’s house, two commercial vehicles drove up to the yard and soldiers got out. I felt the situation was dangerous, so I walked faster and managed to get inside our house. I wanted to be with my wife and our daughter, and with the whole family. As I was going into the house, I heard gunfire start up outside. I went down with to the first floor my wife and our daughter, so we could be with my parents and brothers and all stick together. A few moments after we gathered in one of the rooms, soldiers came inside. Two soldiers stood guard over us inside the room, and we heard the others searching the whole house. I heard soldiers shouting in Hebrew, which I don’t understand, and more shots fired outside the house. The soldiers didn’t question any of us, and after about an hour they left the house. Then we heard my brother Muhammad calling out to us. We didn’t even know he was in the house. We found him lying on the living room floor, handcuffed and blindfolded. While my father and I took off his handcuffs and blindfold, we heard a relative of ours, Ahmad, calling for us to come help him. Muhammad and I went outside and saw him running towards the olive grove. We found Habiballah lying on his back, with a bullet hole in his head and his mouth full of blood. We were in total shock. We picked him up and drove him in a neighbor’s car to the medical center in town, and from there he as taken by ambulance to hospital in Jenin. He was no longer alive. Muhammad Kmeil (26), from Qabatiyah, said on 14 January 2023 On Thursday, 12 January 2023, at around 2:30 P.M., I was in my house, which is still under construction, in the yard of our family home on the edge of the eastern neighborhood of Qabatiyah. My cousin, Habiballah Kmeil, got back from Turkey that day. He came to visit me and brought me cologne as a present. A friend of mine, Muhammad ‘Alawneh, who lives in the neighborhood, also came to visit. We were sitting in the living room of my house, and then my brother ‘Alaa arrived. He lives upstairs from my parents. Habib asked me for a cup of coffee, and ‘Alaa said he’d make some at his house and bring it to us. As he was leaving my house, we heard heavy vehicles approaching. I went out right away and saw a large group of soldiers getting out of two vehicles. Two soldiers ran over to me. They pounced on me, laid me down on the ground, tied my hands behind my back with zip ties and blindfolded me with a piece of cloth. One of them asked what my name was, and I told him it was Muhammad. He asked me about my little brother, Rabi’, and I told him he wasn’t home. I felt the two soldiers’ knees pressing down on my back the whole time. I heard soldiers shouting and gunfire. I didn’t know what happened to Habib and Muhammad ‘Alawneh, because I couldn’t see anything. After maybe 40 minutes, the soldiers picked me up and took me to my parents’ house, where they left me in the living room. I couldn’t hear anyone from my family, and later I found out I’d been alone because the soldiers had held everyone in one of the rooms in the house. After about 20 minutes, I heard the soldiers leaving the house. I called out to my family. They came and took off my handcuffs and blindfold. Just then, we heard a relative of ours, Ahmad Kmeil, who lives next door, calling us to come help. ‘Alaa and I ran over to him. We saw Ahmad running towards Habiballah, who was lying on his back in the olive grove. He had a bullet wound in the head and his mouth was full of blood. We picked him up and drove him in a private car to a medical center in Qabatiyah, but he was already dead. He was taken to a hospital in Jenin from there. Habiballah was a merchant. He had a clothing store and had good connections with people. He had no problems with Israel. He traveled abroad without any problem. Ahmad Kmeil (28), a married father of two, said on 15 January 2023 At around 2:30 P.M., I was sitting at home with my wife and our two small children when I heard three shots nearby. I went up to the roof right away to see what was happening. I was shocked when I saw Israeli soldiers in the yard of my relatives’, in Muhammad Kmeil’s house, which is about 200 meters away from us. I also saw soldiers spreading out between the houses. Suddenly, I saw a relative of mine, Habiballah Kmeil, running from the direction of Muhammad’s house. I also saw some soldiers had caught Muhammad ‘Alawneh near Muhammad’s house. He must have been trying to escape. Then I saw Habiballah hiding behind an olive tree. He was crouching down. A few minutes later, I heard one shot fired west of my house, towards where Habib was. He was about 50 to 60 meters away from me. I saw him fall over. Ten soldiers ran over to where he fell, and I saw them searching his body. After about an hour, the soldiers left the home of Muhammad Kmeil’s family. I didn’t dare go outside until they left, and then I called for help. Muhammad and ‘Alaa Kmeil came, and we carried Habiballah away. He wasn’t moving, and his head and his entire face were covered in blood.
