Updates

Workers from the Territories

International Workers’ Day: Israel continues to abuse Palestinian workers’ rights during pandemic

After the corona pandemic began, Israel announced that Palestinians from the West Bank who wished to continue working in Israel would not be allowed to return home for fear of infection. However, the authorities did not issue any directives for accommodating them within Israel and some had to sleep at the construction sites themselves , in disgraceful conditions. Today, International Workers’ Day, B’Tselem is sharing the stories of three laborers.

30 April 2020

Settler Violence = State Violence

Israeli settlers exploit coronavirus to take over West Bank land with military backing: Violent attacks spike in April

Since the start of the corona crisis, Israeli settlers have ramped up attacks against Palestinians throughout the West Bank, with full state backing. The attacks have increased despite the movement restrictions, lockdowns and social distancing measures introduced to battle the pandemic. During the first three weeks of this month, B’Tselem documented 23 settler attacks against Palestinians. In all of March, 23 incidents were documented, 11 of them after the severe restrictions on movement and social gatherings were imposed.

23 April 2020

A Routine Founded on Violence

Coronavirus under occupation: Israel continues arrests and raids in West Bank homes

The world has ground to a halt, but the violent routine of occupation in the West Bank continues. From 1 March to 3 April 2020, Israeli forces raided 100 homes and arrested 217 Palestinians, 16 of them minors. Many of the arrests took place after 12 March, when Israel and the Palestinian Authority tightened restrictions on movement in the West Bank. Below are descriptions of violent raids in which soldiers forced their way into 12 homes, woke families up, trapped some in a room and damaged their belongings.

16 April 2020

Settler Violence = State Violence

Spike in settler violence during pandemic: Palestinians and homes repeatedly attacked, March 2020

While millions of people in Israel and the West Bank are under lockdown, state-backed settler violence continues unabated. Settlers are attacking Palestinian shepherds in pastureland and entering villages, attacking residents and destroying their property. Despite the coronavirus crisis, the escalated violence has continued in recent weeks. On 7 March 2020, neighboring villages Burin and Madama, which suffer frequent attacks, were both attacked within one hour.

12 April 2020

Restrictions on Movement

Jan.-Feb. 2020: Military blocks five West Bank villages as collective punishment

In January and February, before the corona crisis, the military blocked the entrances to five Palestinian villages in the West Bank for varying durations, collectively punishing the entire population. Blocking roads has become a routine method of oppression Israel uses against Palestinians in the West Bank. This form of collective punishment, which forces residents to live in uncertainty and frustration and waste precious time and money, is completely unjustifiable and an abuse of military force.

9 April 2020

East Jerusalem

Sponge round shooting in al-‘Esawiyah: Three minors injured. Israel Police “operation” continues

On Feb. and March 2020, three minors aged 8, 9 and 16 were injured by sponge rounds and one lost an eye. As part of a yearlong harassment campaign in al-‘Esawiyah, the police regularly creates friction with residents and then responds violently. Sponge rounds, which have injured thousands of Palestinians in East Jerusalem in recent years, can be fatal. Nevertheless, the Israel Police refuses to change its policy and avoids action against the responsible officials. As always, no one will be held accountable.

8 April 2020

Open-Fire Policy

A “car-ramming attack” that never was: soldiers shoot and beat Palestinian teens after car crash

On 20 Feb. 2020, four Palestinian teens were driving when a military jeep came towards them. To avoid crashing, the driver swerved and hit a boulder. The soldiers got out, fired at the car and beat two of the boys. One was rushed to hospital and the others detained and interrogated. The military quickly declared a car-ramming attack but released the teens with no action. The fact soldiers can so easily shoot Palestinians and use false claims as justification raises questions about cases in which no witnesses are left to refute the claims.

29 March 2020

Communities Facing Expulsion

During the Coronavirus crisis, Israel confiscates tents designated for clinic in the Northern West Bank

As the whole world battles an unprecedented and paralyzing healthcare crisis, Israel’s military is devoting time and resources to harassing the most vulnerable Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Shutting down a first-aid community initiative during a health crisis is an especially cruel example of the regular abuse inflicted on these communities, and it goes against basic human and humanitarian principles during an emergency. Unlike Israel’s policies, this pandemic does not discriminate based on nationality, ethnicity or religion.

26 March 2020

The Gaza Strip

Shooting, injury, and damage to a dead body – the price of Israel’s policy of holding bodies

On 23 Feb. 2020, soldiers shot two Islamic Jihad operatives near the perimeter fence in the southern Gaza Strip, killing one and wounding the other. The military claims it fired after the two tried to plant explosives near the fence. The wounded man managed to crawl away, and soldiers shot and injured two men who tried to evacuate the body, though they posed no danger to anyone. A military bulldozer then damaged the body before scooping and snatching it. This wanton, grotesque behavior defies any conceivable moral or legal principle.

24 March 2020

The Gaza Strip

Israeli-made nightmare scenario: COVID-19 in Gaza

The spread of COVID-19 in the Gaza Strip will be a massive disaster, resulting entirely from the unique conditions created by more than a decade of Israeli blockade: a failing healthcare system, extreme poverty, dependence on humanitarian aid, dysfunctional infrastructure and harsh living conditions that compromise public health – even before exposure to the new virus – combine with overcrowding to form a nightmare scenario.

22 March 2020

Open-Fire Policy

Video: Soldiers shoot demonstrator Bader Nafleh, 19, in the neck and kill him

On 7 Feb. 2020, during a protest by the Separation Barrier near Qaffin, Palestinian youths lit tires and threw stones and empty bottles at Israeli soldiers on the other side of the barrier. At one point, a soldier fired a live round from a jeep despite no danger to the force, striking Bader Nafleh, 19, in the neck. Experience shows that no one will be held accountable – the shooter, his commander, or those who gave the orders enabling the shooting. As long as the whitewashing policy continues, so will lethal, illegal shooting of Palestinians.

19 March 2020

A Routine Founded on Violence

For a handful of Jewish worshippers: Military shuts Palestinians in homes and they suffer noise, littering and damage to property

The towns of ‘Awarta and Kifl Haris in the northern West Bank are home to tombs that some consider Jewish holy sites. Every few months, the military shuts them down to allow Jewish worshippers to visit the sites overnight. The “visitors” make a racket, litter, swear at residents and damage their property. These incursions are another blatant manifestation of Israel’s violent policiy in the West Bank, which gives the interests of Israeli citizens absolute preference over the rights of Palestinian subjects.

16 March 2020

No Accountability

Israeli AG’s objection to ICC jurisdiction in Palestine divorced from reality

B’Tselem’s analysis finds AG’s claims, that the ICC has no jurisdiction in Palestine, rely on intentional misquotation, disregard for international law and an absurd misrepresentation of reality. Contrary to the AG’s position, the ICC has jurisdiction to carry out the necessary investigation of the situation in Palestine. This morning, B’Tselem published a position paper refuting the conclusion of Attorney General Dr. Avichai Mandelblit – the highest legal authority in Israel’s executive branch, whose legal opinion represents the government – that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction to investigate suspected war crimes by Israel.

12 March 2020

A Routine Founded on Violence

Violence, interrogation, shooting - just another Friday under occupation in Deir Nizam

On Jan. 24, soldiers came into the village of Deir Nizam, northwest of Ramallah, jumped a 15-year-old and put him in their jeep. When locals tried to intervene, a soldier fired in the air, and then at a passerby - injuring him. The teen was taken to a military base, interrogated and held until evening. His parents were not told where he was. For most Israelis and their political and military leaders, this seems trivially routine. For those living under our control, it is a brutal, terrifying routine that scars the body and the mind.

11 March 2020

Settler Violence = State Violence

New B’Tselem blog: State-backed settler violence

Blocking roads, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at cars and homes, raiding villages by night, torching houses and fields, uprooting trees, damaging property, physically assaulting and shooting: settler violence against Palestinians has long since become routine, meant to drive Palestinians out of their land and make it clear who is in charge – fully backed by the state. To convey the frequency and severity of these incidents, we decided to start a new blog on B’Tselem’s website, with monthly updates giving voice to people exposed to these acts of violence.

10 March 2020

A Routine Founded on Violence

Israeli army bulldozer pushes boulders at high speed towards protesters, Kfar Qadum

On 21 Feb. 2020, during the weekly protest against the closure of the eastern entrance to the village of Kfar Qadum since the settlement of Kedumim was expanded, an army bulldozer pushed boulders, placed on the road to obstruct soldiers, towards residents at high speed. The boulders hit a journalist and 10-year-old boy and damaged an ambulance and private car. The military’s well-documented, violent oppression of these demonstrations forms an illegal formal policy of deterring the residents’ legitimate protest against violation of their rights.

27 February 2020

Open-Fire Policy

Turning a blind eye: at least 21 Gazan protestors lose eye from Israeli forces’ fire, 1 teenager loses both

21 March of Return protestors have lost vision in one eye in the past two years, and A 16 year old boy lost vision in both eyes. Their personal tragedies add to the alarming summary of Return Protest casualties: more than 200 killed, 8,000 wounded by live fire, 2,400 by “rubber” bullets, nearly 3,000 by tear gas canisters. Wanton use of crowd control weapons has been a feature of the illegal and immoral open-fire policy Israel has been applying in these demonstrations for nearly two years.

24 February 2020

A Routine Founded on Violence

Occupation routine: Soldiers violently arrest two Palestinian boys, 12 and 14

On 30 Jan. 2020, at around 3:00 P.M., soldiers violently arrested two Palestinian boys, 12 and 14, in the village of Beit Ummar and led them away blindfolded and handcuffed. One was released in the evening and the other the next evening. No one informed their parents of their whereabouts. The only objective in holding young boys in this way for any length of time, and leaving their parents in the dark, can be humiliation and intimidation. This is a routine example of the daily violence used by the Israeli occupation against on Palestinians in the West Bank.

19 February 2020

Restrictions on Movement

The arduous journey: visits by Palestinians from the West Bank to family members held in Israeli prisons

As of the end of December 2019, Israel was holding at least 4,544 “security prisoners” in its prisons within Israel and the West Bank. Israel imposes numerous restrictions on family visits to prison – including on the identity of the visitors and the frequency of visits. The visits are organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Every visit to prison involves an entire day of arduous travel and physical and emotional hardship – especially for elderly relatives and children, as seen in the testimonies presented herein.

12 February 2020

Administrative Detention

Occupation routine, December 2019: Four teenagers held for months without trial

Since 2015, hardly a month has gone by without Israel holding Palestinian minors in administrative detention; four were being held at the end of 2019. The military justice system regularly violates the rights of detained minors, who face it alone with no explanation of their rights or what lies ahead, while Israel makes a show of protecting their rights. Administrative detention makes this worse as the date of release is unknown. B’Tselem spoke with three minors, two of whom are still in detention and the third was released in early January 2020.

9 February 2020

Open-Fire Policy

Shoot and abandon: 155 amputees and 27 paralyzed in two years: How Israel punishes those who dare protest the siege of the Gaza Strip

Since the March of Return demonstrations began along the Gaza Strip perimeter fence in 2018, Israel has employed an unlawful open-fire policy against them, shooting unarmed protesters, with horrific results: more than 200 Palestinians killed, 8,000 wounded, including 1,500 minors and 150 women. 155 protesters lost limbs, including 30 minors. 27 demonstrators were paralyzed. Following are the testimonies of five of the wounded.

30 January 2020

Settlements

B'Tselem on President Trump's "peace" plan: not peace, Apartheid

This plan reveals a world view that sees Palestinians as perennial subjects rather than free, autonomous human beings. A “solution” of this sort, one that fails to ensure the human rights, liberty and equality of all people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and instead perpetuates one side’s oppression and dispossession of the other - is not a legitimate solution. As a matter of fact, it is no solution at all, just a recipe for generations more of oppression, injustice, and violence.

28 January 2020