Updates

Restrictions on Movement

Life under shadow of Beit El settlement: Travel restrictions on residents of al-Jalazun R.C.

Al-Jalazun RC, north of Ramallah is home to some 14,000 people. In 1977, the settlement of Beit El was established near the camp, bringing with it permanent military presence and frequent travel restrictions on Road 466, which connects the northern West Bank and the camp to Ramallah. These restrictions affect all camps residents, particularly those needing medical care in Ramallah and those working in the city and nearby al-Birah. Residents of other Palestinian communities north of the camp who also rely on this road are also affected. The true impact, however, cannot be quantified, as residents choose not to leave the camp for non-essential reasons due to the uncertainty the arbitrary blockages bring.

13 March 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Israeli military trains today near Palestinian communities in northern Jordan Valley

Since 5 March 2018, Israeli troops including infantry, tanks and other armored vehicles have been training at all hours in the area of Khirbet al-Malih and the village of al-Farisiyah in the northern Jordan Valley. Today, 13 March, forces including at least 20 tanks and dozens of military vehicles have been training throughout the northern Jordan Valley, including just one km from al-Farisiyah. The incessant military training in the Jordan Valley is part of a longstanding policy to drive Palestinian communities to leave, as though freely will.

13 March 2018

The Gaza Strip

No way out: Women trapped in Gaza away from their homes and partners

Imagine visiting relatives in another country and ending up stranded, away from your partner or children for months and years. For hundreds of women stranded in Gaza, not knowing if and when they’ll be able to go home, this is reality. The Palestinian and Egyptian authorities are responsible for Rafah Crossing remaining shut through most of the year, but the fact that this is the only way out of Gaza is the result of Israeli policy which denies exit any other way. Israel must respect the rights of all Gazans to freedom of movement and the rights of these women to family life by ending their suffering and letting them go home.

8 March 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Military has been training near Palestinian communities in northern Jordan Valley for three days

Over the last three days military forces, including tanks, have been training exercises both during the day and at night, in several areas located near Khirbet al-Malih and the village of al-Farisiyah in the northern Jordan Valley. The exercises include use of firearms on grazing pastures, while local residents are denied access. Today the forces trained in Khirbet Um al-Jmal between residents’ homes and on farmland and near Khirbet Ibziq, where two families had evacuated following orders given by the military. Incessant military training in the northern Jordan Valley is part of Israel’s longstanding policy aimed at making living conditions in Palestinian communities unbearable and forcing residents out, ostensibly of their own accord.

7 March 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Military orders 16 families in Khirbet Ibziq to evacuate their homes for military training

On Sun. Mar. 4, 16 families in Ibziq were served with orders to temporarily evacuate to allow military training near their homes on Tues. Mar. 13 from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Two of the families were ordered to evacuate on three more days this month. Together, the families have 79 members, including 47 children. These orders are part of a longstanding policy implemented by Israeli decision makers with the object of making the lives of Palestinians in communities in Area C miserable and make them leave their communities, ostensibly of their accord.

5 March 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Tanks on your doorstep: Israeli military training part of daily life in northern Jordan Valley

Israel has intensified military training in the Jordan Valley since Nov. 2017, reducing available pastureland, destroying crops and hurting the livelihoods of local Palestinians. This is part of an effort to drive Palestinians out of area using a callous policy that also includes denied access to development and infrastructure and house demolitions. If residents do leave because of this policy, Israel will have committed a war crime and those responsible, including the minister of defense and the prime minister, would be personally liable.

2 March 2018

Settlements

Adding insult to injury: Israel officially recognizes Gilad Farm settlement outpost after turning blind eye to land seizure and harassment of Palestinians there for 15 years

On 31 Aug. 2018, the Israeli government approved a “new community” on land seized by the settlers at Gilad Farm. The settlement now occupies some 45 hectares of land belonging to residents of the surrounding Palestinian villages. The retroactive approval of settlements on various pretexts, including the killing of a resident, in no way changes their illegality. All the settlements, whether recognized or unofficial, violate international law and violate the human rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.

27 February 2018

Demolition for Alleged Military Necessity

Reprehensible actions by Israeli troops against Palestinians following killing of Rabbi Raziel Shevach: Demolishing a home with inhabitants still inside, strip searching 3 women, setting dogs on 3 residents

On 9 Jan. 2018, Palestinians killed Rabbi Raziel Shevach in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank and fled the scene. From then until 6 Feb., when Israeli forces killed Ahmad Nasser Jarar – the alleged shooter – forces demolished 4 homes in Jenin, one with the family still inside. They entered homes, set dogs on residents and strip-searched 3 women. Testimonies by the families indicate wanton, unchecked violence by the Israeli forces, and utter disregard for the Palestinians whose homes they entered, including young children.

22 February 2018

Restrictions on Movement

The military has been blocking car traffic at the main entrance to al-Fawwar Refugee Camp for four days

The military has been blocking car traffic at the main entrance to al-Fawwar R.C. since Mon. evening (19 Feb), denying access to Road 60. Soldiers said only that the gate was closed as punishment for the theft of a security camera. This closure affects not only al-Fawwar but also tens of thousands of people living in nearby villages and in western Yatta. In early January 2018, the military closed the gate for 5 days, and has since closed it several times for short durations. in July 2016, the military closed the gate for the month.

22 February 2018

East Jerusalem

Video: Jerusalem Municipality demolishes home in Silwan, East Jerusalem

At about 10:00 o’clock on the morning of Wednesday, 7 February 2018, Jerusalem Municipality inspectors arrived at the neighborhood of Wadi Yasul in Silwan with a bulldozer and a Border Police escort. They demolished the home of a Palestinian family of six, including four minors.

19 February 2018

Minors

Life under Occupation in Hebron: Israeli soldiers arrest two young brothers

On 31 January 2018, Israeli soldiers arrested two brothers, 12 and 13 years old, in Hebron’s al-Hareqa neighborhood, near which the settlement of Kiryat Arba was built. The soldiers claimed that the boys had thrown stones at the settlement’s fence. The soldiers took the two boys to a nearby military base, where they kept them for about two hours. When they released the boys, the soldiers threatened the boys’ family that should stones be thrown again at the settlement’s fence, they would return to raid their home and arrest the boys.

15 February 2018

Open-Fire Policy

The killing of Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, a double amputee, during a demonstration by the Gaza perimeter fence

On 15 Dec. 2017, at a protest sparked by President Trump’s declaration, a soldier near the Gaza perimeter fence fatally shot Ibrahim Abu Thuraya (a double amputee) in the head. In Dec., another 7 protesters were fatally shot by soldiers on the other side of the fence; none of them posed mortal danger to the soldiers. This is a direct outcome of the military’s open-fire policy near the perimeter fence, which includes gunfire – also by snipers – at stone-throwers who pose no danger. The media reported that a military investigation was launched, yet experience shows it is highly unlikely to yield any action.

14 February 2018

A Routine Founded on Violence

#Occupation365 - Updates from the West Bank routine.

Between January 13 and January 26, Israeli security forces arrested at least 153 Palestinians, including 13 minors; made at least 116 raids on towns and villages, and raided at least 83 homes; and set up at least 219 flying checkpoints.

14 February 2018

Open-Fire Policy

January 2018: Israeli soldiers kill 5 Palestinians, 4 of them teenagers, without justification

In January 2018, soldiers killed 5 Palestinians – 4 of them teenagers – in the West Bank and Gaza. All five were shot during clashes involving stone-throwing at soldiers, though none had posed a mortal threat. Israel’s defense establishment, including the military law enforcement system, is largely indifferent to such incidents and usually ignores them. This renders the open-fire regulations, designed to limit use of lethal fire, meaningless and conveys Israel’s deep disregard for Palestinians’ lives and bodily integrity.

13 February 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Update on communities facing expulsion, February 2018

For years, Israel has been leading a policy aimed against Palestinian communities throughout the West Bank, with the intention of making the residents leave their homes and thus transfer the communities within the area. The policy is implemented tactically, so as to avoid blatant images of soldiers forcing Palestinians onto trucks. Instead, Israel invests efforts in making the lives of these residents unbearable, in order to get them to leave their homes as though of their own free will. The policy is not applied uniformly to all the communities, and ranges from harassment and preventing development to an explicit intention to expel entire communities. In any case, Israel’s goal is to minimize Palestinian presence in order to use the territory for its own uses, including expanding settlements. Following is a review of the situation of several communities that Israel explicitly declared its intention to expel.

9 February 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Civil Administration Demolished Two Classrooms at the School in Abu a-Nawar

On 4 Feb. 2018, at about 5:00 AM, Civil Administration officials and security forces arrived in the Abu a-Nawar community and demolished two buildings at the community’s school. The classrooms were used by some 25 children in the 3rd and 4th grades. The buildings were constructed with funding from the European Union and the Palestinian Authority at the end of September 2017. On 7 Oct. 2017 Civil Administration officials arrived in the community, accompanied by security forces, and confiscated the doors of these two classroom. A demolition order was placed in one of these buildings on 13 Dec. 2017, and the legal proceeding in their case is still pending. The demolition of educational buildings is one of the means Israel uses in its attempt to expel Palestinian communities from their homes, so that it can concentrate the residents in enclaves and use the territory for its own needs.

8 February 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Israel’s Civil Administration demolishes and confiscates pipeline and four residential tents in the northern Jordan Valley

On Monday morning, 5 Feb. 2018, Civil Administration personnel and a Border Police force dismantled and confiscated a water pipeline that had served to irrigate the watermelon patch in Khirbet a-Sakut in the northern Jordan Valley. At around 4:00 P.M. that day, the troops went to the community of Khirbet Um al-Jamal and confiscated four tents that served as the homes of nine people, including six minors. The confiscated tents were funded by a humanitarian aid organization after the Civil Administration demolished tents in the community in 2014.

6 February 2018

Attacks on Israeli Civilians by Palestinians

Israeli civilian killed in stabbing attack near settlement of Ariel

B’Tselem expresses deep sorrow at the death of Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal, 29, a father of four from the settlement of Har Bracha who was stabbed to death yesterday, near the settlement of Ariel in Nablus District. B’Tselem conveys its sincerest condolences to the Ben Gal 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 reiterates its call to politicians and leaders to act responsibly and avoid fanning the flames of violence.

6 February 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Israeli military tightens travel restrictions on Masafer Yatta in attempt to drive Palestinians out

Since Nov. 2017, the military has imposed harsh travel restrictions on the residents of Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills. After residents removed roadblocks, ditches were dug to almost entirely prevent travel in and out of the area. Residents now have to walk long distances on foot, sometimes in rough weather, or suffer damage to private cars that cannot, in any case, transport bulk goods. This is another aspect of the Israeli authorities’ harassment of these Palestinians for decades, to pressure them to leave the area.

4 February 2018

Communities Facing Expulsion

Civil Administration Demolishes Two Classrooms at the School in the Abu a-Nawar Community

On 4 Feb. 2018, at about 5:00 AM, Civil Administration officials and security forces arrived at the Abu a-Nawar community and demolished two buildings at the community’s school that were used by some 25 children in the 3rd and 4th grades. The classrooms were funded by the European Union and the Palestinian Authority. The demolition of educational buildings is one of the means Israel uses in its attempt to expel Palestinian communities from their homes, so that it can concentrate the residents in enclaves and use the territory for its own

4 February 2018

Settler Violence = State Violence

Israeli settlers from Havat Gilad settlement outpost pelt Palestinian homes in village of Far’ata with stones. No arrests were made

Following an attack in which Palestinians killed Raziel Shevach near Havat Gilad on 9 Jan., settlers threw stones at cars and homes in the area. The military then barred Palestinian traffic along a section of Route 60 for 3 weeks. The day after the attack, Havat Gilad settlers threw stones at homes in Far’ata, breaking windows. No one was arrested. These repeated settler attacks undermine the sense of personal security of local residents, who are constantly at risk of attack. The complete lack of accountability teaches settlers they may attack Palestinians with impunity.

1 February 2018

East Jerusalem

House demolitions in Bir ‘Onah, Beit Jala, 29 Jan. ‘18

On Monday, 29 January 2018, at around 9:00 A.M., three bulldozers accompanied by Border Police personnel arrived at the Beit Jala neighborhood of Bir ‘Ona, which had been annexed to East Jerusalem. The forces destroyed two buildings under construction containing a total of nine housing units. The Israeli Ministry of Interior had issued demolition orders against these structures.

31 January 2018

The Gaza Strip

Voices from Gaza: Women at work, the Balah Falestin plant

June 2017 saw the tenth anniversary of the Israeli-imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip which has resulted in economic collapse in Gaza and a sharp drop in the standard of living there. Unemployment rates in Gaza are among the highest in the world, with an overall rate of 46.6% in 2017. The situation is far worse among women and young adults. Balah Falestin, a date-processing plant, was established in Gaza in 2016 as part of a financial aid program for women. The plant, funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), employs women who are out of work or come from low-income families. The 41 women who work there are paid a salary and receive a portion of the profits. B’Tselem field researcher Khaled al-‘Azayzeh visited the facility in December 2017 and spoke with some of the women working there.

31 January 2018