On the Agenda

On Friday, 18 August 2023, at around 11:30 P.M., cousins Mahmoud (18) and Yihya (16) a-Nawaj’ah arrived at the Meitar checkpoint. They were traveling in a car belonging to a Palestinian citizen of Israel. The two were on their way back from Israel to their home in the community of al-Jawaya, which lies southeast of the town of Yatta in the South Hebron Hills. When they reached the checkpoint, Israeli soldiers had the driver and two passengers get out of the car and conducted body searches on them. The soldiers took their bags, cellphones, and a bracelet and ring Yihya was wearing. They also took 8,000 NIS (~2,100 USD) in cash, money the cousins had earned working and were carrying in their pockets...

In early August 2023, Israeli settlers established a new “agricultural farm” on lands owned by residents of the Palestinian village of Burqah, Ramallah District. The settlers began grazing their flock on village lands and harassing the residents. On Friday, 4 August 2023, at around 6:00 P.M., about five settlers appeared on the lands adjacent to the village homes while several young men from the village were having a picnic, including 18-year-old Qusai Mu’tan...

In two separate clashes that erupted in the village of Um Safa, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians. On Friday, 7 July 2023, soldiers fatally shot ‘Abd al-Jawad Dar Saleh (24), who was standing on a hill watching the area after the clashes ended. Two weeks later, on 21 July 2023, Border Police officers shot and killed Muhammad Bayed (16), while he was throwing stones at them.

In the beginning of July, Israel carried out “Operation Home and Garden” in Jenin R.C., home to 23,600 residents. Some 1,000 Israelis soldiers, Border Police officers and Shin Bet personnel were deployed across the camp during the two-day operation. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), some 3,500 residents – children, women, men and the elderly – fled their homes, some not knowing where...

For decades, Israel has employed a slew of measures designed to make life in dozens of Palestinian communities throughout the West Bank miserable. This is part of an attempt to force residents of these communities to uproot themselves, seemingly of their own accord. Once that is achieved, the state can realize its goal of taking over the land. To advance this objective, Israel forbids members of these communities from building homes, agricultural structures or public buildings. It does not allow them to connect to the water and power grids or build roads, and when they do, as they have no other choice, Israel threatens demolition, often delivering on these threats...

During May and June 2023, B’Tselem documented four separate instances in which dozens of Israeli soldiers raided the homes of extended Palestinian families in Areas H1 and H2 in the city of Hebron in the middle of the night. T, waking up members of the household, including young children. The soldiers, most of whom were masked, had dogs with them...

On Monday, 10 July 2023, at around 1:30 A.M., dozens of masked soldiers, with dogs, entered homes belonging to the extended ’Ajlouni family in the neighborhood of Khallat al-Qaba in southern Hebron. They threatened, using their weapons, 26 members of the family who were home at the time, and confined them to one of the apartments. The soldiers handcuffed three family members, one of them a 17-year-old boy, blindfolded them and took them to another apartment. They then separated the remaining men from the women and children, who were kept in the living room and searched them in a separate room...

Last night (Monday), the New Israel Fund awarded the inaugural Truth to Power Prize to B'Tselem field researcher in the South Hebron Hills, Nasser Nawaj’ah. The award is given to honor the memory of the late William S. Goldman, a professor of history and an NIF board member. It is awarded to “individuals that stand up for truth and give voice to the silenced, often at great personal, organizational, financial or reputational risk."...

On Friday, 21 July 2023, Israeli soldiers arrived in the Palestinian town of Sabastiya, parked their military jeeps and started walking toward the center of the town. Fawzi Makhalfeh (18) and his friend Muhammad Mukheimar (19) were driving down a road that leads to the street where the soldiers were walking at the same time. Makhalfeh, who was driving, turned onto the street where the soldiers were walking. One of the soldiers shouted “stop” to them, and immediately after, the soldiers fired live fire rounds at the car.

On Wednesday, 21 June 2023, at approximately 1:30 P.M., hundreds of settlers – some of them masked and armed with guns, pistols, metal rods, and Molotov cocktails – entered the village of Turmusaya in the district of Ramallah escorted by soldiers. The settlers entered the northeastern neighborhood of the village, attacked 30 houses and set fire to 10 of them, nine of which completely burned....

During the past year, Israel attacked the Gaza Strip twice, in August 2022 and May 2023, killing 63 Palestinians, at least 27 of whom did not take part in the hostilities, including 13 minors. Thousands lost their homes. Israeli Decision-makers are well aware of these consequences, and yet, the policy is fully backed by government, military and legal officials who offer incorrect legal opinions in order to legitimize it. . In testimonies given to B’Tselem field researchers, residents of the Gaza Strip describe the trauma and hardships caused by the bombing of their homes 

On Saturday, 24 June 2023, at around 1:00 P.M., dozens of masked Jewish settlers – some armed with clubs, others with firearms – entered the village of Um Safa, in Ramallah District. Escorted by Israeli soldiers, the settlers entered the village from three directions: Near the eastern entrance, they attacked the home of ‘Abd al-Rahman al-‘Abayat while his wife, along with her one-year-old toddler and a 20-day-old infant, were inside. The settlers collected tires from the house’s yard, piled them at the entrance, and set them on fire.