Updates

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.

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.

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.

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.

1 Sep. 2018 - 14 Sep. 2018

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.

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.

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.

4 Aug. 2018 - 31 Aug. 2018