A new video by B'Tselem features Israeli combat soldiers talking about the IDF's rules of engagement for using lethal force. The video shows that the orders given to soldiers are vague, and generate a culture of excessive force and little accountability for the many civilian deaths that result.
Israel imposes severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, which in effect annexes it to Israel. B'Tselem field reserach indicates that, as a rule, the army forbids the entry of Palestinians to the Jordan Valley , and only allows entry of those Palestinians listed as residents of this area.
Jihad Harzala, 17, was on his way to visit his big brother when soldiers ordered him to get out of the taxi, beat him severely, and used their cellular phone to document the beating. B'Tselem wrote to the Central Command's legal advisor and demanded that the incident be investigated.
B'Tselem wrote to Israel 's Attorney Generalasking him to order an investigation into the excessive force used by the Israel Police during the dismantling of the permanent houses in the Amona settlement.
The farmland of 'Abd a-Latif 'Odeh, of D'aba Village, lies adjacent to his home. The separation barrier was built between his home and his parcel of farmland. To get from one to the other, he and his family have to travel 22 kilometers, which they do by donkey-drawn cart. Sometimes, when they get to the crossing gate, soldiers do not let their cart pass.
B'Tselem calls on Hamas to renounce the policy of suicide bombings, and refrain from all deliberate attacks on civilians, in both Israel and the Occupied Territories .
B'Tselem launches a public campaign to alter the route of the separation barrier.
This video depicts Muntaha Najar, a 55-year-old woman, upon discovering that her family's olive grove, which contained decades-old trees, had been destroyed.
Border Police prevent Red Crescent from taking child to East Jerusalem for cancer treatment, assault ambulance crew, 'Anata Checkpoint, December 2005
The General Security Service repeatedly ordered a Palestinian family to appear at its offices, held them for hours at a time, and maltreated them. In late November, B'Tselem wrote to the Civil Administration's demanding that the abuse end. B'Tselem did not receive a response to its demand. However, the family reported that the maltreatment had ceased.
An o rder to open fire at any person present in a particular area in the northern Gaza Strip, if indeed given, is a flagrant breach of International Humanitarian Law.
B'Tselem and Bimkom recently uncovered evidence of plans to expand settlements in the Modi'in Illit bloc on privately-owned Palestinian land situated on the "Israeli" side of the separation barrier.
Israel’s regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violations. B’Tselem strives to end this regime, as that is the only way forward to a future in which human rights, democracy, liberty and equality are ensured to all people, both Palestinian and Israeli, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel has acted in a coordinated and deliberate manner to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip, committing genocide against its residents. In light of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the public statements made by Israeli decision-makers, and the international community’s failure to take effective action, there is a serious risk that the Israeli regime will expand the genocide to other areas under its control—first and foremost, the West Bank.
B’Tselem calls on the Israeli public and the international community to use every tool available under international law to bring an immediate end to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.