Updates

On 15 Aug. 2018, at about 2:00 A.M., soldiers with dogs entered 10 homes in the village of ‘Azzun. They woke the inhabitants, kept some confined to rooms in their homes, intimidated children and conducted violent searches. Raids on homes in the dead of night, in which soldiers wake families and ransack their houses, are by now a routine part of the occupation in the West Bank. These actions, which are clearly intended to intimidate the population, are unjustified. This is yet another example of daily Palestinian life under occupation.

On 10 Aug. 2018, thousands of Palestinians held a demonstration east of Rafah. Some burned tires and threw stones at Israeli forces on the other side of the fence. The forces fired tear gas and live bullets, killing three demonstrators. B'Tselem found that two of those killed were not endangering the forces in any way. These fatalities are the direct result of Israel’s open-fire policy, and another example of the lack of concern shown by Israeli authorities for Palestinian life and limb.

B’Tselem Executive Director Hagai El-Ad addressed the United Nations Security Council tonight, at the quarterly session scheduled in accordance with Resolution 2334. Click here to view his address

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.