On the Agenda

After two weeks of restrictions on access to al-Aqsa Mosque following the killing of Israeli police officers there, about 120 Palestinians planned to stay in the mosque overnight on 27 July 2017, fearing they would not be allowed in for Friday prayers the next day. The police raided the mosque and arrested all present. The treatment reported by several arrested minors is consistent with Israel’s well-documented policy of systemically violating the rights of hundreds of Palestinian teens a year, under a formalistic guise of legality.

Since 9 Nov. 2017, the military has restricted movement in four communities in the Masafer Yatta region of the South Hebron Hills, which are home to some 600 people. The roads connecting the communities and leading to the main road have been blocked off, forcing residents to walk a fair distance to the main road. These communities have been suffering incessant harassment for decades: Israel will not allow them to connect to infrastructure and repeatedly demolishes their homes, in an attempt to drive them out of the area.

On Friday afternoon, 13 Oct. 2017, youths threw stones at soldiers in the Bab a-Zawiya area in the center of Hebron. The soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets and stun grenades and violently detained 18 youths, most of them minors. Soldiers routinely enter Hebron, disrupting residents’ lives and arresting youths. No-one explained what was happening to the youths or allowed them to call their families, and they were interrogated without an attorney or family member. This reality forms part of the daily routine of occupation. 

Over the past month, the state has informed three Palestinian communities that it intends to expel them from their homes and land. The notification was made by leaving orders on the roadside. Whatever the proceedings used by the state in its attempt to expel Palestinian residents from their homes, the crime is the same: the forcible transfer of a protected population, which amounts to a war crime. This is the case whether the violence used is direct or indirect, physical or administrative. Whether the expulsion is undertaken by force or by creating an intolerable reality that forces the residents to leave their homes and land – the essence is the same. 

On 8 Sept. 2017, during a demonstration in the a-Sheikh Jarah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, police officers arrested ‘A.H., 15, assaulted his mother, and released him an hour later. They also arrested his brother M.H., 13, interrogated him, and obtained his signature on a statement written in Hebrew. He was released on bail at about 10:30 PM and spent five days under house arrest. This conduct is consistent with Israel’s policy on the detention of minors in East Jerusalem, which entails the systematic violation of their rights.

During August-October 2017, B'Tselem documented incidents in which soldiers accompanied Jewish worshippers on visits to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, imposing sweeping restrictions on the movement of Palestinian residents. The army uses tear gas against youth who confront it and sometimes shoots them. Israel consistently places the interests of the worshippers over those of Palestinian residents, as part of the violent daily routine it has maintained in the Territories for fifty years.

On 5 Oct. 2017, members of the Jabber family from al-Baq’ah near Hebron were returning home from a family visit. Near the access road to their village they encountered settlers, one of whom threw a rock at their car. Two of the passengers were injured and required treatment. Yafa Jabber, 5, was injured in the head, and her aunt, Shirin Jabber, was injured in the elbow. This is the latest in a series of violent attacks by settlers along Route 60 and elsewhere in the West Bank.

On 16 Oct. 2017, Khaled Bahar, aged 13, and his cousin ‘Abed Bahar., 12, were chatting with other youths from the area. Soldiers approached, seized Khaled Bahar by the arm and took him to the nearby settlement of Carmei Tzur. He was handcuffed and blindfolded for hours and interrogated for approximately four hours before being released at 2:00 AM. This incident is not unusual: soldiers routinely enter Beit Ummar, disrupting the residents’ lives, arresting youths, and searching homes. This conduct forms part of the daily implementation of the occupation regime.

On 22 Aug. 2017 police officers came to a family home in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. They put a gun to the head of the father, locked the rest of the family in the kitchen, and searched the house. They then assaulted the mother and her daughter, aged 15, shackled the daughter, and took her away for interrogation. The daughter was released after interrogation. Such behavior forms part of official Israeli policy in East Jerusalem that entails the systemic violation of the rights of minors during detention. 

On 9 Aug. 2017 soldiers shot Raed Salhi, 21, as he attempted to flee during a detention operation in Duheisheh Refugee Camp. The soldiers later shot at his brother when he came to help Raed, who was only evacuated to hospital in Israel after 40 minutes. The medical team prevented Raed’s parents from visiting him and failed to update them on his condition and treatment. His brother was detained without trial and his mother was prohibited from entering Israel. Once again, no-one will be held responsible for the lethal and illegal shooting.

On the night of 5 Oct. 2017 settlers threw stones at a car carrying three Palestinians close to the settlement of Shilo on Route 60. Muhammad Jarar’ah, 29, was struck in the head and injured seriously, requiring surgery. Although a complaint was submitted the next day, the police have not collected statements from the victims. This conduct is consistent with experience, which shows that it is extremely unlikely that the police will investigate attacks on Palestinians by settlers. As a result, such attacks will continue undisturbed.