On the Agenda

On Thursday, 31 August 2017, at 5:00 A.M., Civil Administration officials came with 25 Border Police officers to the Palestinian community of Tublas, which lies in Area C, along the main road that connects Hizma to ‘Anata north of Jerusalem. The community numbers some 60 people, about half of them minors. The forces demolished and confiscated a 48-square-meter pre-fab donated by a humanitarian organization that home to a family of five, including three minors.

On 9 Aug. 2017, at 2:30 A.M., Wasim Bader was in his living room in the village of Um Safa, north of Ramallah, when he noticed a car stop close by and park facing the nearby settlement of Ateret. Within moments, he saw his own car go up in flames and three persons in civilian clothing get into the parked car and drive away. It transpired that another car in the village had been torched and hate graffiti sprayed. The Israel Police inspected the scene, but experience shows that the odds of the perpetrators being brought to justice are very slim.

On Saturday night, 5 Aug. 2017, a group of settler youths assaulted two Palestinian youths in the Jaber neighborhood of Hebron, in plain view of soldiers. The soldiers violently detained one of the Palestinian youths and he was interrogated at a police station. A confrontation developed between settlers and Palestinian residents, in which several residents were injured by stones thrown by settlers, yet were offered no first aid by Israeli security forces and made to wait an hour before they were taken to hospital.

On 28 July 2017, Gazan youths held their weekly demonstration along the fence with Israel, east of al-Bureij RC. Soldiers fired teargas at them, and live fire at the legs of those who approached the fence. ‘Abd a-Rahman Abu Hamisah, 16, who was climbing a hill several dozen meters south of the demonstration, was shot and killed by soldiers from some 50 meters away, although he posed no danger. Two youths who followed him were shot and injured. Abu Hamisah is the 24th Palestinian – and third minor – to be killed since the protests began in 2015.

On Thursday, 24 August 2017, settlers from Kiryat Arba used a loudspeaker system to verbally abuse Palestinian residents of al-Hariqah neighborhood in Hebron, using offensive language and insulting Islam. When the settlers noticed her, they turned their abuse towards her, threatening violence and using racist and obscene language, including descriptions of extreme sexual violence. Although the threats were explicit and the swearing constituted severe sexual harassment, Israeli security forces who were present allowed the settlers to continue undisturbed, as is usually the case.

Israel’s policy of segregation in downtown Hebron leads to absurd situations in which Palestinians rely entirely on the goodwill of security forces. On 7 July 2017, the Hadad family moved house within the area. They were not allowed to drive their moving truck through the Pharmacy Checkpoint right by the new apartment, nor through Checkpoint 160 a kilometer away. After repeatedly loading and unloading in the heat they split up, with some members transporting the furniture by donkey cart and others carrying lighter possessions by hand.

Yesterday, 22 August 2017, Israeli authorities demolished the school at the community of Jub a-Dib, southeast of Bethlehem, leaving 80 pupils without an educational facility. In previous years, the children of Jub a-Dib had to walk to schools outside the village. The demolition of a school building the night before the start of the year epitomizes the administrative cruelty and systematic harassment by authorities designed to drive Palestinians from their land. In recent weeks, another two educational facilities in Area C were also demolished.

On 29 May 2017, the military ordered Palestinians in the Jaber neighborhood of Hebron to close shops to allow for a settler procession. Muhammad (14) and Baraa (17) Jaber were by a grocery store near their home when soldiers ordered the shopkeeper to close down. When the brothers refused an order to go home they were violently removed, as captured on video. Later, the soldiers again assaulted Muhammad on his way to a bicycle repair shop. This thuggish conduct is unjustified and illustrates the regular abuse of power permitted to soldiers.

On Tues., 15 August 2017, Jerusalem Municipality employees went with a Border Police escort to four East Jerusalem neighborhoods where they demolished dwellings and other structures, citing construction without a permit as pretext. All the while, the municipality does whatever is in its power to keep Palestinians from building lawfully. In Silwan, they demolished a residential building which was home to eight people, including six minors, in al-‘Esawiyah - a two-story building, in Beit Hanina a car-sale lot and in Jabal al-Mukabber a tire-repair shop.

Early on 12 July 2017, Israeli troops entered Jenin R.C. to arrest a resident. Violent clashes ensued. After two hours, soldiers who had laid an ambush, shot and killed two youths, although they did not pose a threat to the soldiers’ lives. This is not the first time the military has ambushed and shot stone-throwers. The fact that no one was held accountable in previous instances, including the commanders who ordered the stakeout, is what allows this unlawful policy to continue.

On Thurs. 10 August 2017, the Israeli military demolished the homes of three Palestinian families and sealed the home of another. The homes in question were in the Ramallah District: in the town of Silwad and in the village of Deir Abu Mash’al. Members of the households had committed car-ramming and shooting attacks earlier this year. The military’s actions have rendered homeless 18 people (incl. seven minors) who were neither suspected nor accused of any wrongdoing. Home demolitions are morally repugnant and are prohibited under international law. All photos taken by B'Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad.

On Wed., 9 August 2017, dozens of Civil Administration officials and Border Police arrived at Abu a-Nuwar, a Palestinian community which Israel refuses to hook up to the power grid. They confiscated solar panels and related equipment, all of which were donated by a humanitarian aid organization about a month ago. Abu a-Nuwar lies between the settlements of Kedar and Ma’ale Adumim, in an area that Israeli authorities have defined E1. The equipment was seized despite an interim injunction issued that day prohibiting enforcement (in the form of demolition or confiscating solar panels) until 16 August 2017.