Category: Reports

A Child Witnessed His Father’s Murder

West Bank—Tulkarm By Diana Khwaelid

When will Israel stop spilling Palestinian blood in the West Bank?

On November 13, Wednesday evening, an Israeli special force called Al-Yamam, accompanied by Israeli occupation soldiers, assassinated and killed two Palestinian youths during the siege of a house in the Ezbet Jarad area of Tulkarm.

The martyrs Mammon an Thaer as seen in local news report

At about 6:15 pm this same Wednesday, an Israeli Special Force, accompanied by Israeli occupation soldiers, with more than twenty Israeli military vehicles and a bulldozer, stormed the Ezbet Jarad area in Tulkarm with intense air overflights.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli forces surrounded a house in Ezbet Jarad and demanded those inside surrender. Palestinian medical sources reported that “a Palestinian was injured by Israeli bullets in the shoulder, while the two-year-old child of the martyr Thaer was injured by shrapnel in the head. The child is in good condition, and they were immediately transported to Thabit Thabit Hospital in the city via ambulances.”

Thaer Amara, who spent nearly 17 years in Israeli prisons, was a husband and father of two. Arriving at the wrong time, he was surprised by the presence of Israeli forces. The 38-year-old was shot and killed, and his two-year-old son Baraa was injured by shrapnel in the head.

The mother of the martyr Thaer, Khitam Amara (Um Rashad), 64, said her son had been a rebel since he was 17 during the Second Intifada. Known as a political activist, he opposed the occupation, and Israeli forces had previously attempted to kill him. She added that her son had recently been threatened by an Israeli officer and had only been free from Israeli prisons for three years.

She described her son as kind and generous, deeply loving his family, including his children Baraa and his youngest daughter Rahiq, one and a half years old. She added that the Israeli forces shot him in the head, making him a martyr.

Another young man, Mamon Shrem, emerged from the besieged house and was immediately killed. Mamon, unaware of the Israeli forces’ presence, went out when he heard shooting and was shot, joining his friend Thaer in martyrdom.

Mamon Shrem, 37, who had also spent years in Israeli prisons, had been free for only seven months before being killed. His mother said her son had been chased by Israeli forces and was living in his house, meters away from his family’s home in Ezbet Jarad, where he was shot in the head. She added that they found remnants of his brain on the ground, which the family buried.

In the funeral home of the martyr Mammon

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of Palestinian martyrs in the West Bank since October 7 has reached 783, including 167 children. In Tulkarm alone, 180 people have been killed so far.

“The occupation not only killed the two young men but also kept their bodies even after their deaths, putting them in black plastic bags,” eyewitnesses reported.

What does it mean that the Israeli occupation kills two young men and detains their bodies, preventing the families from taking a last look and giving them a proper burial?

Who will hold Israel accountable for its bloody crimes against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza?

Where the piece of Mammon’s body was buried

Home in Kardala Demolished by Israeli Forces

November 13, 2024 | Kardala, N Jordan Valley

Today in the village of Kardala, in the North Jordan Valley, Israeli forces demolished a residential home. The short video below shows the demolition:

A resident of Kardala village remarked about the context of the demolition:

“Only a small number of people reside in this area, and suffer displacement and oppression for many years, from the demolition and destruction of property to the demolition of homes, with the aim of forcibly displacing the residents.”

On OCHA’s website dedicated to data on demolition and displacement in the West Bank, rolling figures which “reflect the demolition of Palestinian-owned structures and the resulting displacement of people from their homes across the West Bank since 2009” are updated every 48 hours. The numbers continue to grow as the project of colonial expansion increasingly saturates the occupied West Bank.

The equipment used in the demolition was manufactured by the South Korean international corporation Hyundai. The American Friends Service Committee has previously highlighted Hyundai’s involvement in West Bank home demolitions, and further profiled their involvement in colonial construction on Investigate.Info:

“The company’s track excavators and other machinery have been used in various construction projects in illegal Israeli settlements and industrial zones in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. For example, in 2017, Hyundai machinery was used to pave a settler-only road in the occupied West Bank, as reported by Who Profits. The construction of the road involved uprooting some 700 olive trees belonging to Palestinians in the area.”

When the Shoal Collective carefully compiled information on every demolition of a home or structure carried out by Israeli forces throughout 2022, Hyundai was found to be the bulldozer-and-crane supplier company involved in the largest number of demolitions, and furthermore it was one of top three companies for the number of children affected by demolitions using its equipment.

Thus, among private corporations, Hyundai makes an significant contribution to perpetuating Israel’s ongoing illegal settlement expansion and colonial destruction of Palestinian homes and buildings.

Gallery: Additional photos taken around the time and place of the demolition.

There is no more life in Tulkarm camps

Israeli armored vehicles during the Israeli incursion

West Bank – Tulkarm
By Diana Khwaelid

When you enter the camps of Tulkarm, you realize that thousands of Palestinians have been killed.

Sections of Tulkarm’s refugee camps have been decimated once more, with several martyrs in the latest attack on November 5. Dozens of Israeli military incursions have completely disfigured the camps.
In recent weeks attacks against Tulkarm’s refugee camps have increased. On November 5, dozens of Israeli military armored vehicles stormed the city of Tulkarm and the incursions were concentrated in both refugee camps.

Israel’s objective is the complete elimination of the West Bank’s refugee camps, especially in the north, along with martyring those who defend the people in the camps. This is as long as the refugee issue will be part of the Palestinian struggle for liberation.
The infrastructure of both Tulkarm and Nur Shams Camps, already destroyed by previous incursions, has been further destroyed with dozens of houses and shops completely burned down.
The main power transformers of the camps were destroyed and the sewage pipes were damaged, making for a more dangerous environment in the camp, especially for the sick, the elderly, and children.
Dozens of Palestinian families in both camps have been expelled due to the loss of their homes or extreme fear for their families’ and children’s lives.
Mahmoud Radwan, a 79-year-old from Tulkarem camp who witnessed the destruction of his house, said: “I’m not leaving the camp. I grew up here and I’ll stay here no matter what. How could I give up on my home?”

Mazen Huaiti, a 22-year-old from Tulkarem camp who lives in the Abu al-full neighborhood, which was destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, said: “No matter how long the occupation continues its policy of destroying houses and streets, we will build it again.

“We are steadfast in the camp and faithful. The main goal of the occupation with the destruction of the camps is to eliminate the Palestinian fighters who defend the camps and who confront the occupation during the incursions… The occupation has taken away our strength… but we believe in God and we will take our strength from God.”
The latest Israeli incursion lasted for 13 continuous hours, causing the residents of the camps to wait it out in a state of terror.

A shop was burned down by an Israeli armored vehicle in the Tulkarm camp

A Palestinian woman cleans the remnants of destruction in Tulkarm camp

A Palestinian family witnesses the destruction caused by the occupation

One of the houses how’s have been destroyed in the AL-Manshiyya neighborhood – Nur shams

A child plays with the Soil of the destroyed street in Tulkarem camp

The Threat to the Existence of Palestinian Refugee Camps

Nur Shams – Tulkarm By Diana Khwaelid 1 November 2024

Has Israel Succeeded in Implementing the Voluntary Displacement Policy in West Bank Camps?

Israeli forces launched another incursion into the Nur Shams camp in the city of Tulkarm. A military operation by the Israeli occupying forces in the camp led to the destruction of infrastructure that had already been damaged during previous incursions.

The presence of Occupation forces mechanisms.

Almost a month after the last assault on the camp, the occupation returned to launch another military operation, further destroying infrastructure and the camp’s main entrance. Dozens of shops were damaged again after recent rebuilding efforts following the last assault.

Bulldozer used to destroy store fronts and infrastructures.

The camp’s main electricity distribution transformer was targeted, sewage pipes were destroyed, and internet lines were cut during the military operation. The Israeli incursion into the camp and city lasted 13 continuous hours.

The headquarters of the UNRWA office and camp services were also targeted and destroyed just three days after the decision to ban UNRWA offices in Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank was issued.

One of the martyrs was 30-year-old Hossam al-Mallah, a resident of Tulkarm camp. An Israeli special force infiltrated Tulkarm, specifically targeting his workplace in the camp and fatally shooting him on the evening of Wednesday, October 31. On the same night, Israeli forces re-entered Tulkarm around 3:00 AM, with helicopters stationed in Nur Shams camp.

Three Martyrs in Nur Shams Camp The Nur Shams refugee camp has continued to lose young lives, with the occupation repeatedly targeting Palestinian youth in camps across the northern West Bank. The martyrs include Mutassim Aisha, aged 32; Abdulaziz Abu Samin, aged 22; and Ahmad Fahmawi, aged 18. The Israeli forces killed them without warning.

Farewell to martyr Ahmad Fehmawi, 18 years old.

Medical and ambulance crews were also prevented from entering the camp to transport wounded Palestinians, some of whom died due to the occupation’s obstruction of medical aid. Displacement of Camp Residents Abu Ahmed, a 61-year-old resident of Nur Shams camp, reported that the entrance to his house was destroyed for the sixth time, and his shops were destroyed for the third time during the recent incursion. He said the occupation aims to displace residents of Palestinian camps in the West Bank, especially in Nur Shams camp. However, he added, “The policy of destruction in the camp will not succeed in displacing us. Where are we supposed to go? There’s nowhere else.”

Israeli forces destroy Nur Shams – Tulkarm.

A state of sadness has gripped the city of Tulkarm, especially in the camps, during the funeral of four martyrs who were killed by the occupation in less than 24 hours. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the West Bank has witnessed 766 martyrs since the beginning of the year, with 177 from the city of Tulkarm.

Fighting Until the Last Breath

October 26, 2024 | Tulkarem-West Bank | Diana Khwaelid

What does it mean to bring an entire army battalion with huge military vehicles storming into a neighborhood, to besiege a whole apartment building, in search of a single Palestinian? This is a report of resilience and defiance in the face of the Israeli occupation.

The Building that was surrounded and destroyed by Israeli forces.

On October 26 at 3:20 a.m. the Israeli occupation forces stormed the city of Tulkarem, north of the Western apartment. This time, forces were stationed in Al-Salam Lane, a neighborhood located between the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.

Israeli military vehicles during the storming.

Israeli special forces known as Al-Yamamah were accompanied by three wheeled bulldozers and Israeli heavy military vehicles of type D9, D10. These forces, accompanied by soldiers, besieged a residential building in the Al-Salam neighborhood for 10 hours continuously, after receiving security intelligence about the presence of a Palestinian inside one of the residential apartments in building. Three Palestinian families, most of them women and children, were living inside the building.

The Palestinians who were living inside the building felt a state of fear and panic, especially the women and children. One of the residents of the building said, “My children are still under the influence of fear and shock even after the withdrawal of the army and the end of the Israeli military operation.”

One of the Residents of the targeted building.

The Israeli occupation operation focused on besieging the building, bulldozing the main entrance to the building, and evacuating the Palestinian families who were living inside, so that the building could be surrounded from all sides, with the addition of aircraft from above.

During the strike of Energa-type shells on the building which led to its burning.

The five-floor building was subjected to partial and total destruction throughout, and all this to kill the 29-year-old Palestinian Islam Odeh, from the Tulkarem camp. The Israeli occupation forces proceeded with a march onto the floor where he was located, and launched Energa-type missiles to murder him, but he kept fighting until the last moment and never gave up; he succumbed to an Israeli bullet in the end. That final bullet hit Islam Odeh directly in the head, and he fell as a martyr.

The shoes of the martyr, Islam, found in the location of his murder.

According to the Palestinian Civil Administration, the Israeli occupation forces killed the young Palestinian Islam, and have retained his body.

A Palestinian firefighter tries to put out the fire started by Israeli forces.

Palestinian medical and Civil Defense crews rushed to the site of the building immediately after the end of the military operation and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, in order to secure the building and dispose of any remnants of explosives and Israeli military equipment.

A Palestinian tries to clear the destruction from inside the building.

This operation imposed heavy material losses for the owner of the building, and heavy losses as well for the owners of cars destroyed by the occupation while at the entrance to the building, cars which belonged to the residents of the building.

There was a difficult psychological impact on the family of the Palestinian martyr Islam Odeh after receiving the news of their son’s elevation.

Father of the martyred Islam Odeh grieves.

There was also a profound psychological impact on the family of the martyr, Islam Odeh, after learning of their son’s death.

According to the Shirin Abu Aqla Observatory in Tulkarm alone, the number of martyrs since the beginning of 2024 has reached 173 so far.