Category: Reports

By Diana Khwaelid

Tulkarem – July 1, 2024

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed two Palestinians, a woman and a child, during their second consecutive raid in the city of Tulkarem, on July 1.

According to the Palestinian Health Organization, a 46-year-old Palestinian woman and a 15-year-old child, Mohammed Sarhan, were killed during the raid on Tulkarem refugee camp. Mohammed was standing near the Shuwaika roundabout, far from the camp, when an Israeli sniper shot him as the army was withdrawing. The occupation also bombed a house in the camp.

Dozens of Israeli military vehicles, including D9 bulldozers, stormed the city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank in the early hours of Monday. The siege was centred first in the Nur Shams refugee camp, northeast of the town, and the Tulkarm refugee camp.

Nur Shams camp was stormed for 10 hours, with the destruction of the main street leading to the camp and the main entrance to the camp. Occupation forces also destroyed water networks and infrastructures and dozens of shops overlooking the street near the camp were fully or partially destroyed.

The Israeli army also bombed another Palestinian house with an aerial bombardment: the house belonged to one of the most famous and largest families in the camp. Palestinian civil defence and medical teams only managed to enter the camp and reach the site after occupation forces withdrew, as the army prevented ambulances to reach the injured.

The Nur Shams refugee camp has been subjected to at least 30 raids since October 7 and is considered one of the most dangerous camps in the West Bank after the Jenin camp, according to Israeli media sites.

The fierce incursions carried out by the Israeli occupation in the camp, especially after October 7, made the residents of the camp feel constant fear, and dozens of Palestinian families who had grown up in the camp since childhood had to leave the camp to protect their children and women.

The death toll in the city of Tulkarm has risen to 118 since October 7.

01 July 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Jordan Valley

June 29 began like any other for Ayman Ghraib’s, 41, who is an activist from the village of Tamoun, north-east of Nablus.

Ayman was scheduled to film with Al Jazeera about illegal settlements, settler attacks and confiscation of land and water in the Jordan Valley, sharing his stories of attacks from settlers and the occupation army.

The filming was supposed to be in a symbolic area of the valley and Ayman was travelling in his friend’s car as his car was destroyed by occupation forces, who slashed the tyres and put sand in the engine.

Ayman reports arriving around 12:00 p.m. As usual, he said, they were stopped at a checkpoint by the occupation soldiers and asked to get out of the car. Al Jazeera crew was on the other side waiting and when they saw the occupation soldiers holding him, they went to the barrier and started filming. The soldiers told the crew to leave as Ayamin would be released shortly.

The sun was burning, and the temperature was about 40 degrees Celsius, and Ayman reported starting to collapse and telling the officer in charge that he has heart and breathing problems. The office laughed and said, “I’m not a seven-year-old boy, I don’t believe what you’re saying.”

After more than two hours of detention, the symptoms of the sun’s heat began to increase, with severe headache, and body pain made it difficult to breathe until Ayman fell on the ground. The officers, who refused to call an ambulance, started to kick and punch him and hit him with the butts of their guns, while shouting nasty words. He felt that he was going to lose consciousness, when the soldiers poured ice water on his head: he felt like he was being electrocuted. They opened his mouth and poured water in his throat and nose until he almost choked. While he was getting lot worse, the soldiers moved Ayman in his friend’s car and told him to help, going every now and then to pour ice water on his head: every time it was a shock.

Soldiers also took Ayman’s phone, taking pictures of materials on it and then finally released them. He arrived home completely exhausted and received the needed first aid.

Ayman said: “This is not the first time that I have been subjected to similar attacks by the occupation army, in addition to having been imprisoned more than once. Every time I am charged with crimes, I had not committed any violent act against the army or settlers.

“All I can say is that I closely film violation towards the inhabitants of the Jordan Valley and spread through social media the confiscation of land and water and the suffering of the inhabitants of the Valley from Israel’s policy of displacement against them.”

Ayman reported that settlers spread his photographs and publicly incite to kill him, asking the army to arrest him. He has also received death threats from settlers. Several of his friends who had transported him around have been attacked and harassed and had their cars damaged by the occupation army.

Ayman said: “I’m not inciting against anyone, just fighting for my people to have land and water before they’re all confiscated for the benefit of the settlers. It’s our land and we don’t want to go anywhere else, and we don’t want settlers to replace us.”

16 June 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Masafer Yatta

What began as a joyous Eid celebration turned into a tense invasion for the residents of the small Palestinian village of At-Tuwani, Masafer Yatta, on Sunday afternoon, June 16. Children, cousins, and extended family members were playing in the yard of Mosahb’s home when an Israeli military jeep sped up to the house, a short distance from the nearby Ma’on settlement.

The security video shows soldiers jumped out of their vehicle with guns drawn, causing panic among the children playing in front of the house. The soldiers ignored the frightened children and stormed toward the house, attempting to force their way inside. The family, led by Mosahb, quickly emerged, only to be met with threats of arrest for Mosahb and his brother.

The situation dissipated as international human rights activists, who were in the area, rushed to the scene. The local community also gathered in support, holding many eyes on the aggressive soldiers. After a short while, the soldiers retreated, justifying their combative actions by claiming they were responding to reports of someone taking pictures.

This incident is the latest in a series of harassments faced by Mosahb’s family and other villagers in At-Tuwani. Residents report an increase in such confrontations since the expansion of the Ma’on settlement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The harassment has intensified further since the events of October 7, creating a constant state of terror and fear among the villagers.

Despite the community’s resilience and international support, the ongoing presence and actions of settlers and the military continue to disrupt the daily lives of At-Tuwani’s residents, highlighting the broader issues of settlement expansion and military occupation in the region.