The Israeli occupation forces are seriously escalating in the West Bank, in particular in its Northern regions. In the Jenin camp, an Israeli aerial bombardment targeted six Palestinians including three brothers, and a child no older than 15.
On the evening of Tuesday, January 14th, an Israeli military aircraft carried out an aerial bombardment in the center of the Jenin camp in the northern West Bank, killing six Palestinians and wounding at least eight more with moderate injuries. At the time of the bombing, the residents of the camp described a state of horror and fear. One Palestinian eyewitness said: “We saw the bodies of Palestinians lying on the ground among the dead and wounded, with bare blood everywhere.”
The mother of the three martyred brothers grieves her sons
In contradiction with their own communications, Israel is continuously targeting Palestinian civilians in the North of the West Bank — regardless of age, gender, background. The situation of escalating campaigns of military operations in the northern West Bank mirrors the war crimes we continue to witness in Gaza.
Farewell to the martyrs
The situation in the camp is unstable due to the recent Israeli military incursions, including the destruction and bulldozing of streets and infrastructure, the destruction of houses and shops, and the cutting of electricity and water lines. Dozens of Palestinian families have left the camp, especially those who have lost their homes. Many still remain, rejecting the idea of abandoning and living away from their place of origin.
Two men contemplate the the site of the airstrike where martyrs were killed
According to residents, the bombing happened a few meters away from the house of the three brothers who were killed, who are from the Abu Al-Hijaa family, one of the most well-known and largest families in the camp. They were sitting near their house alongside friends and neighbours.
The martyrs’ names are 15-year-old Mahmoud Gharbiya, 28-year-old Mo’min Abu al-Hijaa, 27-year-old Amir Abu al-Hijaa, 34-year-old Hossam Qanouh, 23-year-old Ibrahim Qaneri, and 33-year-old Baha Abu al-Hijaa.
A crowd assembles at the funeral of the six Tuesday martyrs.
Before their blood could dry in the streets of Jenin, on Wednesday evening, January 15th, the Israeli military committed another crime in the Al- Dumaj Neighborhood of the camp, in which six more Palestinians were killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
A Palestinian family in pain residing in the Jenin camp
The number of martyrs in the West Bank since October 7 has reached 858, including 237 in Jenin. The city of Jenin has the highest number of martyrs in the West Bank.
What will happen to the next generation of youth if Israel continues to target and kill Palestinian children?
Youth Funeral Procession
The Palestinian people are enduring a difficult period, one that mirrors the challenges faced during the First and Second Intifadas, perhaps even more so. This struggle has only intensified since Israel launched its war of annihilation on Gaza on October 7, which continues to this day. Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland, unfit for human habitation. Meanwhile, the West Bank remains in a state of anticipation. Though the West Bank’s various cities, villages, and refugee camps have already provided dozens of martyrs, prisoners, and the wounded, Israel’s escalation of its operations threatens to turn the West Bank into yet another devastated area.
*Nablus* In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli occupation forces launched several incursions. Within less than a week, they stormed refugee camps twice, resulting in the deaths of two Palestinians.
A Young Man Involved in the Funeral
The first martyr, Mohammed Amer, an 18-year-old from Balata Camp, was shot dead by Israeli forces on January 4 during their raid of the camp. Mohammed was the sole male in his family, leaving behind seven sisters.
Farewell to the Martyr Mohammed Amer
The second martyr, 17-year-old Moataz Al-Madani from Askar Camp, was also killed by Israeli forces on the night of January 6, during a raid in his camp. Today, the people of Askar mourned his death, chanting slogans of anger, revenge, and resistance.
Martyr Moataz Al-Madani
*Israel’s Plan to Erase the Palestinian Refugee Issue* Israel’s campaign to dismantle Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, particularly in the north, began nearly two years ago in early 2023. The campaign intensified in August 2024 under the name “Operation Summer Camps.” Israeli forces were stationed in refugee camps in Tulkarem, Nablus, Jenin, Tubas, Jericho, and Qalqilya.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed, with Tulkarem and Jenin cities witnessing the highest number of martyrs, according to the Palestinian Health Organization. Refugee camps in Nablus, including Balata and Askar, have been frequent targets of Israeli occupation forces.
Askar Camp
*Israel Opens War on the Palestinians* According to the Palestinian Health Department’s statistics, at least 94 martyrs have fallen in Nablus since the beginning of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The total number of martyrs in the West Bank has reached 838, of which 172 are children, 16 are women, and 12 are elderly. Furthermore, 179 bodies are being held by Israeli forces.
Israeli Military Vehicle
From the outset of the war in Gaza, Israel demonstrated that it makes no distinction between its targets—no one, whether young or old, male or female, is spared. This indiscriminate violence has been evident in both Gaza and the West Bank, creating a pervasive atmosphere of fear and insecurity among Palestinians. They no longer feel safe in their own homes. The ongoing state of tension, anxiety, and daily danger has become an inescapable reality for Palestinians living under occupation.
Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Syria, and in Lebanon. Who will hold them accountable for their crimes?
By Diana Khwaelid | December 27, 2024 | Tulkarem, West Bank
Nine Palestinian were martyred last week in Tulkarem and neighbouring cities during an Israeli military operation in refugee camps in the West Bank. On December 24, Israel launched a military campaign in several cities and camps in the northern West Bank, including Tamoun in Tubas city, Al-Ain camp in Nablus, al-Amari camp in Ramallah, Qalqilya and Tulkarem.
The bodies of the nine Palestinian martyrs in the morgue.
In the city of Tulkarem, the Israeli occupation’s military operation destroyed roads and infrastructure as well as houses and private property in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps. The operation lasted for more than 43 consecutive hours, during which the occupation killed nine Palestinians, including two women and a child.
Tulkarem Camp:
Destruction in the Tulkarem camp after the Israeli incursion.
Israeli occupation bulldozers destroyed much of the camp’s infrastructure, which had already been severely damaged during the previous Israeli military incursions. They also targeted the camp citizens’ property, including shops, cars, and houses. Palestinian inhabitants of the Tulkarem camp often describe it as having become a microcosm of what is happening in Gaza.
Military vehicles during the Israeli incursion in Tulkarem.
The municipality and the Palestinian Civil Defense crews are trying to repair the destroyed infrastructure, streets, houses, and water pipes — as much as is possible.
Nur shams camp:
The Israeli incursion in Nur Shams camp.
In the Nur Shams camp, the Israeli occupation bulldozers destroyed the property of citizens along al-Sikka Street-Nablus Street and several shops, including a pharmacy. The Israeli incursion has made the day-to-day unlivable for the residents of the camps in Tulkarm and Nur Shams.
In the past year, the Israeli occupation has been brutally targeting Palestinian populations. Military operations waged by Israel in the West Bank camps threaten the future of Palestinian refugees and their homes.
A young Palestinian girl in her home in Tulkarem.
The National Action factions declared a state of mourning for the city of Tulkarem following these massacres in both Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps. The nine martyrs were mourned, seven of them from Tulkarem camp, another from Nur Shams camp and another in the town of Gavin. They added: “An Israeli warplane targeted Palestinians in the Tulkarm camp, paying no attention to children playing or being near their homes, nor to women.”
Farewell to one of the young martyrs.
The names of the martyrs are Mrs. Khawla Abdo, Baraa Al Attar, Fathi Salem, Mahmin Al- Akhras, Mahmoud Amar, Ahmed Amarna, Omran Haroun, Qusay Okasha, Jumaa Salem.
The sister of the martyr Fathi Salem mourns her brother.
According to the Palestinian Health Organization and the Shirin Abu Akila Observatory, the number of Palestinian martyrs in the West Bank since October 7 has reached 835 martyrs, 196 of which in Tulkarem.
02 April 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Deir al Balah, Gaza
Following the offloading of a desperately needed 100+ tons of humanitarian aid into a Deir al Balah aid storage warehouse, a seven-person, three-vehicle World Central Kitchen convoy was traveling a deconflicted coastal road when the first Israeli army targeted strike hit one of their vehicles. As the surviving injured desperately scrambled into the two other vehicles in the convoy, occupation forces fired again, and again until each of the three clearly marked aid transports were destroyed and all seven foreign aid workers dead.
A Vehicle in the WCK Convoy attacked by IOF. Photo Source: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images
News began flashing across global media as World Central Kitchen confirmed the occupation forces’ precision attack on their volunteer aid workers of which included foreign nationals of the U.K.,Poland, Australia, a Canadian/American dual-citizen, as well as their Palestinian driver; 26 year old Seif Issam Abu Taha. They had been coordinating all movements on the ground with Israeli occupation forces, including the movement of their convoy from Deir al Balah which was almost immediately pursued and horrifically attacked again and again by the IOF to ensure the destruction in-totality of all life inside the three vehicles.
World Central Kitchen statement confirming the murder of aid volunteers
In a statement on its massacre of the aid workers’ convoy which was unarmed, emblazoned with the World Central Kitchen logo on all sides and on the top of their vehicle and posing no threat who had communicated this movement with the IOF, Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the “tragic mistake” which killed “innocent people” and stated that “such things happen in war.” The killings of clearly marked humanitarian aid workers has been a routine strategy of the IOF who has, to date, murdered 196 volunteers doing critical aid work on the ground in Gaza as genocide, famine and ethnic cleansing across the strip move unabated across the threshold into its seventh month.
The passports of the murdered WCK aid workers. Photo Source: Associated Press
World Central Kitchen, who had been serving over 10,000 life-sustaining meals in Gaza daily, have now ceased all operations in the area as occupation forces continue the daily murder of unarmed Palestinian civilians, journalists, medical staff and aid workers. A large portion of the humanitarian supplies shipment WCK volunteers were preparing to receive through established maritime aid channels is now headed back to Cyprus from where it shipped and was due to be supplied to Palestinians who are currently, and purposefully, being starved to death by Israeli forces.
12 January 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | The Hague, Netherlands
One day after a chilling presentation by South Africa’s legal team, constructing a sweeping case against Israel for genocidal intent and acts amounting to genocide of the Palestinian population in Gaza, Israel took its place before the 15 judge panel to try and convince the world that 3 months of mechanized, relentless mass-killing should escape the designation. Despite a trove of documentary evidence to the latter, Israel contended before the court that it is not committing genocide in Gaza.
Israel’s legal team in the International Court of Justice. Photo credit: The Independent
The “right to self-defence” was the main argument that the Israeli legal team, lead by British lawyer Malcolm Shaw KC, brought forward at the second and final day of the preliminary hearings at the International Court of Justice for the case brought by South Africa while denying that Israel is carrying out a genocide in the brutal attack on Gaza.
Opening statements in today’s hearing were made by Co-Agent of Israel, Tal Becker who expressed what he termed as Israel’s ‘singularity’ in understanding the birth of the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide for which the state is evidenced to be committing.
Becker’s claim that Israel is “defending itself in a war it did not start” showed yet again the blatant denial of a 75-year history of land grab, abuses, violation of human rights, illegal occupation, as well as an illegal 16 year blockade on Gaza. “Israel is in a war of defense against Hamas, not against the Palestinian people.”
The duality of Becker’s statements on what he states to be the “outrageous” nature of the use of the word genocide to explain Israel’s actions in Gaza stood out sorely in juxtaposition to Professor Malcom Shaw who next assumed the floor to dismiss statements of genocidal intent distributed from the highest political offices in Israel, offices which are directing military operations on the ground in Gaza.
From Becker’s court address, “We live at a time when words are cheap. In an age of social media and identity politics, the temptation to reach for the most outrageous term, to vilify and demonize, has become for many irresistible. But if there is a place where words should still matter, where truth should still matter, it is surely a court of law.” Indeed. The point was made the day prior when South Africa legal team lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi stood before the International Court of Justice presenting testimony related to Israel’s genocidal intent expressed by Israeli authorities of the highest order.
Ngcukaitobi platformed the frequent and routine nature of genocidal discourse spoken explicitly and how it translates into real-world violence on the ground by occupation foot soldiers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaaz Herzog and the Israeli Minister of Defense’s explicit exterminationist rhetoric were highlighted to support the case for intent. Yet, that incontrovertible evidence was dismissed in court today by Professor Shaw as not legally significant. “Sometimes statements are made which are nothing more than a part of the recent war-time rhetoric intending to put the blame and shame on the other side.” Shaw further stated that they were “not to be ascribed an importance…nor of legal significance.” To counter, using Tal Becker’s words, “if there is a place where words should still matter… it is surely a court of law.”
Galit Raguan addressed the panel on Israel’s behalf to argue the “facts on the ground.” Most shocking of all was her claim that “hospitals have not been bombed” when, in fact, Israel struck several hospitals including the Indonesian Hospital, the International Eye Care Centre, the Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital among others.
With three quarters of Gaza’s hospitals profoundly destroyed to the point of relegation to non-functional status, Raguan stated that while “Hospitals have not been bombed; rather, the IDF sends soldiers to search and dismantle military infrastructure, reducing damage and disruption.” If the reduction of damage and disruption are what Israel’s military in Gaza were seeking to achieve, they have failed beyond measure. We have seen successful Israeli military surgical operations unfold which spared civilian life in the very recent past during its breaking of another international law when it assassinated Hamas Deputy Leader Saleh al-Arouri in a residential structure in Beirut, Lebanon. One imagines if Hamas fighters were positioned in a hospital in Israel, operations would be similarly surgical in nature.
In an attempt to justify the atrocities committed, Galit Raguan claimed that “urban warfare will always result in tragic deaths, harm and damage,” saying that these are the “desired outcomes of Hamas.” While Raguan explained away three months of mass civilian murder, ascribing the most morally sound intentions and actions on occupation forces, her only roadblock to successfully making the case were the countless occupation foot soldiers who have filmed themselvescommitting atrocities on deceased Palestinian bodies, blowing up entire residential blocks as birthday gifts to their family, looting Palestinian civilian homes, raising the Israeli flag over the wreckage of Mosques, holding skits where they lie in Palestinian children’s beds in homes they have bombed and dancing gleefully amid the wreckage and body parts of Gaza’s people while singing explicit songs about ethnic cleansing.
Throughout the hearing, no address was made as to why clearly marked journalists, ICRC medics, UN staff, humanitarian aid workers and Palestinian Civil Defense rescue workers were massacred in targeted killings. No argument was made to explain the moral navigation involved in documented occupation forces committing of extrajudicial executions or the rounding up, blindfolding, stripping, shackling and abduction of Palestinian civilians, nor of the doctored videos where Palestinian civilians were directed to act on film as though they were surrendering Hamas fighters.
Further, Raguan’s assertion several times that Israeli occupation forces had acted to explicitly mitigate civilian harm flies in the face of prolific genocidal rhetoric from the Israeli political and military directors of this onslaught which is being acted out on the ground in real time. While Raguan touted the supposed Israeli humanitarian mobilization to bring critical supplies into Gaza, it would seem counterintuitive for the very same politicians and ministers of the Israeli government to be simultaneously touting their starvation and total siege of the “human animals” of the Gaza Strip.
Omri Sender assumed the floor to address the condition of risk of irreparable harm and urgency. Sender’s opening sentiments were the wholesale blaming of what he recognized as a “grave” humanitarian situation, on Hamas “prosecuting war from under, and within, the civilian population.” Sender’s statement continued to fly the torch carried by his predecessors speaking in Israel’s defense in that it painted Hamas as an agent of terror that Israel was battling to protect Palestinian civilians from. A common sentiment expressed publicly among Israeli political and social society is that “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza.”
Sender touted its opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing for aid delivery to enter three months, thousands of dropped bombs and tens of thousands of murdered civilians later. Gaza’s population is now starving. As Sender’s statement to the court focused on Israel’s direction of aid in recent history to enter through Gaza’s border crossings, the entire problem was missed; the fact that Israel is controlling the land, air and sea borders of another people and has unilateral say over what comes in and what goes out, when it wants to starve the population and when it will open a crossing under conditions of a looming famine to allow a truck to enter for which its entry will be used to exhibit Israel’s kindness to the Palestinians it is mass murdering at the very moment the words were spoken to the court.
Christopher Staker was the next speaker for the Israeli defense. He did so to denounce the context for requested provisions as made by South Africa on the first day of the hearing. His argument centered around the sentiment that neither South Africa, nor Palestinians, “have a plausible right” to request provisional measures and went point by point through South Africa’s 9 provisional requests in this manner.
The final speaker was Co-Agent of Israel, Gilad Noam who concluded Israel’s arguments through requesting the International Court of Justice “(1) Reject the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa; and (2) Remove the case from the General List.” With the final words of their arguments brought to a close, Israel has now requested the judges of the ICJ to refuse the words of every humanitarian agency who has worked on the ground in Gaza, the millions of Gazans who have filmed their own destruction and the tens of millions of horrified people across the world who have watched this massacre unfold for over 90 days, and to instead find Israel not guilty of violating the 1948 Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.
The final day of the court hearing occurred during another day of the active destruction of Gaza itself as she is reduced to mass rubble fields, indistinguishable from the universities, hospitals, schools, shops, residential blocks, utilities buildings, Mosques, Churches and shelters which once comprised her streets. With Oxfam noting that the “Israeli military is killing 250 Palestinians per day with many more lives at risk from hunger, disease and cold,” during the course of the two-day hearing on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, 500 Palestinians were massacred.
