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Summary for November 12 – 18, 2020

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued to commit crimes and multi-faceted violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized by excessive use of force, assault, abuse and attacks on civilians. This week, the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing and the Israel Lands Authority issued a call for tenders for construction of 1,257 settlement units in “Givat Hamatos” settlement, which was established on the lands of Beit Safafa village, southern occupied East Jerusalem. These units would connect “Gilo” and “Har Homa” settlements with “Talpiot” settlement.

The construction of these settlement units would seal off Bethlehem from Beit Safafa village and southern occupied East Jerusalem and will entail further restrictions and obstacles on Palestinians’ freedom of movement and access to their lands.

This Israeli bidding was released 4 days after Israel’s approval to construct 108 settlement units in “Ramat Shlomo” settlement, northern occupied East Jerusalem. With these two bids, Israel is resuming construction in two settlements, where expansion efforts were frozen in 2014 due to international pressures. These tenders coincide with escalated IOF demolition and confiscation of Palestinian properties and lands, particularly in Area “C” in the West Bank.

PCHR fears that Israeli intends to accelerate settlement expansion before President-elect Joe Biden assumes US presidency on 20 January 2021, as it is reported that Israel plans to approve the construction of at least 13,000 settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem.

This week, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) documented 215 violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law (IHL) by IOF and settlers in the oPt. It should be noted that the limitations due to the corona virus pandemic, has limited PCHR’s fieldworkers mobility and ability to conduct field documentation; therefore, the information contained in this report are only part of the continued IOF violations.

IOF shooting and violation of right to bodily integrity:

Twelve Palestinian civilians, including two children, sustained wounds in IOF excessive use of force in the West Bank: six were wounded, including one child who lost sight in his eye due to his injury, in an IOF raid into Qalandiya refugee camp in Jerusalem; three others sustained wounds in IOF raid into Qaddura refugee camp in Ramallah; and two others, including a child, in IOF suppression of Kufur Qaddoum’s weekly protest against settlement expansion activities; and a photojournalist was wounded while covering clashed in Hebron.

In the Gaza Strip, four IOF shootings were reported at agricultural lands eastern Gaza Strip, and once against fishing boats, western Gaza. Israeli war planes launched an airstrike on a vacant land in eastern Rafah.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 101 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids of civilian houses and shootings, provoking terror among civilians, and attacking many of them. During this week’s incursions, 77 Palestinians were arrested, including five children. In the besieged Gaza Strip, IOF conducted a limited incursion into eastern Khan Younis.

Demolitions:

PCHR documented 15 incidents…

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Read full report at here.

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