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Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR): Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt)
Published Nov 11, 2021

Summary for November 4 – 10, 2021
Israeli forces continued to commit crimes and multi-layered violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of force, assault, abuse, and attacks on civilians, turning the West Bank into isolated blocks of land.

The Israeli settlement expansion works continued on Palestinian lands and properties. Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip enters its 15th year under closure, exacerbating the humanitarian hardships across the territory.

Persecution of Palestinian civil society organizations and human rights defenders

Israeli military commander in the oPt issued a military order classifying 6 Palestinian NGOs as “disallowed associations” as per the Defense (Emergency) Regulations of 1945 that was issued under the British Mandate. The new order allows the Israeli occupation to attack the organizations, adopt punitive measures against them, including closure of offices, confiscation and hampering funding resources, and assaulting/prosecuting staff members.

It was also discovered that the Israeli occupation conducted a systemic and confidential surveillance campaign targeting the cellphones of Palestinian human rights defenders and lawyers, gravely breaching their privacy and that of the victims they work with.

Army shooting and violation of right to bodily integrity:

Israeli forces killed one child and wounded 5 other Palestinians in excessive use of force in the West Bank. On 5 November, soldiers killed Mohammed Da’das (13) after shooting him in the abdomen near Deir Hatab village, eastern Nablus. Another civilian was wounded during clashes in Sobeih Mount in Nablus; 3 others, including 2 children, were wounded in 2 separate incidents in Ramallah; a fifth was wounded in Bethlehem

In the Gaza Strip, PCHR documented 4 Navy shootings at fishing boats in the Gaza Sea.

Army incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

Israeli forces carried out 98 incursions into the West Bank. Those incursions included raids of civilian houses and shootings, enticing fear among civilians, and attacking many of them. During this week’s incursions, 56 Palestinians were arrested, including 4 children.

Demolitions:

PCHR documented 9 incidents:

Occupied East Jerusalem: 10 families received evacuation notices targeting their apartment building in al-Tur neighborhood; a Palestinian was forced to self-demolish his apartment building in Beit Hanina, and another had to do the same to his house in Jabel al-Mukaber. also demolished a balcony in Beit Safafa, and internal walls inside a house in Wadi al-Joz.
Nablus: stone chains and country house demolished; more than 60 olive trees uprooted; water well buried, and a razing notice given against a street in Duma village.

Hebron: sheep barn and mobile home demolished in eastern Ethna.

Bethlehem: pesticides used on dozens of olive tree seedlings in Battir; 2 houses demolished in al-Walaja.

Settler-attacks:

Hebron: farmers assaulted in Surif; children’s playground assaulted in Susiya; and civilians assaulted in Khrbet Sadet-a-Thala.
Bethlehem: farmers assaulted in eastern Tuqu.

Israeli closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement:

The Israeli occupation authorities continued to ban the entry of dozens of goods, including construction materials, in collective punishment measures against the Gaza Strip as the Israeli closure imposed on the territory entered its 15th year, causing an increasing humanitarian crisis implicating all aspects of life in the territory.

Meanwhile, authorities continued to divide the West Bank into separate cantons with key roads blocked by the Israeli occupation since the 2000 Second Intifada -still closed to this date- and with temporary and permanent checkpoints, where civilian movement is restricted, and they are subject to arrest, especially at al-Karama border crossing, alongside the Palestinian-Jordanian border.

Persecution of Palestinian civil society organizations and human rights defenders
On Sunday, 7 November 2021, Israeli military commander in the oPt issued a military order classifying 6 Palestinian NGOs as “disallowed associations” as per the Defense (Emergency) Regulations of 1945 that was issued under the British Mandate. The new order, which followed the Israeli Army Minister’s decision on 19 October 2021, to classify 6 Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist organizations as per the Israeli counter-terrorism law of 2016.

The new order allows the Israeli occupation to attack the organizations, adopt punitive measures against them, including closure of offices, confiscation and hampering funding resources, and assaulting/prosecuting staff members. The organizations include: Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq Law in the Service of Man, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees.

On Monday, 8 November 2021, Front Line Defenders revealed a systematic and confidential campaign to hack and surveille Palestinian human rights defenders and lawyers with spyware. Al-Haq issued a press statement where it clarified that they reached out to FLD on 16 October 2021 for suspicions that one of its staff’s iPhone is hacked. FLD’s technical investigations discovered that the suspected iPhone is bugged with the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware since July 2021.

Al-Haq disclosed that both Citizen Lab and Amnesty International’s Security Lab each confirmed FLD’s analysis, and that out of at least 75 iPhones owned by human rights defenders and CSO staff, there are 5 other phones hacked, including those belonging to Ghassan Halaika: Field researcher and human rights defender working for Al- Haq; Ubai Al-Aboudi: Executive Director at Bisan Center for Research and Development; and Salah Hammouri: Lawyer and field researcher at Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association based in Jerusalem.

Shooting and other Violations of the Right to Life and Bodily Integrity
At approximately 12:20 on Friday, Israeli forces stationed in Subeih Mount in Beita, southeastern Nablus, assaulted a Palestinian protest against Israeli settlements and confiscation of Palestinian lands. Israeli forces chased the protestors amidst clashes, where soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas canisters. A 20-year-old Palestinian male sustained a rubber-bullet injury in the eye; his condition was deemed critical by medical sources at al-Najah Hospital, Nablus. Dozens suffocated due to tear gas inhalation and were treated in the field. PCHR fieldworker noted that Israeli forces acted before the protest by shutting and razing the roads, banning ambulances access to the area.

Also on Friday, a Palestinian child died after being shot by Israeli forces in Deir al-Hatab village, east of Nablus, northern West Bank. According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), there was no imminent threat or danger to the soldiers’ lives at the time the child was targeted. This crime again proves the army’s unjustifiable lenient shooting standards in disregard for Palestinian civilians’ lives, thus increasing the number of deaths in this year. Since the beginning of the year, the number of deaths amounted to 32, including 8 children, in protests and clashes with Israeli forces across the West Bank.

According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 16:50 on Friday, 05 November 2021, Israeli forces fired several bullets at a group of children who tried to throw stones at the Bypass Road, where there is the entrance to “Elon Moreh” settlement and Israeli forces’ camp at the entrance to Deir al-Hatab village, east of Nablus. As a result, Mohammed Amjad Da’adas (13) was hit with a bullet in the abdomen and fell on the ground. The children carried him around 400 meters away into the olive trees, and he was then taken by a civilian vehicle to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. An ambulance met them in the way and took the wounded child to the hospital, where his death was officially declared. The child killed was a school student at Mohammed Amin al-Sa’di High School and lived in ‘Askar al-Jadeed refugee camp, northeast of Nablus.

An eyewitness said to PCHR’s fieldworker that since the olive harvest season started weeks ago, civilians who harvest olives face daily harassment by Israeli forces while children and youngsters gather to throw stones at the Bypass Road that is used by Israeli forces and settlers. An army patrol usually comes and fires teargas canisters at the children to disperse them from a distance of tens of meters.

However, on that day, Israeli forces fired several live bullets at 4 children, who approached the road to throw stones, killing one of them after shooting him in the abdomen.

PCHR’s investigations emphasize that the children did not pose any imminent threat or danger to the soldiers’ lives, and the latter unjustifiably opened fire at them in excessive use of force.

At approximately 19:00, a peaceful protest took place in Hebron in solidarity with Palestinians held under administrative detention in Israeli prisons, who have gone on hunger strike for months now. As the protestors marched, Israeli forces were positioned on the northern entrance to Hebron; protestors thew rocks at the armored Israeli military vehicles. Israeli soldiers deployed in the area and fired tear gas and stun grenades at the protestors and stone throwers. As a result, several participants suffocated due to tear gas inhalation and were treated in the field. The clashes continued until 21:00; no arrests were reported.

At approximately 19:20, Israeli forces stationed on Burqa lands, eastern Nablus, arrested two children during clashes in the area that included army’s use of rubber-coated bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades. Dozens suffocated due to tear gas inhalation.

At approximately 20:00 on Friday, Israeli forces, backed by several military SUVs, moved into al-Bireh, northern Ramallah. They stationed in Jabel al-Tawil area and deployed between civilian houses as they patrolled the streets, enticing fear and terror among the local community. The soldiers mounted the roofs of three apartment buildings and raided several shops, confiscating their surveillance systems’ recordings as well. Meanwhile, a group pf Palestinians protested and threw rocks and empty bottles at the military SUVs. Soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets, tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinians, wounding a 22-year-old male in the left arm; he was taken to hospital for treatment.

At approximately 17:45 on Saturday, 6 November, Navy gunboats in the northern Gaza sea chased Palestinian fishing boat sailing at 2 nautical miles, pumped water at them and opened heavy fire at them, stirring fear among the fishermen and forcing them to flee. The navy also fired light bombs in the sky. No casualties were reported.

At approximately 21:00 on Saturday, dozens of Palestinians gathered by the entrance of al-Fawwar refugee camp, southern Hebron, where the army maintains a military watchtower. The protestors threw rocks at the watchtower and set tires of fire by the camp’s entrance which connects to Bypass Road (60). The soldiers deployed on the bypass road and fire tear gas canisters arbitrarily, causing several stone throwers to suffocate. No arrests were reported.

At approximately 02:30 on Sunday, 7 November 2021, soldiers, backed by several military SUVs, moved into al-Bireh, northern Ramallah. They stationed in the industrial area, central al-Bireh, and raided civilian houses, searching, and ransacking through them. During the raid, dozens of Palestinians protested and threw rocks and empty bottles at military SUVs. Soldiers opened fire at them, wounding two children: two 16-year-olds with rubber bullets in the head. They were taken to Palestine Medical Complex for treatment.

At approximately 02:00 on Monday, 8 November, soldiers moved into Beit ‘Anan, occupied East Jerusalem, and raided Mohammed Hussein Rabie’s (24) house and arrested him. Soldiers also handed Ahmed Baker Rabie (21) a summons to its intelligence service at Ofer prison, western Ramallah. Dozens of Palestinians gathered in the area during the raid, threw rocks and empty bottles at soldiers and their military vehicles. Soldiers immediately fired live bullets and tear gas canisters at houses, in a residential area.

At approximately 07:00, Navy gunboats in the northern Gaza sea chased Palestinian fishing boat sailing at 2 nautical miles, pumped water at them and opened heavy fire at them, stirring fear among the fishermen and forcing them to flee. No casualties were reported.

At approximately 08:00, Navy gunboats in the southern Gaza sea chased Palestinian fishing boat sailing at 6 nautical miles, pumped water at them and opened heavy fire at them, stirring fear among the fishermen and forcing them to flee. No casualties were reported.

At approximately 14:00 on a group of Palestinians gathered in Bab al-Zawiya area in Hebron where soldiers maintain a military checkpoint on the entrance of the closed Shuhadaa St. The protestors set tires on fire and threw stones on the military checkpoint. Soldiers deployed on rooftops in the area and fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the protestors. Several protestors suffocated due to tear gas inhalation. The clashes continued until 20:00, and civilians were forced to close their shops.

At approximately 11:30 on Tuesday, 9 November, Navy gunboats in the northern Gaza sea chased Palestinian fishing boat sailing at 3 nautical miles, pumped water at them and opened heavy fire at them, stirring fear among the fishermen and forcing them to flee. No casualties were reported.

At approximately 22:00, soldiers stationed by the eastern entrance to Husan village, western Bethlehem, shot at a group of Palestinians during clashes in the area, wounding 1 with a live bullet in the thigh, and arresting another one – he was taken to an unknown destination.

According to Mohammed Sbaitan, Chairman of Husan Village Council, the clashes erupted by the village’s eastern entrance where soldiers fired live and rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades at protesters. As a result, 18-year-old Moataz Mohammed Hamamra was shot with a bullet in the thigh and he was taken to hospital for treatment. Sbaitan added that soldiers arrested 16-year-old Mohammed Jamal Hamamra after ambushing a group of youngsters from the village who were heading towards the clashes area. The clashes happened as soldiers assaulted a protest against settlement expansion in the area. Sbaitan also said that soldiers attempted to arrest the injured Hamamra, but he was rescued by other Palestinians who pulled him from the Israeli soldiers and managed to transport him to hospital.

Incursions and arrests
Thursday, 04 November 2021:
At approximately 01:00, soldiers arrested Huthaifa Mohammed Ghuneimat (33) and Mohammed Ali Ehzayin (39), after raiding and searching their houses in Idhna village, west of Hebron.
At approximately 01:30, soldiers arrested Mohammed As’ad Obaidat (42), after raiding and searching his house in Abu Dis village, east of the occupied East Jerusalem.

At approximately 02:00, soldiers arrested Jawdat Mohammed al-Fakhouri (44), after raiding and searching his house in the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City.

At approximately 06:30, soldiers arrested Mohammed Owda Humeid (23), after raiding and searching his house in Beit ‘Anan village, northwest of the occupied East Jerusalem.
At approximately 13:30, soldiers arrested Mohammed Wajeeh Thawabtah (20), from Bayt Fajar village, south of Bethlehem, while passing through al-Container military checkpoint, northeast of the city.

At approximately 17:30, soldiers arrested Fadi Hani Abu Hammoud (34), after raiding and searching his house in al-Jib village, northwest of the occupied East Jerusalem.

At approximately 18:30, soldiers arrested Mohammed Fawwaz Mashayikh (24), after raiding and searching his house in al-Jadawil area in Bayt Jala village, west of Bethlehem governorate.

At approximately 22:25, soldiers arrested Huthaifa Anwar Shehada (21), after raiding and searching his house in Urif village, east of Nablus.

Israeli forces carried out (5) incursions in Saffarin, southeast of Tulkarm; Sarra and Duma villages in Nablus; Kufeirat and Faqqua villages in Jenin. No arrests were reported.

Friday, 05 November 2021:
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