Protection of Civilians Weekly Report | 09 - 15 August 2016

Latest developments

• On 16 August, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian youth and injured more than 50 others during clashes in Al Fawwar Refugee camp (Hebron), during the course of a large search and arrest operation. 
• Between 16 and 17 August, the Israeli authorities demolished 26 Palestinian structures in six Palestinian communities, displacing 55 people and affecting around 800; five of the targeted structures were emergency shelters provided in response to previous demolitions.              

Weekly highlights

• Israeli forces injured 92 Palestinians, including 15 children, during clashes across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), 20 per cent by rubber bullets and 12 per cent by live ammunition; most of the rest were due to tear gas inhalation requiring medical treatment. The majority of injuries were recorded during search and arrest operations in Ad Duheisha, A’yda (both in Bethlehem) and Al Am’ari (Ramallah) refugee camps, as well as during the weekly demonstrations in Kafr Qaddum (Qalqiliya). Additional clashes took place following the entry of Israeli groups to the Haram al Sharif/ Temple Mount compound in East Jerusalem.
• Israeli forces conducted 87 search and arrest operations and arrested 115 Palestinians in the West Bank, some of which triggered violent clashes. The Jerusalem governorate accounted for the highest portion of operations (20) and arrests (52), including 24 Palestinians arrested during the abovementioned clashes in the Haram al Sharif/ Temple Mount compound; seven Israelis were also arrested during this incident, reportedly for violating the Israeli-defined conditions for entering the compound.
• Three separate incidents of stabbing and alleged stabbing attempts were recorded in the West Bank, resulting in the injury of two Israelis and one Palestinian suspect. In the At Tur area of East Jerusalem, a Palestinian stabbed and injured an Israeli youth and fled the scene. A 15-year-old Palestinian girl allegedly attempted to stab a soldier at the Um ar Rihan checkpoint (Jenin) and reportedly injured a female soldier while resisting her arrest. In the Abu ar Rish checkpoint in Hebron city, Israeli forces sprayed pepper gas and injured a 25-year-old Palestinian woman, reportedly carrying a knife, and arrested her.
• On at least 15 occasions, Israeli forces opened fire in the Access Restricted Areas (ARA) at land and sea in Gaza, with no injuries reported, although the work of farmers and fishermen was disrupted. In one of the incidents at sea, five fishermen were forced to swim to Israeli military boats, detained for several hours and their boat confiscated.
• The Israeli authorities demolished 12 structures for lack of building permits in Area C and East Jerusalem, displacing 22 people including nine children and otherwise affecting over 120. Three of the targeted structures were donor-funded emergency shelters provided in response to previous demolitions in the herding community of Um al Kheir (Hebron). In another incident, the authorities destroyed the unpaved base coarse covering part of a road serving the community of al Mas'udiya (Nablus).
• In Bani Na’im village (Hebron), Israeli forces destroyed with explosives the family home of the Palestinian boy who stabbed and killed an Israeli girl in the settlement of Kiryat ‘Arba on 30 June, and was killed during the attack. Nine people, including four children, were displaced and twenty nearby houses sustained damage, due to the explosion.
• Israeli forces opened the main entrance to Bani Na’im (Hebron), which has been blocked for vehicular movement since the abovementioned attack, and restored the 2,800 work permits, as well as family visits to Israeli prisons, which had been suspended. Additionally, the Israeli Authorities announced that the DCO checkpoint, which controls one of the main entrances to Ramallah city, will allow passage to all Palestinian vehicles leaving the city from 08:00 to 14:00 and from 19:00 to 06:00. However, the two main entrances to Hizma village (Jerusalem) have remained blocked for vehicular movement since 28 July, following incidents of stone-throwing at Israeli-plated vehicles; this closure has disrupted the movement of the 6,500 residents of the village.
• Clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians were recorded next to Asira al Qibliya and Qusra villages in Nablus, triggering interventions by Israeli forces, which resulted in further confrontations. In the context of the former case, the Israeli forces took over one floor and a rooftop of a Palestinian-owned building for two days, temporarily displacing a family of three.
• Israeli authorities uprooted 290 Palestinian-owned olive trees in Iskaka (Salfit) and Khallet an Nahla (Bethlehem) villages on grounds that these areas are designated as “state land”.  The latter area is reportedly under planning for the establishment of a large settlement (known as Giv’at Eitam), pending a decision by the Israeli Supreme Court on a petition challenging the status of the land. 
• The Egyptian-controlled Rafah Crossing remain closed in both directions during the reporting period. Since the beginning of 2016, the crossing has been partially opened for only fourteen days. Over 27,000 people are registered and waiting to cross according to the Palestinian authorities in Gaza.