Humanitarian Situation Update #246 | West Bank

The Humanitarian Situation Update is issued by OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territory twice a week. The Gaza Strip is covered on Tuesdays and the West Bank on Thursdays. The Gaza Humanitarian Response Update is issued every other Tuesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Update will be issued on 17 December. 

Key Highlights

• Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian home in Huwwara town (Nablus), displacing a family of five. 
• Since 5 December, Palestinian forces have carried out arrests and engaged in exchanges of fire with armed Palestinians in the northern West Bank. Palestinian forces shot and killed an unarmed 19-year-old Palestinian in Jenin.  
• Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians in the West Bank, including four in airstrikes.  
• The Israeli authorities demolished seven homes and displaced 20 people in An Nabi Samwil village, located in Area C on the East Jerusalem side of the Barrier.  
• Assuming a constrained operating environment persists, the 2025 Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory calls for an initial US$4.07 billion out of at least $6.6 billion estimated by the UN and partners to be required to address the humanitarian needs of three million out of 3.3 million people identified as requiring assistance in Gaza and the West Bank. 

Latest Developments (after 9 December) 

• On 10 December, Israeli forces forcibly evicted a Palestinian family of ten, including six children, from their home in the Batn Al Hawa area of Silwan, East Jerusalem, following an Israeli Supreme Court ruling. The court ruled in favour of the settler organization Ateret Cohanim, based on claims of ownership of the land. The Palestinian family had resided in the property since 1979 and has engaged in a legal battle against eviction since 2015. This eviction is part of a wider pattern of displacement in East Jerusalem and comes shortly after the eviction of four households of the Shehadeh family from the same community in August. In total, 215 Palestinian households in East Jerusalem have eviction cases filed against them in Israeli courts, the majority by settler organizations, placing at least 948 people, including 408 children, at risk of displacement. 
• On 11 December, initial reports indicate that a Palestinian shot and killed a 12-year-old Israeli boy and injured at least three other Israelis near the Tunnels Checkpoint, Bethlehem. According to the Israeli military, the Palestinian opened fire at an Israeli bus and then fled the scene. Israeli forces surrounded Bethlehem and Husan in search for the armed Palestinian, who reportedly turned himself in on 12 December. 
• On 12 December, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces shot, killed and withheld the body of a Palestinian man in Qalqilya. 
• On 12 December, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured three others in an exchange of fire during a five-hour operation in Balata refugee camp (Nablus). Reportedly, Israeli forces conducted house raids and injured an elderly couple in their home. 

Humanitarian Developments (3-9 December) 

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians, across the West Bank, including a child killed by settlement guards in East Jerusalem. During the same period, Israeli forces injured 39 others, including 14 children. One Palestinian was shot and killed by Palestinian forces in Jenin refugee camp. One Israeli soldier was injured in a ramming attack perpetrated by a Palestinian on Road 60, near al Fawwar Refugee Camp (Hebron). For more information on casualties and further data breakdowns, please see the latest West Bank Monthly Snapshot. The following list of key incidents includes all Palestinian fatalities during the reporting period: 
  • On 3 December, an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in Aqqaba village (Tubas), killing two Palestinians and injuring a third. The bodies and the injured person were transported to the Turkish Hospital in Tubas city. According to hospital sources, about 30 minutes after their arrival, Israeli forces raided the hospital, sealed all entrances, and opened fire inside, including in the emergency room; causing widespread panic and damage. During the raid, Israeli forces detained medical staff and interrogated the hospital director, demanding information about the bodies of the killed Palestinians and the whereabouts of the injured man. Israeli forces then released the detained medical personnel and withdrew from the hospital. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 7 October 2023 and 28 November 2024, over 650 attacks on health care have been documented in the West Bank, more than 60 per cent of which took place in Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarm governorates.  
  • On 3 December, Israeli settlement guards shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy near his home in Silwan neighbourhood, East Jerusalem. According to eyewitnesses, guards from an Israeli settlement drove through the Ein al Louzeh area, stopped near Israeli settler houses, and fired three live bullets toward Palestinian houses. Shortly after, Israeli forces arrived at the scene and arrested a boy who had been injured by the gunfire. According to the boy’s family, Israeli forces then raided their home and informed the family that the boy had sustained a minor leg injury. After withdrawing from the home, the forces summoned the boy’s father and informed him that his son had been killed, that his body will be withheld for investigations, and warned them against holding any funeral or condolence gatherings. Following the incident, Israeli forces fired teargas cannisters at Palestinians who gathered in the area, who threw stones at the forces. 
  • On 4 December, a 45-year-old Palestinian prisoner (from Tulkarm) was declared dead in an Israeli hospital. The man was detained on 28 November 2024 and was reportedly held by Israeli forces in Al Jalama detention centre before being transferred to Rambam Hospital in Haifa. The circumstances around his death remain unclear. This death is not counted in the total killed by Israeli forces during the reporting period. 
  • On 6 December, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during an exchange of fire in Balata Refugee Camp (Nablus). According to UNRWA, undercover Israeli forces entered the camp, where they and Palestinians exchanged fire, resulting in the killing of one Palestinian. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that Israeli forces denied their access to the camp and the man was transported in a private vehicle to the hospital.   
  • On 7 December, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man at Qalandiya checkpoint (Jerusalem). According to eyewitnesses and video footage, the man launched fireworks into the sky in the vicinity checkpoint, after which Israeli soldiers shot the man and closed the checkpoint. The forces then shot teargas at Palestinian journalists and vehicles stuck at the checkpoint. PRCS was also denied access for about 30 minutes. Following the incident, Israeli forces raided the man’s home in Ar Ram town (Jerusalem), vandalized the house, and violently dispersed people who came to offer condolences. 
  • On 7 December, a Palestinian man injured one Israeli soldier in a ramming attack on Road 60 near the entrance of Al Fawwar refugee camp (Hebron). The driver fled the scene and Israeli forces carried out a search operation in the surrounding communities of the camp, during which Palestinians threw stones at the forces, who fired live ammunition. Israeli forces injured one Palestinian with shrapnel from live ammunition and physically assaulted and injured two others. All the entrances of Hebron city were closed by Israeli forces during the operation. According to Israeli media, an Israeli settler was injured by live ammunition shrapnel as Israeli forces attempted to shoot the Palestinian. Later, the Palestinian who perpetrated the ramming attack turned himself in to Israeli forces. 
  • On 9 December, an Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in Tubas. Undercover Israeli forces raided the city and a Palestinian money-exchange facility, reportedly seizing money. A couple of hours later, an Israeli drone targeted and killed two Palestinians in the northern part of the city. The five-hour operation took place in the morning hours, during which students of 13 schools were unable to leave. 
• On 9 December, Palestinian forces in Jenin refugee camp shot two unarmed Palestinians: a 19-year-old who was killed and a 15-year-old boy who was injured. Since 5 December, Palestinian forces have carried out arrests, including of an injured man who was taken from Ibn Sina Hospital and subsequently released, and engaged in exchanges of fire with armed Palestinians. In one instance, a fire broke out in the emergency department of Jenin Governmental Hospital as a result of fighting in the area. These developments have disrupted people’s access to essential services, especially in Jenin Refugee Camp, with all schools in Jenin city and camp still closed; affecting an estimated 69,000 people. The internal unrest has reportedly expanded to other locations in the northern West Bank, including reported shooting at the Tulkarm Governor’s Office building and tire burning near Balata refugee camp in Nablus. On 11 December, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) called “on the Palestinian authorities in the Occupied West Bank to investigate the conduct of the Palestinian forces in Jenin Refugee Camp and hold to account those responsible for gross violations of international human rights law...Since 7 October 2023, the Palestinian forces have killed seven Palestinians including two boys in the occupied West Bank.” 
• During the reporting period, OCHA documented 38 incidents involving settlers and affecting Palestinians, including 20 attacks that resulted in casualties, property damage or both, in addition to the displacement of a family of five including a nine-year-old girl after Israeli settlers attacked their home in Huwwara (Area B), south of Nablus, setting it ablaze (see details below). The most frequent type of incident reported this week involved the vandalism of trees, crops, and other agricultural property, resulting in damage to 65 trees and saplings, and cultivated crops in 2,000 dunums of planted lands; arson attacks and vandalism of Palestinian homes and vehicles, causing damage to five homes and eight vehicles; various forms of physical assault, most of which targeted farmers and herders; and vandalism of water networks and wells, affecting irrigation systems and water supply for agricultural lands. In total, five Palestinians were injured by Israeli settlers and three others were injured by Israeli forces during these attacks. 
• The following are some of the key incidents involving settlers that took place during the reporting period, which entailed intimidation, harassment, physical injury, property damage or a combination thereof, and include cases where Israeli forces were present: 
  • On 4 December, Israeli settlers attacked and set fire to a home belonging to a Palestinian family of five in Area B of Huwwara town, south of Nablus. According to the family, the mother heard noises outside and approached the door where she found a group of settlers attempting to force their way in with an iron tool. The door was shoved into her face, causing a nosebleed, before she managed to close it again. Moments later, settlers threw Molotov cocktails into the house setting it ablaze. The family fled the house and were attacked in their yard. The father sustained injuries to his face and head after being struck with an iron tool, while four family members were physically assaulted. The family received medical treatment on the ground and the father was transferred to a hospital. As a result of the attack, the family was displaced as their home was destroyed along with two vehicles. Since 7 October 2023, some 300 Palestinian households comprising 1,762 people, including 856 children, have been displaced in Bedouin and mostly herding communities, primarily citing attacks by Israeli settlers and access restrictions. 
  • On 6 December, armed Israeli settlers believed to be from a newly established Pneii Hever settlement outpost broke into a Palestinian house in Masafer Bani Na’im in Hebron during the night while the family, including children, were inside. The trespassers threatened the family at gunpoint, demanding they leave the area, and vandalized some of their belongings. After exiting the house, the assailants slashed the covers of two residential tents with knives and destroyed a solar panel system. 
  • On 7 December, Israeli settlers believed to be from the Ofra settlement and surrounding outposts physically assaulted and injured two Palestinian men in At Tayba village (Ramallah). The injured Palestinians stated that while they were assessing some land plots in Area B to the west of the village, Israeli settlers driving quadbikes attacked them with sticks and stones, took over the land surveying device and hit one of the Palestinians, rendering him unconscious, and beat the other with a stick. Eventually, the Palestinians managed to flee to their village where the community transported them to a hospital.  
  • On 7 December, armed Israeli settlers believed to be from the newly established Maale Amos settlement outpost, raided Bariet Al Minya village in Bethlehem, broke into a Palestinian residential structure, destroyed two water tanks, rendering them unusable, and vandalized personal belongings. In addition, they then set fire to a storage tent used for animal fodder, resulting in the complete destruction of the tent and over three tons of fodder. Israeli forces arrived and dispersed the settlers from the area. 
• Israeli authorities demolished or seized 31 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This resulted in the displacement of 26 people, including 13 children, and otherwise affected the livelihoods, or access to services, of over 100 others. All targeted structures were in Area C of the West Bank and were demolished due to a lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.  
• Nearly 80 per cent of the people displaced and about a third of the structures demolished between 3 and 9 December were reported in a single incident in An Nabi Samwil village, which is located in Area C on the East Jerusalem side of the Barrier and has been designated by the Israeli authorities as a national park area. According to the village council and the affected families, some of the structures had demolition orders issued years ago. The families had been pursuing the legal process to obtain permits. However, the demolitions were carried out without the issuance of final orders or proper notification to the families, resulting in the destruction of several personal belongings and furniture. On the day of the demolition, 3 December, the Israeli Civil Administration along with Israeli forces demolished seven Palestinian homes and three agricultural structures in An Nabi Samwil village, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits. As a result, four households, comprising 20 People, including nine children, were displaced from their homes and are at risk of being displaced from the community (see below). Additionally, two other households comprising 13 people, including eight children, were affected. Moreover, on the same day, the Israeli District Coordination Office (DCO) informed the village council of the revocation of Israeli-issued access permits through Al Jib checkpoint for five people whose homes were demolished. The community is dislocated from the West Bank by the Barrier route and checkpoints, as the residents hold West Bank IDs and therefore require a special Israeli-issued access permits to stay in their homes and commute between their village and essential services, such as health care, education and jobs, on the West Bank side of the Barrier.  

Funding 

• On 11 December 2024, the UN and humanitarian partners launched a Flash Appeal for nearly US$4.07 billion to address the humanitarian needs of three million out of 3.3 million people identified as requiring assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2025. Nearly 90 per cent of those funds are for the humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 10 per cent for the West Bank. The $4.07 billion ask is much less than what is actually needed to mount a full-scale humanitarian response, which would require $6.6 billion. However, the Flash Appeal reflects the expectation that aid organizations will continue to face unacceptable constraints on their operations in 2025. This will severely limit the amount of assistance that humanitarians are able to provide, which in turn will only increase the suffering that Palestinians are enduring. The appeal stresses that, to be able to implement the full scale of what is urgently needed, Israel must take immediate and effective measures to ensure the essential needs of civilians are met. This includes lifting all impediments to aid and fully facilitating humanitarian operations, including the distribution of essential goods to Palestinians in need. 
• As of 12 December, Member States have disbursed about US$2.51 billion out of the $3.42 billion (73 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and this updated number is now used for programmatic purposes.)  
• During November 2024, the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed a total of 124 ongoing projects, totaling U$91.7M. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). The projects were strategically focused on Education, Food Security, Health, Protection, Emergency Shelter & Non-Food Items (NFI), Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Coordination and Support Services, Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance, Camp Coordination and Camp Management and Nutrition. Of these projects, 70 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 40 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 50 out of the 84 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. 

* Asterisks indicate that a figure, sentence, or section has been rectified, added, or retracted after the initial publication of this update.