Protection of Civilians Report | 13-26 July 2021

Latest developments (after the reporting period)

• On 28 July, Israeli forces shot and killed an 11-year-old Palestinian boy who was in a car with his father at the entrance of Beit Ummar (Hebron). According to the Israeli military, soldiers ordered a driver to stop and, after he failed to do so, they shot at the vehicle, reportedly aiming at the wheels. On 29 July, during protests at the funeral of the boy, Palestinians threw stones and Israeli forces shot live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas canisters, killing one Palestinian.

• On 27 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a 41-year-old Palestinian at the entrance of Beita (Nablus). According to the military, the man was walking towards the soldiers, holding an iron bar, and did not stop after they shot warning fire. No clashes were taking place at that time.

Highlights from the reporting period

• Two Palestinians, including a boy, died during the reporting period after being shot by Israeli forces. Israeli forces entered An Nabi Salih (Ramallah) to carry out an arrest operation, and when Palestinian residents threw stones at them, soldiers shot live ammunition and tear gas canisters, killing a 17-year-old boy. The boy, according to the military, was throwing stones and endangered the life of soldiers, while, according to Palestinian sources, he was shot in his back. On 26 July, a Palestinian died of wounds after being shot by Israeli forces on 14 May, in Sinjil (Ramallah), during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces. 
• Overall, Israeli forces injured 615 Palestinians across the West Bank, including 24 children, the youngest of whom is a three-month-old baby. In total 588 of those were injured in protests against settlements in Beita (Nablus).  During these protests two Israeli soldiers were also hit and injured by stones reportedly thrown by Palestinians. In Ein al Hilwa in the Jordan Valley 13 Palestinian children were injured when Israeli settlers tried to confiscate a water tank, triggering clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli forces; and the rest were injured in other locations. Overall, 44 Palestinians were shot with live ammunition, 140 were shot with rubber bullets, and the rest were mainly treated for tear gas inhalation or were physically assaulted. Beyond the 615 who were injured directly by Israeli forces, 69 were injured in Beita and Osarin either while running away from Israeli forces or in circumstances that could not be verified.
• Israeli forces carried out 91 search-and-arrest operations and arrested 158 Palestinians across the West Bank. Some 45 university students were arrested in Turmus'ayya (Ramallah) during a protest against punitive demolitions; 20 others were arrested in the Old City of Jerusalem, during clashes with Israeli forces, following the entry of over 1,600 Israelis to the Haram Al Shareef/Temple Mount compound; and the rest were arrested in other circumstances across the West Bank. 
• On 25 July, Palestinian armed groups in Gaza launched incendiary balloons, sparking fires in Israel. In response the Israeli Air Force carried out air strikes on Gaza, reportedly targeting military bases. According to Israeli media, machinegun shooting from Gaza, which reportedly targeted military planes during the airstrikes, hit and lightly damaged a structure in southern Israel. Subsequently, the Israeli authorities reduced the permissible fishing zone from 12 to six nautical miles along the southern Gaza coast. 
• On 22 July, a Palestinian was killed and 14 others, including six children, were injured as a result of an explosion in a building in Gaza city. The three-storey structure collapsed and several nearby houses and shops sustained damage. Some sources suggested that the blast resulted from explosives which were being stored in the building. 
• Also in Gaza, on at least nine occasions, Israeli forces opened warning fire near the perimeter fence and off the coast, ostensibly to enforce access restrictions. They also conducted land-levelling operations inside Gaza, near the perimeter fence, at least twice. 
• The Israeli authorities demolished, seized or forced people to demolish a total of 59 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 96 people and affecting 550 people.  Most structures (49) and people displaced (84) were in the Area C Bedouin community of Ras al Tin (Ramallah); while the demolition of a donated agricultural water reservoir in Furush Beit Dajan (Nablus) undermined the access of over 500 people to water.
• Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured three Palestinians in separate incidents in the Hebron governorate. In addition, perpetrators known or believed to be Israeli settlers damaged at least 200 trees or saplings, and other Palestinian property, across the West Bank.
• Palestinians throwing stones injured at least four Israeli settlers, including a one-year-old baby, travelling in East Jerusalem. According to Israeli sources, at least 16 Israeli-plated cars were damaged.