Protection of Civilians Report | 13-26 September 2022

Latest Development (outside the reporting period)

• On 28 September, four Palestinians were killed, and dozens of others were injured in an Israeli military operation that involved an exchange of fire with Palestinians. 

• On 29 September, a 7-year-old Palestinian boy died during an activity carried out by Israeli forces in a Tuqu’ (Bethlehem); the UN has called for an investigation

(More details will be provided on both incidents in the next report)

Highlights from the reporting period

• Three Palestinians, including one boy, and one Israeli officer were killed in Jenin. On 14 September, two Palestinian men exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers stationed at the Jalama checkpoint (Jenin), near the northern West Bank border with Israel. As a result, both Palestinian men (22 and 23-year-old), one of whom worked in the Palestinian security services, and one Israeli officer were killed. The following day, Israeli forces raided Kafr Dan (Jenin), where the perpetrators came from, and took measurements of the two-family homes, reportedly in preparation for their punitive demolition. During the raid, Israeli forces fired live ammunition and teargas canisters at residents who threw stones. A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed, and three others were injured with live ammunition. One other Palestinian was arrested. On 15 September, the Israeli authorities closed for four days the Jalama and Salem checkpoints on the border between the West Bank and Israel, near Jenin, and barred permit holders living in Kafr Dan (Jenin) from entering Israel through any checkpoint until 29 September. The relatives of the perpetrators are still barred from using the checkpoint until further notice. 
• Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured three others in Nablus. On 25 September, during a military operation in Nablus city, Israeli forces opened fire at a Palestinian man on a motorcycle, who according to Israeli authorities was armed, killing the man. As of the end of the reporting period his body was withheld by the Israeli authorities. Subsequently, an exchange of fire took place between armed Palestinians and Israeli forces and three armed Palestinians were injured with live ammunition. 
• Two Palestinians were shot and killed during two attacks or alleged attacks in the West Bank and Israel. On 24 September a 36-year-old Palestinian man allegedly rammed his vehicle into an Israeli police car parked on the side of the road near Gilad Farm settlement (Nablus), before being shot and killed by an Israeli soldier. According to Israeli media, one Israeli police officer was injured. While the Israeli authorities claimed that the ramming was deliberate, eyewitnesses and an initial investigation by a human rights organization suggest it was an accident and that the victim had lost control of his vehicle. On 22 September, a 23-year-old Palestinian man from At Tur area of East Jerusalem physically assaulted, tried to stab and pepper-sprayed Israelis sitting in vehicles that stopped at a traffic light, on a section of Road 443 that runs inside Israel, near the West Bank border, injuring eight, according to Israeli media. The Palestinian man was shot and killed by an off-duty Border Police officer. As of the end of the reporting period both Palestinian bodies are being withheld by the Israeli authorities. Since the beginning of the year, twelve Palestinians have been shot and killed by Israeli forces during Palestinian attacks or attempted/alleged attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and Israel.
• On 20 September, an 84-year-old Israeli woman was beaten to death in Holon, Israel. A Palestinian man from the West Bank was later found hanging and pronounced dead in Tel Aviv. According to Israeli sources, the man killed the woman for nationalistic reasons. This is disputed by Palestinian sources and human rights groups. An investigation and autopsy report have been requested.
• One Palestinian bystander was shot and killed, and two others were injured by Palestinian security forces in Nablus. On 19 September, Palestinian security forces conducted an operation in Nablus to arrest a Palestinian man reportedly declared as “wanted” by the Israeli authorities. Subsequently, an exchange of fire took place between Palestinian security forces and armed Palestinian factions, who demanded the man be released. The incident included stone-throwing and tire-burning. One Palestinian, reportedly a passerby, was shot and killed, and two others were injured.
• In total, 175 Palestinians, including at least 29 children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank, of whom 17 were hit by live ammunition. 115 of the injuries were recorded near Beita and Beit Dajan (both in Nablus), Kafr Qaddum (Qalqilya), and At Tuwani (Hebron) in anti-settlement protests. Another 23 Palestinians were injured in a demonstration near Qusra (Nablus) where they protested the closure of the village’s main entrance by Israeli forces with earth mounds since 13 September. In Huwwara (Nablus), three Palestinians were injured when Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, physically assaulted residents, and threw stones at vehicles and shops in the community. According to Palestinian sources, Israeli forces fired sound bombs, teargas canisters and rubber bullets at residents who threw stones (more details below). Another 28 people were injured in seven search-and-arrest and military operations in Kafr Dan (Jenin), Husan (Bethlehem), Beit Ummar, At Tuwani (both in Hebron) and Nablus city. In two incidents, Israeli forces shot live ammunition at Palestinians trying to reach their worksites in Israel, via informal openings in the Barrier near Tulkarm and Ramallah; one was injured by live ammunition and 15 others were arrested. Since the beginning of the year, three Palestinian workers have been shot and killed and 30 others injured by Israeli forces while trying to cross through informal openings in the Barrier. In another incident, following the Palestinian attack on road 443 on 22 September (see above), Israeli forces raided At Tur area in East Jerusalem, where the perpetrator came from. Dozens of police were deployed, blocking the movement of residents, and triggering confrontations with Israeli forces. As a result, five Palestinians were injured with rubber bullets.  
• On 26 September, Palestinian injuries and arrests were recorded in Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount, in the Old City of Jerusalem. That day, settlers and other Israelis accessed the compound for the Jewish New Year. The Israeli authorities had deployed thousands of police and installed metal barriers in and around the Old City, restricting Palestinian access, including to Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount. Israeli forces fired rubber bullets, stun grenades and teargas canisters at Palestinian in Al Qibli Mosque and closed its gates with iron chains for several hours, preventing worshippers from leaving the structure. According to the Israeli authorities, Palestinians threw stones and firecrackers. At least two Palestinian men were injured, and five Palestinians were physically assaulted and arrested by Israeli forces. 
• The Israeli authorities demolished or confiscated, 45 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C of the West Bank, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits; four of the structures had been provided as donor-funded humanitarian aid. As a result, 21 people, including 13 children, were displaced, and the livelihoods of about 270 others were affected. All of the structures were in Area C, including 13 structures seized without warning, which prevented the owners from objecting in advance. This represents a significant increase in such seizures compared with the biweekly average since the beginning of the year (four). In Ras ‘Atiya (Qalqiliya) and Kur (Tulkarm), the Israeli authorities sealed off two wells, that were located in Area B, without prior notice. The wells were the sole irrigation source for about 4,000 dunums of cultivated land and were also used for drinking water; their sealing affects more than 8,000 Palestinians in three surrounding villages.  
• During the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted 120 search-and-arrest operations and arrested 216 Palestinians, including at least ten children across the West Bank. The Hebron governorate accounted for the highest number of operations (34) and of arrests (66). During seven search-and-arrest and military operations, Israeli forces fired live ammunition at Palestinians who threw stones and, in some cases, opened fire at Israeli forces, resulting in 28 Palestinian injuries, including thirteen by live ammunition.
• Israeli settlers injured eight Palestinians, and people known or believed to be Israeli settlers damaged Palestinian property in 11 instances. On 19 and 22 September, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and pepper-sprayed eight Palestinians in Huwwara and at Za’atara checkpoint (both in Nablus). Overall, 60 Palestinian-owned trees were uprooted or vandalized near Israeli settlements next to Qaryut, and Deir Sharaf (both in Nablus) and Qawawis (Hebron). In eight incidents, in the H2 area of Hebron city, near Khirbet Bir al 'Idd (Hebron), in Silat adh Dhahr (Jenin), in Burqa and Burin (both in Nablus), in Sinjil and in Al Mu'arrajat East (both in Ramallah), at least nine Palestinian-owned cars were vandalized, and stone-throwing reportedly damaged three Palestinian livelihood structures. 
• One Israeli settler was injured, and damage was caused to a synagogue and to an Israeli-plated vehicle when people believed to be Palestinians opened fire towards the Israeli settlement of Carmel (Hebron) and at Israeli vehicles travelling in Huwwara (Nablus). In another seven incidents, people known or believed to be Palestinians threw stones at Israeli vehicles travelling on West Bank roads; as a result, six Israelis were injured and at least seven vehicles were damaged, according to Israeli sources. 
• From 26 to 28 September, the Gaza Power Plant shut down one of its three operating turbines due to a shortage of fuel caused by Israel’s closure of its border with Gaza for the Jewish holidays. The power production, which depends on fuel coming in from Israel, reduced from 70 to 50 megawatts. Rolling power cuts increased from 12 to 16 hours daily, disrupting the delivery of basic services.
• Also in the Gaza Strip, on at least 39 occasions, Israeli forces opened warning fire near Israel’s perimeter fence or off the coast, presumably to enforce access restrictions in areas within Gaza. Most of the incidents reportedly forced farmers or fishers away from their areas of work. One Palestinian man was arrested while reportedly trying to enter Israel through the perimeter fence near Beit Lahiya. Four Palestinian fishermen were arrested, and their boats confiscated, by Israeli naval forces off the Gaza coast, near Deir Al Balah. On four occasions, Israeli forces conducted land levelling near the perimeter fence in the Rafah area.