Protection of Civilians Report | 14-27 June 2022

Latest Developments (after the reporting period)

• In the early hours of 29 June, during a search-and-arrest operation in Jenin City, an exchange of fire took place between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians. A Palestinian man was shot and subsequently died of his wounds. Two other Palestinians were arrested.

Highlights from the reporting period

• On 21 June, an Israeli settler stabbed and killed a 28-year-old Palestinian man in Iskaka village (Salfit). A clash erupted between Palestinians and settlers who were setting up tents to take over Palestinian-owned land near the Israeli settlement of Ariel, during which a settler stabbed the man in his chest. Israeli forces prevented Palestinians from providing medical aid or approaching the victim for about thirty minutes. The Israeli Police launched an investigation and arrested a suspect the following day. 
• Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including one boy, in two separate incidents in the West Bank. On 19 June, Israeli forces shot and killed a 53-year-old Palestinian man while he was attempting to enter Israel through a breach in the Barrier near Jaljulia checkpoint (Qalqiliya). According to community sources, the man was on his way to his workplace in Israel; according to the Israeli Military, he tried to damage the fence. The body of the man was withheld by the Israeli authorities for four days. In a separate incident, on 26 June, Israeli forces shot live ammunition at Palestinians trying to reach their worksites in Israel via an informal opening in the Barrier near Tulkarm, injuring two of them. This is the second Palestinian worker killed while trying to cross via informal openings in the Barrier since the beginning of 2022. On 24 June, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy at the entrance of Silwad (Ramallah). According to Palestinian sources, no clashes or injuries were reported at the time, however, Israeli sources, report that he was a suspected of throwing stones at Israeli vehicles. His body was withheld by the Israeli authorities until 30 June. This brings to 14 the total number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the beginning of 2022. 
• Israeli forces shot and killed three additional Palestinians and injured six others during a search-and-arrest operation in Jenin refugee camp. On 17 June, an Israeli undercover unit raided the camp, surrounded a car, and shot and killed three men inside. According to Israeli military sources, the occupants of the vehicle opened fire at the troops first. Subsequently, Israeli forces shot live ammunition and teargas canisters at Palestinian residents who threw stones; four of the six Palestinians were injured with live ammunition. Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces have shot and killed 26 Palestinians, including six children, during search-and-arrest operations across the West Bank; eleven of the fatalities were in Jenin refugee camp. 
• Overall, 195 Palestinians, including ten children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank. Some 75 injuries were recorded near Beita and Beit Dajan (both in Nablus) and Kisan (Bethlehem), in demonstrations against settlement expansion and 30 injuries were recorded during a during a tree-planting event in Burin (Nablus). In another three incidents, in Qaryut and Huwwara (both in Nablus), and in Ras at Tin (Ramallah), 64 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces after Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian communities accompanied by Israeli forces, triggering confrontations with residents. Another 23 Palestinians were injured during seven search-and-arrest operations in Jenin, Jericho, Tulkarm, Qalqiliya, Bethlehem and Ramallah. A further three Palestinians, including one child, were injured in three separate incidents near a checkpoint between the H1 and H2 areas in Hebron city, at a flying checkpoint Khirbet al Majaz in southern Hebron, and near the barrier in Far'un (Tulkarm). Of all the Palestinian injuries, 14 were from live ammunition, and 13 from rubber bullets; most of the remainder were treated for inhaling teargas.
• The Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced people to demolish 39 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits; nine of the structures had been provided as donor-funded humanitarian aid. As a result, 12 people, including six children, were displaced, and the livelihoods of about 225 others were affected. Some 36 of the targeted structures were in Area C, including 19 structures in Ibziq area which is designated as a ‘firing zone’ for military training, and where Palestinian communities are at risk of forcible transfer. Three structures were demolished in East Jerusalem, including one home destroyed by its owners to avoid paying fines.
• On four occasions, Israeli forces conducted military training exercises near the 13 Palestinian herding communities of Masser Yatta in southern Hebron. This area has been designated by the Israeli authorities as a ‘firing zone’ and closed for Israeli military training. The training is expected to continue intermittently for a month, restricting the access of Palestinians to basic services and sources of food, and possibly risking their safety, as use of live fire and explosions was reported on two occasions. On 4 May, the Israeli High Court of Justice approved the eviction of Palestinians living in Massafer Yatta, putting 1,144 people, including 569 children, at imminent risk of forcible transfer. On 23 June, the Humanitarian Coordinator a.i., called for a halt to demolitions, military activities and other increasingly coercive measures, so that residents can remain in their homes in safety and dignity. 
• Israeli forces restricted the movement of Palestinians in several locations across the West Bank. Since 10 June, Israeli forces have blocked and closed the main gate installed at the main entrance to the village of Abud (Ramallah), disrupting the access of about 2,400 Palestinians to livelihoods and services and forcing long detours; this closure is presumably linked to Palestinian stone-throwing at Israeli settler vehicles. On four other occasions, Israeli forces blocked the main entrance to Al Jalazun refugee camp (Ramallah), disturbing the access of about 9,000 Palestinians to livelihoods and services, forcing long detours; subsequently, Israeli forces shot teargas canisters at residents who threw stones; in one of the incidents a teargas canister landed inside a balcony, causing a fire to break out in the house.
• On 21 June, the Israeli authorities began construction of a new 45-kilometer-long wall in the northern West Bank, to replace the 20-year-old Barrier components in that area. Construction was approved in April, following the killing of eleven people in a series of attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank in Israel. In 2004, the International Court of Justice issued an Advisory Opinion which stated that the sections of the Barrier built inside the West Bank violate Israel’s obligations under international law and must be dismantled.
• Israeli settlers injured 18 Palestinians, and people known or believed to be Israeli settlers damaged Palestinian property in eleven instances. In five incidents in Turmus’ayya, Ras at Tin and Al Mu’arrajat East (all in Ramallah), in Burqa (Nablus) and in the H2 area of Hebron city, Israeli settlers, attacked Palestinian farmers while the latter were working on their lands; settlers used sticks, batons, and metal bars, and threw stones, injuring twelve Palestinians, including one child. On 15 June, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and pepper-sprayed family members sitting in a car that stopped in an Israeli flying checkpoint near Duma (Nablus); three of them were injured, including a two-month-old baby. The following day, dozens of Israelis, including settlers physically assaulted and stabbed two Palestinian men while they were working in an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem. In an additional incident near Deir Sharaf (Nablus), a group of Israeli settlers physically assaulted a group of Palestinian residents, injuring one man. In six incidents, about 160 Palestinian-owned trees were uprooted or vandalized near Israeli settlements next to Qaryut and Burin (both in Nablus), Palestinian-owned cars and a tractor were vandalized, and stone-throwing was reported, causing damage to two Palestinians homes and shops. Another five incidents, in Nablus, Jenin and Ramallah, included settlers breaking into a house and farmland, damaging a water facility, and vandalizing at least ten vehicles, as well as cultivated crops. 
• People known or believed to be Palestinians injured two Israelis and damaged multiple Israeli vehicles. Two Israeli settlers were injured by stone-throwing at vehicles while traveling on West Bank roads in Hebron and Jerusalem governorates. Israeli-platted vehicles were damaged by stones or Molotov cocktails thrown at them in seven other incidents.
• On 18 June, a Palestinian armed group launched a rocket from Gaza towards southern Israel. Subsequently, Israeli forces carried out several airstrikes, reportedly hitting positions belonging to armed groups in Gaza. No injuries, but some damage on the Palestinian side was reported. Following the rocket attack, the Israeli authorities suspended a decision to issue 2,000 additional work permits for Palestinian workers from Gaza for one week. 
• In the Gaza Strip, on at least 33 occasions, Israeli forces opened warning fire near Israel’s perimeter fence or off the coast, presumably to enforce access restrictions. As a result, three fishermen were injured, and two fishing boats sustained damage. In one incident, Israeli forces fired teargas canisters that landed inside Gaza, injuring two farmers. In two incidents, three Palestinians from Gaza, including a child, were arrested by Israeli forces, reportedly while attempting to enter Israel through the perimeter fence. On three occasions, Israeli forces levelled lands near the fence inside Gaza, damaging at least 10 dunums of planted crops.