Protection of Civilians Report | 19 July – 1 August 2022

Latest Development (outside the reporting period)

• On 5 August, Israeli forces conducted airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip and Palestinian groups fired rockets on Israel. These developments will be addressed in the next Protection of Civilians report.

• On 2 August, Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian boy, claimed by Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as an affiliate, in Jenin refugee camp during a search-and-arrest operation that involved exchanges of fire with armed Palestinians.

Highlights from the reporting period

• Two Palestinians were killed, and 19 others were injured by Israeli forces, in a search-and-arrest operations across the West Bank. On 24 July, Israeli forces raided the Old City of Nablus, where an exchange of fire with armed Palestinians was reported, and Israeli forces shot live ammunition and tear gas canisters at residents who threw stones. Two Palestinian men were shot and killed, and 19 others were injured. According to the Israeli Military, cited by Israeli media, Israeli forces raided the city to arrest a Palestinian suspected of shooting at Israeli settlers who visited Joseph Tomb, a nearby religious site, on 30 June. The home of a Palestinian family was destroyed, reportedly when Israeli forces shelled the building, resulting in the displacement of three people. Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces have shot and killed 31 Palestinians, including six children, during search-and-arrest operations in the West Bank. In some of those incidents exchange of fire was reported. Also, during the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted 143 search-and-arrest operations and arrested 190 Palestinians in the West Bank. The Hebron governorate accounted for the single highest portion of operations (37) and arrests (57).
• A 59-year-old Palestinian man with a mental disability succumbed to wounds sustained on 26 July when Israeli forces shot him with live ammunition near Huwwara checkpoint (Nablus). According to human rights organizations, the man was shot several times while posing no apparent threat. According to the Israeli military, he was walking towards soldiers and did not stop after they fired “warning” shots. According to an eyewitness, the Palestinian man was walking away from the soldiers before he was shot. The body is still withheld by Israeli authorities.
• On 29 July, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed in Al Mughayyir village (Ramallah) by either an armed Israeli settler or Israeli forces, after a group of armed settlers raided an area where Palestinians were protesting settlement activities (more details below). Settlers attacked Palestinians who threw stones and Israeli forces intervened by shooting rubber coated bullets and live ammunition. Another three Palestinians were injured, two of whom with live ammunition fired by either Israeli forces or armed settlers. This year, Israeli settlers have more frequently entered Palestinian communities or private properties. When this happens, confrontations often take place between settlers and Palestinians, followed by clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces once the latter intervene. Since the beginning of the year, three Palestinians, including one child, were killed and 1,214 were injured in such incidents. On a biweekly average, the number of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces following settler raids/entries this year increased by 167 per cent compared with the biweekly average of last year.
• Overall, 132 Palestinians, including seven children were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank. Some 85 injuries were recorded near Beita and Beit Dajan (both in Nablus), Kafr Qaddum (Qalqilya), Haris (Salfit) and Al Mughayyir (Ramallah) in six demonstrations against settlement expansions. In Huwwara and Burin villages (both in Nablus) and Silwan area of East Jerusalem, 18 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces after Israeli settlers entered Palestinian communities, accompanied by Israeli forces. According to Palestinian community sources, Israeli forces fired sound bombs and live bullets in the air, and residents threw stones at them. Another 21 Palestinians were injured during three search-and-arrest operations in Askar refugee camp (Nablus), the Old city of Nablus and Ad Duheisha refugee camp (Bethlehem). In another two separate incidents, two Palestinian workers who were trying to reach their worksites in Israel through informal openings near Tarqumiya and Adh Dhahiriya (both in Hebron) were shot and injured by Israeli forces with live ammunition. Three additional injuries were reported during a punitive demolition in Qarawat Bani Hassan (Salfit) (see more details below). And a further three Palestinians were injured near Huwwara checkpoint (Nablus), according to Israeli forces, reportedly after they opened fire at soldiers. Of all the Palestinian injuries, 22 were from live ammunition, and 21 from rubber bullets; most of the remainder were treated for teargas inhalation.
• The Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 38 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits; two of the structures had been provided as donor-funded humanitarian aid. As a result, 32 people, including 17 children, were displaced, and the livelihoods of about 335 others were affected. 36 of the targeted structures were in Area C, including one home in Umm Qussa Bedouin community in southern Hebron, an area which is designated as ‘firing zone’ for military training, and where Palestinian communities are at risk of forcible transfer. Four of the targeted structures in area C were demolished based on Military Order 1797, which provides 96-hour notice and limits the possibility to legally challenge the demolition through Israeli courts. This displaced two households comprising of nine people and affected the livelihoods of another three households, comprising 22 people. A total of 205 Palestinian-owned structures have been demolished based on Military Order 1797 since it came into effect in July 2019. Two other structures were demolished in East Jerusalem. Both structures were destroyed by their owners to avoid paying fines. 
• On 25 July, Israeli forces raided Qarawat Bani Hassan (Salfit) village, in Area B, and demolished two homes with multiple floors of families whose members were accused of killing an Israeli settlement guard in April 2022. The demolition resulted in damage to three additional neighboring homes. The displaced families comprised 18 people, including 10 children. During the demolition, Palestinians threw stones at the Israeli forces, who shot teargas canisters at Palestinians; three Palestinians were injured. Since the beginning of 2022, eight homes were demolished on punitive grounds, compared with three in all of 2021 and seven in 2020. Punitive demolitions are a form of collective punishment and as such are illegal under international law as they target the families of a perpetrator, or alleged perpetrator.
• Israeli forces restricted the movement of Palestinians in several other locations across the West Bank. Forces kept the gate at the main entrance to Kifl Haris (Salfit) closed, following its initial closure on 13 July; blocked with earth-mounds four roads that connect Huwwara (Nablus) with Road 60 and nearby villages. This resulted in long detours, disrupting the access of more than 27,000 Palestinians to livelihoods and services. These restrictions are believed to be linked to Palestinian stone-throwing at Israeli settler vehicles nearby. In a separate incident, the Israeli authorities also set up flying checkpoints in Masafer Yatta and installed a new fixed checkpoint with a metal gate, in an area declared firing zone by Israeli authorities, blocking the access to Jinba community, impeding the movement of residents and aid workers; the staff of two NGOs were stopped at the checkpoint for several hours and their vehicles were seized. 
• On 28 July, Israeli settlers, under Israeli forces escort, moved into an empty Palestinian house in the H2 area of Hebron city. This is the second takeover of a Palestinian home in the H2 area of Hebron city since the beginning of the year. Palestinians near settlements in H2 are exposed to coercive Israeli policies and practices, resulting in many people leaving the area. 
• Israeli settlers injured five Palestinians, and people known or believed to be Israeli settlers damaged Palestinian property, in 12 instances. In four incidents in Kafr Thulth (Qalqiliya), Kafr ad Dik (Salfit), and Kisan (Bethlehem), Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while they were working on their lands; settlers used sticks, batons, and metal bars, and threw stones, injuring five Palestinians, including one elderly man. In two incidents, about 60 Palestinian-owned trees were uprooted or vandalized near Israeli settlements next to Beit Dajan (Nablus). Three Palestinian-owned cars were vandalized, and stone-throwing was reported, causing damage to two Palestinians homes and shops in another six incidents near Bruqin (Salfit), Burin (Nablus) and the Old City of Jerusalem. Another four incidents in Nablus and Ramallah, resulted in damage to cultivated crops, livestock, and agricultural equipment.
• On multiple occasions during the reporting period, Israeli settlers marched and erected camping tents in different locations across the West Bank, as part of an initiative to establish new settlements or expand existing ones. Israeli forces subsequently evicted the encampments, saying they were not authorized, while others still remain. Israeli forces put in place movement restrictions including in four separate occasions blocking with earth-mounds the roads that connect Qarawat Bani Hassan and Deir Istiya, west of (Salfit) with Road 60 and nearby villages; and restricting with a roadblock the access between Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik villages, northwest of (Salfit) and the access between Al Bowereh area in Hebron city. This resulted in long detours, disrupting the access of more than 11,000 Palestinians to livelihoods and services.
• People known or believed to be Palestinians injured three Israelis and damaged three Israeli vehicles in three stone-throwing incidents at vehicles traveling on West Bank roads in Nablus and Ramallah governorates, according to Israeli sources.
• In the Gaza Strip, on at least 43 occasions, Israeli forces opened warning fire near Israel’s perimeter fence or off the coast, presumably to enforce access restrictions, with no injuries or damages reported. In one incident, two Palestinians from Gaza, including a child, were arrested by Israeli forces, reportedly while attempting to enter Israel through the perimeter fence. A Palestinian man from Gaza was arrested by Israeli forces at the Erez crossing.