Protection of Civilians Report | 31 May-13 June 2022

Latest Developments (after the reporting period)

• Early on 17 June, three Palestinians were killed and at least eight others were injured during an Israeli military raid in Jenin Refugee camp.

Highlights from the reporting period

• Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including one woman and one boy in two separate incidents in the West Bank. On 1 June, Israeli forces shot and killed a 31-year-old Palestinian woman near the entrance of Al Arrub refugee camp (Hebron). According to Israeli military sources cited by Israeli media, the woman attempted to stab an Israeli soldier; according to Palestinian eyewitnesses, there was no attempted attack, and video footage showed no weapon in her possession. In another incident, on 2 June, Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian boy in Al Midya village (Ramallah). According to eyewitness and local community sources, the child was picnicking with two friends 50 meters away from the West Bank Barrier when Israeli forces opened fire at the three boys. According to medical sources, the boy was shot in the back. According to Israeli military sources cited by Israeli media, Israeli forces opened fire after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at them. No Israeli injuries were reported in the two incidents. This brings to 13 the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the beginning of 2022. 
• Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians and injured ten others in two search-and-arrest operations in the West Bank. On 2 June, a 30-year-old man was shot and killed in Ad Duheisha refugee camp (Bethlehem) after Israeli forces raided the camp, triggering clashes with residents. Israeli forces shot live ammunition and tear gas canisters at residents who threw stones; two Palestinians were injured by live ammunition and another two were arrested. On 9 June, a 27-year-old Palestinian man was shot and killed, and another eight were injured in Halhul town (Hebron), after Israeli forces raided and confiscated more than NIS1 million (about US$ 300,000) from a money changer, who was reportedly accused of transferring funds illegally. The incident triggered clashes with residents, during which Israeli forces shot live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas canisters at people who reportedly threw stones; four other Palestinians, including two children, were injured by live ammunition and another four by rubber bullets. No Israeli injuries were reported in the two incidents. In total, during the reporting period, Israeli forces carried out 177 such operations and arrested 166 Palestinians, including 21 children. 
• Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during a punitive demolition in Ya’bad town (Jenin). On 1 June, Israeli forces demolished the family home of a Palestinian man who shot and killed three Israelis in Israel in March 2022. The demolition resulted in the displacement of three families (more details below). During the operation, a 26-year-old Palestinian man was shot and killed, and another 37-year-old man was seriously injured with live ammunition and succumbed to his wounds on 11 June.
• Overall, 114 Palestinians, including eleven children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank. Some 59 injuries were recorded near Beita and Beit Dajan (both in Nablus) in demonstrations against settlements and another four in two additional demonstrations in Al Jwaya and Tarqumiya (all in Hebron) against Israeli confiscation of Palestinian lands in the area. In another four incidents, in Silwan in East Jerusalem, Halhul (Hebron), Izbat at Tabib (Qalqiliya) and An Nabi Salih (Ramallah), 21 people were injured after Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, entered Palestinian communities, triggering confrontations with residents. In one of these incidents, Israeli settlers accompanied by Israeli forces entered Halhul (Hebron) to perform religious rituals near An Nabi Younes mosque. Israeli forces fired live ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets at residents who threw stones; eight Palestinians were injured, and property damage was reported. Another 15 Palestinians were injured during five search-and-arrest operations in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Qalqiliya and Hebron. Two others were injured during a punitive demolition in Ya’bad (Jenin), which also resulted in the deaths of two Palestinians (see above) and one during a confiscation incident in Jayyus (Qalqiliya). Three Palestinians, including two children, were injured after Israeli forces shot live ammunition at Palestinians who threw stones at forces positioned at a checkpoint between the HI and H2 areas of Hebron city. The remaining nine injuries were physically assaulted and injured by Israeli forces at checkpoints in three separate incidents in Qalqiliya, Tulkarm and Jenin. Of all the Palestinian injuries, 16 were from live ammunition, and 29 from rubber bullets; most of the remaining were treated for inhaling teargas.
• The Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 23 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, 52 people, including 20 children, were displaced, and the livelihoods of about 60 others were affected. Some 18 of the targeted structures were in Area C, including nine in areas designated as a ‘firing zone’ for military training, where Palestinian communities are at risk of a forcible transfer. Five structures were demolished in East Jerusalem, including one homes destroyed by their owners to avoid paying fines.
• On 1 June, the Israeli authorities demolished a residential structure, consisting of two apartments in a multi-story building, in Ya’bad village (Jenin), in Area B, on punitive grounds. As a result, one family of five, including one child, was displaced and another family of seven, including three children, was affected. The home belonged to the family of the Palestinian man who shot and killed three Israelis in Israel in March 2022 and who was subsequently killed. During the operation one Palestinian man was shot and killed and another later died of wounds (see above). On 31 May, the Israeli authorities delivered a punitive demolition order against a residential structure in Rummana village (Jenin), belonging to the family of a Palestinian accused of killing three Israelis in Israel on 5 May. On 8 June, the Israeli High Court of Justice also approved the punitive demolition of the family homes of two Palestinians who are suspected of killing an Israeli settlement guard in April 2022. Since the beginning of 2022, six homes were demolished on punitive grounds, compared to three in all of 2021 and seven in 2020. Punitive demolitions are a form of collective punishment and as a such are illegal under international law as they target the families of a perpetrator, or alleged perpetrator, who are not involved in the alleged act.
• Israeli forces restricted the movement of Palestinians in several locations across the West Bank. On 2 and 10 June, Israeli forces closed the metal gates to Beita (Nablus) and Abud (Ramallah) villages, blocking around 20,000 Palestinians from accessing their livelihoods and services and forcing long detours; these closures are believed to be linked to Palestinian stone-throwing at Israeli settler vehicles. On several occasions, Israeli forces prevented Palestinian pedestrians and residents from going in and out of the Old City of Hebron and forced shop owners to close for several hours over two days, due to stone-throwing incidents. Additionally, in the H2 area of Hebron city, the Israeli authorities continued construction work for an electric lift for Jewish worshipers at the entrance to Ibrahimi Mosque, obstructing Palestinian access, including for Muslim Waqf employees, to the mosque. 
• Israeli settlers injured seven Palestinians and people known or believed to be Israeli settlers damaged Palestinian property in 20 instances. On 31 May, a group of Israeli settlers stoned and physically assaulted a Palestinian family in Silwan, East Jerusalem, injuring two people, including an elderly man, and damaging their vehicle. On 10 June, a group of settlers in the presence of Israeli forces, stoned a Palestinian man in Khirbet Zanuta (Hebron), and on 11 June, settlers physically assaulted and injured a Palestinian herder near Mantiqat Shib Al Butum in Hebron. Three additional injuries were reported after settlers attacked two Palestinian demonstrations in Al Jwaya and Khirbet Bir al 'Idd (both in Hebron). In nine separate incidents, about 255 Palestinian-owned trees and saplings were uprooted or vandalized near Israeli settlements next to Duma (Nablus), Al Khadr (Bethlehem) and Turmusayya (Ramallah). The tires of three Palestinian-owned cars were punctured and graffiti was painted on three vehicles and the walls of two houses, reportedly by settlers from nearby settlements including Bet El and Bracha. Nine incidents were reported in Nablus, Salfit, Ramallah and Hebron, which included breaking into a house, stealing agricultural equipment, and damaging cultivated crops, livestock and water cisterns. In Al Jab’a (Hebron) and Kifl Haris (Salfit) settlers threw stones and paint bottles at Palestinian homes and vehicles, reportedly damaging at least one house and three vehicles. 
• People known or believed to be Palestinians injured two Israelis and damaged 20 Israeli vehicles while they were traveling on West Bank roads in Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus and Jerusalem governorates. Two Israeli settlers were injured by stones thrown at their vehicles and Israeli-plated vehicles were damaged by stones or Molotov cocktails thrown at them in another 19 incidents.
• On 7 June, in the middle area of Gaza Strip, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy sustained injuries when an explosive remnant of war (ERW) went off while he was handling it.
• In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces opened warning fire near Israel’s perimeter fence or off the coast on at least 35 occasions, presumably to enforce access restrictions. As a result, two Palestinian fishermen were injured, and two boats and one residential structure were damaged. Israeli naval forces arrested fourteen fishermen and confiscated two fishing boats. On two occasions, Israeli forces also carried out land levelling and digging operations inside Gaza near the perimeter fence. They arrested six Palestinians, including four children, for allegedly attempting to cross illegally into Israel.