Protection of Civilians Report | 5-18 September 2023

Latest Developments (after the reporting period)

This section is based on initial information from different sources. Further confirmed details will be provided in the next report.

• On 19 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during a demonstration near Israel’s perimeter fence around the Gaza Strip, east of Khan Younis.
• On 19 and 20 September, Israeli forces shot and killed five Palestinians in two operations in the refugee camps of Jenin and Aqbat Jabr (Jericho).
• On 22 September, Israeli forces raided Kafr Dan (Jenin) and killed one Palestinian in an exchange of fire.

Highlights from the reporting period

• Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including one child, in two operations that involved the exchange of fire in Tulkarm and Jericho. On 5 September, Israeli forces raided Nur Shams Refugee Camp (Tulkarm), where a Palestinian man was shot and killed, and another was injured in an exchange of fire. The latter also threw explosive devices, reportedly causing damage to an Israeli military vehicle. Israeli forces bulldozed three sections of the main street connecting the camp with Nablus city, disrupting the movement of residents, and destroyed seven shops and caused damage to several residential structures. According to official Israeli sources, the roads were bulldozed due to the presence of explosive devices. According to medical sources, during the operation, Israeli forces impeded the work of paramedics. That day, Israeli forces surrounded a house in Az Zubeidat village (Jericho), where an exchange of fire took place, during which a 17-year-old Palestinian boy was killed.  According to the Israeli military, the boy allegedly carried out a shooting attack near the settlement of Argaman (Jericho) and was subsequently shot at when he opened fire at Israeli forces. The Israeli military further said that a member of Israeli forces was injured during the exchange of fire. Israeli forces also arrested the father and brother of the boy. So far in 2023, Israeli forces have killed 181 Palestinians in the West Bank or Israel, exceeding the yearly death toll by Israeli forces in the West Bank since 2005. 
• Israeli forces killed a Palestinian child in Hebron. On 9 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian boy at the entrance of Al ‘Arrub Refugee Camp (Hebron); Palestinians threw stones and Molotov cocktails at a military observation tower, and Israeli forces shot live ammunition. The following day, during the funeral procession, three Palestinians including two boys were injured by Israeli forces, including two by live ammunition. The number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in 2023 stands at 38 compared with 35 in all of 2022.
• Five Palestinian were killed in the Gaza Strip as an explosive device went off near Israel’s perimeter fence. On 13 September, Palestinians demonstrated near the fence east of Gaza city, to mark the 18th anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Demonstrators burned tires and threw stones at Israeli forces’ observation posts. Israeli forces shot live ammunition and teargas canisters, injuring 15 Palestinians, including six children. During the demonstration, a group of Palestinians approached the fence carrying an explosive device which detonated, killing five of them, including two children, and injuring ten others.
• Other Palestinians in Gaza were injured in demonstrations near the Israeli perimeter fence. On 15, 17 and 18 September, as hundreds of Palestinians protested near Israel’s perimeter fence around Gaza, demonstrators burned tires, threw stones and explosive devices at Israeli observation posts, and Israeli forces fired live ammunition, rubber bullets, and teargas canisters, injuring 33 Palestinians, including six children. On 15 September, Israeli forces conducted air strikes and launched missiles into Gaza, reportedly targeting military outposts belonging to armed groups near the fence, injuring one Palestinian.
• Also in the Gaza Strip, in at least 22 incidents, Israeli forces opened “warning fire” near Israel’s perimeter fence or off the coast. During these incidents, four fishermen were injured, two others were arrested, and one fishing boat was confiscated.
• During the reporting period, 173 Palestinians, including at least 58 children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank, including 11 who were hit by live ammunition. Most injuries (111) were reported during twelve search-and-arrest and other operations carried out by Israeli forces across the West Bank, including four reported in Beita village (Nablus) on four consecutive days as part of a search operation for suspects of the 12 September shooting in Huwwara, where two Israeli settlers were injured. During one of these operations, an ambulance was struck by rubber bullets fired by Israeli forces, and one paramedic was injured. Israeli forces injured 24 Palestinians following the entry of Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, into Qaryut village (Nablus). Another 31 injuries were reported in two demonstrations against access restrictions and settlement expansion in Kafr Qaddum (Qalqilya). Four Palestinians, including three children were shot and injured by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces when Palestinians threw stones at forces positioned at a military tower at the entrance of Beit Ummar and Al ‘Arrub Refugee Camp (both in Hebron). Another Palestinian man was injured and arrested by Israeli forces at An Nu’man checkpoint (Bethlehem), while allegedly attempting to stab a member of Israeli forces. The remaining two injuries were reported in two incidents in East Jerusalem, where Israeli forces physically assaulted a handcuffed Palestinian child near Damascus Gate, and an elderly Palestinian man in the Old City (see details below). Overall, 141 Palestinians were treated for teargas inhalation, 11 were shot with live ammunition, 13 were injured by rubber bullets, five were hit by shrapnel or tear gas canisters, and three were physically assaulted. Since the beginning of the year, 769 Palestinians have been injured by live ammunition by Israeli forces in the West Bank, nearing the double of the number in the equivalent period in 2022 (460). 
• On 16 and 17 September, large groups of Israelis, including settlers, entered the Old City of Jerusalem during the Jewish New Year. Israeli authorities deployed police officers and restricted Palestinian movement in and out of the Old City, during which they physically assaulted and injured an elderly Palestinian man and arrested at least two others. On 17 September, Israeli forces restricted Palestinian access to the Al Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, allowing entry only to those over the age of 50 for the dawn prayers. That morning, about 400 Israelis, including settlers, accessed the compound accompanied by Israeli police, who evacuated Palestinian worshippers to secure the entry of Israelis.
• Five Palestinians and two Israeli activists were injured by Israeli settlers, and people known or believed to be settlers damaged Palestinian property in another 18 instances across the West Bank. This is in addition to the Palestinian casualties by Israeli forces reported above in the settler-related incident in Qaryut (Nablus). On 9 September, a Palestinian herder in the norther Jordan Valley was injured, when Israelis, reportedly from Shadmot Mehola settlement, attacked him with sticks and stones and tried to steal his livestock. That day, two Palestinian farmers were injured when armed Israelis, reportedly from the settlement of Neve Daniel, physically assaulted them as they were working their land in Al Khadr (Bethlehem). On 15 September, Israeli settlers pepper-sprayed a Palestinian man and damaged his vehicle with stones near Burqa (Nablus). On 16 September, settlers stabbed a Palestinian man in the back and threw stones and bottles at Palestinian houses in Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron city, in the Israeli-controlled H2 area. On 9 September, settlers physically assaulted and injured two Israeli activists during an anti-settlement protest in Karma community (Hebron). In five incidents, according to community sources, more than 400 trees and saplings were vandalized on Palestinian land near Israeli settlements, in Khallet al Maiyya and Khirbet at Tawamin (both in Hebron), Sinjil (Ramallah) and Madama and Al Mas’udiya (both in Nablus). Eight incidents in Hebron, Jenin, Jericho, Nablus, Qalqiliya, Ramallah, and Salfit involved settlers trespassing into communities, injuring livestock and damaging animal shelters and agricultural rooms, and parts of two water networks. In five incidents, Israeli settlers threw stones and vandalized five Palestinian vehicles.
• Three Israelis and one foreign national were injured in two incidents across the West Bank. On 6 September, a Palestinian boy stabbed and injured an Israeli man near Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to Israeli police, another person – reportedly a foreign national – was also injured in the incident. Subsequently, Israeli forces arrested the Palestinian child. On 12 September, two Israeli settlers were injured in a drive-by shooting while travelling near Beita junction (Nablus); the perpetrators are believed to be Palestinians. Following the attack, Israeli forces conducted searches nearby, raided Madama, Aqraba, and Beita villages, and tightened movement restrictions (see more details below). 
• The Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 23 structures, including seven homes, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. As a result, 17 Palestinians, including eight children, were displaced, and the livelihoods of more than 100 others were affected. One of the affected structures was provided by donors as humanitarian assistance. Sixteen structures were demolished in Area C, including 12 that were demolished in a single incident in Anata town (Jerusalem). The remaining seven structures were demolished in East Jerusalem, resulting in the displacement of three households, comprising 12 people, including five children. Four out of the seven demolished structures in East Jerusalem were destroyed by their owners to avoid the payment of fines to the Israeli authorities. 
• Israeli forces restricted the movement of Palestinians in various locations across the West Bank. On 11 September, Israeli forces blocked with earth mounds two entrances to Sinjil village (Ramallah), hindering the access of about 8,000 Palestinians to livelihoods and services and forcing them to take long detours. According to Israeli sources, this closure is believed to be linked to Palestinian stone throwing at Israeli-plated vehicles. On 12 September, following a shooting attack that injured two Israelis near Beita (Nablus), Israeli forces imposed access and movement restrictions around Nablus for three consecutive days, including all entrances to Beita. This impeded the movement of 16,000 residents from Beita, including from accessing services. About 3,000 school children and teachers were unable to reach their schools in Beita. Additionally, the closure of Beita obstructed the movement of goods in and out of the village, affecting at least 21 Palestinian traders and their families. On 18 September, following a shooting attack near the Deir Sharaf checkpoint (Nablus), Israeli forces closed all the checkpoints around Nablus for about five hours. 
• For three days during the reporting period, on the occasion of the Jewish New Year, the Israeli authorities imposed a general closure on the occupied Palestinian territory. All West Bank and Gaza ID holders, including workers and traders with valid permits, were prevented from entering Israel and East Jerusalem through any checkpoints, except for emergency medical cases, students and Palestinian employees of international NGOs and UN agencies. On 18 September, when all Israeli-controlled crossings were scheduled to re-open, the Israeli authorities kept the Erez crossing with the Gaza Strip closed for Palestinians exiting for work purposes until the end of the reporting period, citing security reasons. This closure is affecting thousands of Palestinian workers and their families who are unable to reach their workplaces in Israel.
• Over 1,100 Palestinian herders from 28 communities have been displaced since 2022, citing settler violence and shrinking access to grazing land. The information was collected during a humanitarian needs assessment carried out by the UN with partner organizations during August in dozens of herding communities across the occupied Palestinian territory and published in a Fact Sheet (link). Four communities have been completely displaced since 2022 and now stand empty, whereas in six other communities, 50% of the residents have left.

Footnotes

1 Palestinians killed or injured by people who are not members of Israeli forces, e.g., by Israeli civilians or with Palestinian rockets falling short, as well as those whose immediate cause of death or the perpetrator’s identity remain disputed, unclear, or unknown, are counted separately. In this reporting period, five Palestinians killed by an explosive device are counted separately.

2 Israeli casualties in these charts include people who were injured while running to shelters during Palestinian rocket attacks. Foreign nationals killed in Palestinian attacks and people whose immediate cause of death or the perpetrator’s identity remain disputed, unclear, or unknown, are counted separately.