The Israeli army killing of 10 Palestinians in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on February 22 and causing the death of an 11th person due to exposure to the toxic teargas was the highest number of people killed in a single operation in the West Bank since 2005, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory biweekly Protection of Civilians Report covering the period between February 14 and 27.
It said that during the recording period, the Israeli army and settlers killed 16 Palestinians for a total of 63 Palestinians killed since January 1, 2023, of which three were children, in various operations in the occupied territories, and injured 1089 others.
However, and after the recording period, on 1 March, a Palestinian succumbed to his wounds sustained the day before from Israeli forces’ gunfire during a search-and-arrest operation in Aqbat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho, and on 2 March, Israeli forces killed a 15-year-old child in Azzoun village, near Qalqilya, said OCHA.
Also during the reporting period, another eight Palestinians, including two children were injured by Israeli settlers who damaged Palestinian property, including the uprooting of 300 trees, in dozens of instances in the West Bank which culminated on February 26 with Israeli settlers injuring Palestinians, settling homes and vehicles on fire near Nablus.
The Israeli occupation authorities also demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 66 structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, including 18 residential structures, during the reporting period citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain, said OCHA. Twenty-two of the structures were provided by donors as humanitarian assistance.
As a result, 60 Palestinians, including 29 children, were displaced, and the livelihoods of more than 200 others were affected. Forty-nine (49) of the structures were in Area C, including 16 (all donor-funded) demolished in a single incident in Lifjim community in Nablus, resulting in the displacement of three households, comprising 17 people, including 10 children.
Another 17 structures were demolished in East Jerusalem, including eight destroyed by their owners, to avoid the payment of fines to the Israeli authorities.
February 2023 accounted for the highest number of demolished structures in East Jerusalem in a single month since April 2019; with a total of 36 structures demolished, compared to a monthly average of 11 demolished in 2022, said OCHA.
In addition, since the beginning of 2023, six homes and one agricultural-related structure were demolished on punitive grounds, compared with 11 homes and three other structures in all of 2022, 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 locations across the West Bank, disrupting the access of thousands to livelihoods and services. On 26 February, following the fatal shooting of two Israeli settlers, the Israeli army imposed a closure on Hawara town, near Nablus, closed nearby checkpoints, and sealed off the entrance of nearby Beita village with concrete blocks, obstructing the movement of more than 19,000 Palestinians. On 27 February, the Israeli army deployed flying checkpoints at all the entrances/exits of Jericho city, including concrete blocks, obstructing the movement of at least 50,000 Palestinians, following the fatal shooting of an Israeli near Jericho earlier the same day.
SOURCE: PALESTINE NEWS & INFO AGENCY