Protection of Civilians Report | 10 – 23 January 2017

Latest Developments

• On 25 January, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during an alleged ramming attack at the entrance to Kochav Ya’akov settlement (Ramallah); no Israeli injuries were reported.
• On 26 January, the Israeli Ministry of Interior announced the revocation of the ‘family unification permits’ of a number of family members of the Palestinian man who perpetrated an attack against Israeli soldiers on 8 January.

Biweekly highlights

• Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinians, including one child, during three separate incidents in the West Bank. The fatalities include a 17-year-old boy killed during clashes on 10 January at the entrance of Tuqu’ village (Bethlehem) that involved stone and Molotov-cocktail throwing; a 32-year-old Palestinian man killed on the same day in disputed circumstances during a search operation in Al Far’a refugee camp (Tubas); and a 44-year-old man killed on 17 January at a checkpoint next to Tulkarm city, after he reportedly attempted to stab an Israeli soldier. The Israeli authorities have opened an investigation into the first incident, according to media reports.
• Citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, the Israeli authorities demolished or seized 44 structures in Area C and East Jerusalem, displacing 17 Palestinians, including five children, and affecting more than 3,300. Two of the largest incidents occurred in two small herding communities in Area C in Jericho (Al Jiftlik-Abu al 'Ajaj) and Nablus (Tell al Khashabeh) and involved the demolition of 19 structures, including 15 provided as humanitarian assistance.  Also in Area C, near Hebron city (Al Buweib), the Israeli authorities destroyed part of an agricultural road, affecting the livelihoods of some 3,000 people. Another 11 non-residential structures were demolished in the Jabal al Mukabber area of East Jerusalem, where the perpetrator of the ramming attack of 8 January lived, affecting 45 people.
• Also in the aftermath of the 8 January ramming attack, the Jerusalem Municipality distributed warning notices related to “planning and zoning violations” against approximately 80 buildings in the Jabal Al Mukabber area. A preliminary assessment carried out by OCHA indicates that up to 240 households (approximately 1,200 people) living in the targeted buildings may come under risk of displacement, if follow-up measures are adopted. The family home of the perpetrator was also reportedly measured by the authorities in advance of its punitive demolition.
• Israeli forces injured 26 Palestinians, including twelve children, during multiple clashes across the West Bank. The largest number of injuries (10) were recorded during clashes that erupted in the course of a demolition in Ar Ram town (Jerusalem). Other clashes resulting in injuries occurred during the weekly demonstrations in Kafr Qaddum (Qalqiliya) and Ni’lin (Ramallah); at the entrance of Hizma town (Jerusalem) and Tuqu’ village (Bethlehem); following the entrance of Israeli settlers to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus city; and during four search and arrest operations. 
• In total, during the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted 199 search and arrest operations and arrested 288 Palestinians in the West Bank, with the Jerusalem governorate accounting for the highest number of operations (67) and arrests (97).
• In the Gaza Strip, on at least 38 occasions, Israeli forces opened warning or direct fire at Palestinians present in, or approaching the Israeli-imposed Access Restricted Areas (ARA) on land and sea. As a result, five Palestinians were reported injured, including three fishermen and a ten-year-old girl. On another six occasions, Israeli forces arrested a total of eleven Palestinians, including two merchants while they were crossing the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing, five fishermen at sea and another three civilians while trying to enter Israel illegally.
• 56 Palestinian-owned trees were vandalized by Israeli settlers, in two separate incidents in Beit Lid (Tulkarm) and Turmus’ayya (Ramallah), according to village council sources. Additionally, a Palestinian man was physically assaulted and injured by a group of Israeli settlers while he was working on his land in Burqa (Nablus). Israeli settlers and other Israeli groups entered various religious sites in the West Bank, triggering altercations and clashes with Palestinians, which ended with no injuries. The affected sites included the Al Haram Ash Sharif/Temple Mount compound in East Jerusalem, a shrine in Sabastiya village (Nablus), and Solomon’s Pools in Al Khadr village (Bethlehem).
• Israeli media reported 17 incidents of stone and Molotov cocktail-throwing attacks by Palestinians at Israeli settler vehicles, none of which resulted in casualties, although damage to several vehicles were reported. Additionally, the light train segment running through Shu’fat (East Jerusalem) sustained damage as a result of stone-throwing by Palestinians.
• The Egyptian-controlled Rafah Crossing was closed in both directions during the reporting period. During 2016, the crossing was partially opened for only 44 days. Over 20,000 people, including humanitarian cases, are registered and waiting to cross, according to the Palestinian authorities in Gaza