Protection of Civilians Report | 15 - 28 August 2017

Biweekly highlights

• On 19 August, Israeli forces shot and injured a 17-year-old Palestinian boy after a stabbing attempt at Za’tara Checkpoint (Nablus); he died of his wounds an hour later en route to the hospital and his body is still being withheld by the Israeli authorities. No Israeli injuries were reported. This brings to thirteen the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in attacks, alleged attacks and clashes since the beginning of 2017.
• 60 Palestinians, including 12 children, were injured across the oPt during clashes with Israeli forces, most of which erupted during protests and search and arrest operations. Of these injuries, six were recorded in clashes near Gaza’s perimeter fence, including three children, and the rest (54) were in the West Bank, with the highest number occurring in clashes during a punitive demolition in Kobar village (Ramallah) and during the weekly demonstration of Kafr Qaddum (Qalqiliya). Additionally, 180 search and arrest operations were recorded during the reporting period and 221 Palestinians were arrested, with the Hebron governorate accounting for the highest portion of arrests (31 per cent).
• On 16 August, in Kobar (Ramallah), Israeli forces punitively destroyed the family home of the Palestinian perpetrator of the 21 July 2017 attack in Halamish settlement, during which three Israelis were killed; nine people, including three children, were displaced as a result. An apartment in the same building was also damaged during the operation, and 24 Palestinians, including two children, were injured by Israeli forces in clashes during the demolition. Since the beginning of 2017, the Israeli authorities have demolished or sealed six homes on punitive grounds, displacing a total of 33 people.
• On 21 and 22 August, the Israeli authorities destroyed or seized seven structures provided as humanitarian assistance to two Palestinian communities in the Bethlehem and Jerusalem governorates. These included six caravans used as classrooms as part of a primary school serving 60 students in the herding community of Jubbet adh Dib (Bethlehem) and another structure used as kindergarten in Jabal al Baba Bedouin community in Area C of the Jerusalem governorate, affecting 28 persons including 25 children. The latter is one of the 46 Palestinian Bedouin communities in the central West Bank at-high risk of forcible transfer.
• Another nine Palestinian-owned structures were also demolished or confiscated, during the reporting period in the West Bank for lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. As a result, eight people were displaced, including six children, and 34 people were otherwise affected. Additionally, the Israeli authorities confiscated around 20 tons of wood belonging to three charcoal factories in the Area B town of Ya’bad (Jenin), citing the violation of environmental regulations, and affecting the livelihoods of two families.  
• On at least twelve occasions, Israeli forces opened fire to enforce Gaza’s Access Restricted Areas (ARA) on land and sea, disrupting the access to livelihoods of Palestinian farmers and fishermen, but with no injuries reported. On two occasions, Israeli forces carried out levelling and excavation activities along the perimeter fence inside Gaza. In another incident, one Palestinian man was detained by Israeli forces at Erez crossing.
• Three incidents of stone-throwing at Israeli vehicles in the West Bank and one incident involving Molotov cocktails were reported by the Israeli media, resulting in damage to at least two vehicles.
• In three separate incidents, Israeli settlers attacked three Palestinian houses in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron city (H2), intimidating residents and causing damages to the properties. One of the targeted houses was taken over by Israeli settlers on 25 July, in violation of an Israeli order declaring part of the building a closed military area. Israeli settlers assaulted five members of the family, including two women, without causing injuries.
• After two days of exceptional opening, Egyptian authorities re-closed the Rafah Crossing on 29 August until further notice. The crossing opened for the exit of Palestinian pilgrims between 14 and 17 August to travel to Mecca and opened for another time between 27-28 August for movement of urgent cases. The Rafah Crossing has been closed with sporadic exceptions since 24 October 2014.