Protection of Civilians Report | 24 August - 6 September 2021

Latest developments (after the reporting period)

• On 6 September, six Palestinians escaped from an Israeli prison. Since then, the Israeli authorities have arrested some of their relatives, cancelled family visits and moved other Palestinian inmates between facilities. Across the West Bank, Palestinians have demonstrated in solidarity with prisoners and their families, leading to clashes with Israeli forces, with some injuries reported 

Highlights from the reporting period

• In the West Bank, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including a boy. During a nighttime operation on 24 August, in the Balata refugee camp (Nablus), Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old boy who, they say, tried to throw an object at the soldiers. Local sources say that he was an uninvolved bystander. On 2 September, a 39-year-old Palestinian was shot and killed near a Barrier gate leading to Beit ‘Ur at Tahta village (Ramallah), while on his way back from work in Israel. The Israeli military said that the soldiers shot a ‘suspect’ who had tried to start a fire on the highway, and that it was investigating the incident. Fifty-seven Palestinians, including 12 children, have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank this year, all by live ammunition. 
• At the Israeli perimeter fence around the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces shot and killed one Palestinian and injured over 70 others; two additional Palestinians died of wounds that were sustained in similar circumstances before the reporting period, and so did an Israeli soldier who had been shot by a Palestinian gunman on 21 August. On multiple occasions, Palestinian protesters reportedly set off explosives or fireworks and hurled stones and other objects towards the fence; and Israeli forces shot live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets and tear gas canisters.
• Overall, Israeli forces injured 288 Palestinians across the West Bank. The vast majority (273) of the verified injuries were in ongoing protests against settlement activities near Beita village (Nablus). Four additional people were injured during search-and-arrest operations in the Jenin, Nablus and Bethlehem governorates, including two boys, and the remaining were injured in other incidents. Of those injured, six Palestinians were shot with live ammunition, 44 with rubber bullets, and the rest were treated for tear gas inhalation or physical assault. An Israeli soldier was injured in a search-and-arrest operation in Abu Dis town (Jerusalem).  In addition to the 288 injured directly by Israeli forces, 47 were injured in Beita, either while running away from Israeli forces or in circumstances that could not be verified.
• Israeli forces carried out 118 search-and-arrest operations and arrested 134 Palestinians across the West Bank. Most of the operations took place in the Jerusalem and Hebron governorates. On 1 September, Israeli forces raided a school in the Wadi Al Joz neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, detained the school principal and an employee, and seized a number of computers and files.
• Palestinian armed groups set fires in Israel by releasing incendiary balloons and Israeli forces carried out air strikes reportedly targeting military sites and open fields in Gaza, causing mild damage to three houses. On at least 12 occasions, Israeli forces opened warning fire near the perimeter fence and off the coast, ostensibly to enforce access restrictions, injuring one fisherman.
• The Israeli authorities demolished, seized, or forced owners to demolish, 31 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, due to a lack of Israeli-issued building permits. These displaced 30 people, including 21 children, and affected the livelihoods of about 130 others. All of the displacement was recorded in East Jerusalem, resulting from the demolition of five homes, three of which were demolished by their owners themselves to avoid fines. On 28 August, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy died in Beit Hanina area of Jerusalem when a concrete wall fell on him while he was helping his neighbours to demolish their home, as the Israeli authorities ordered them to do. The demolition of 23 structures in Area C, including eight animal shelters in Khirbet Ar Rahwa (Hebron) and Ibziq (Tubas), affected ten communities. The latter locality is in an area designated by the Israeli authorities as a “firing zone” used for military training. 
• People known or believed to be Israeli settlers damaged Palestinian property in multiple incidents. Overall, local sources indicate that at least 650 Palestinian-owned trees were vandalized in At Taybe (Hebron) and Jamma’in (Nablus). Also in Hebron, nine vehicles were damaged in the H2 area of Hebron city, and a driver of a water tanker in Khirbet Bir al Idd (Hebron) was attacked and a mobile water tank damaged. In two incidents, water pipelines and a greenhouse were vandalized; agricultural tools were stolen in Al Lubban ash Sharqiya (Nablus), and at least two houses and a vehicle were damaged by stones thrown by settlers in Silat adh Dhahr (Jenin). 
• People known or believed to be Palestinians threw stones at Israeli-plated vehicles travelling in the Hebron and Ramallah governorates, injuring two female settlers. Also, according to Israeli sources, stone throwing damaged 14 Israeli-plated cars throughout the West Bank.