Publications
During the reporting period (3-23 November), a total of 129 structures were demolished, or seized, due to a lack of Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 100 people and otherwise affecting at least 200. The largest incident took place on 3 November in Humsa Al Bqai’a, where 83 structures were destroyed, displacing 73 people, including 41 children.
Active COVID-19 cases continue to rise; 103 more people die. Gaza accounts for 39 per cent of active cases and recorded another 19 fatalities. 121,000 Palestinians lost their jobs in the second quarter of 2020, according to the World Bank.
Removal of donor-funded network disrupts water supply to over 1,000 people in herding communities. Requisitioning of structures without prior notice continues. Freeze on the demolition of inhabited homes in East Jerusalem holds. Punitive sealing in Ya’bad village (Jenin) displaces a family of ten.
An oPt Humanitarian Fund success story: Fida’ is a young Palestinian administrative assistant from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, an area that has seen recurrent escalations of hostilities, resulting in largescale devastation and losses among civilians. In 2019, with funding received from the Humanitarian Fund for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt HF), she was trained as a humanitarian volunteer and became part of a community-based network of emergency ‘responders’. The training was aimed at helping residents of Rafah prepare for future escalations.
On 25 October, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy died during an Israeli search-and-arrest operation in Turmus’ayya village (Ramallah). According to the Israeli authorities, the boy fell and hit his head on the ground while being chased by soldiers, along with other Palestinian stone-throwers. Palestinian eyewitnesses indicated that he was severely beaten by Israeli forces and, according to the director of the hospital where he was admitted, his body showed signs of violence.
International NGOs and UN agencies call on the Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians participating in the ongoing olive harvest season, as well as their property, from violence by Israeli settlers, and ensure that farmers can access their land freely and safely.
Yesterday, 73 people, including 41 children, were displaced when Israeli authorities demolished their homes and other structures and destroyed belongings in the Palestinian community of Humsa Al Bqai’a. Three quarters of the community’s population lost their shelters, making this the largest forced displacement incident in over four years.
After weeks of declining, active COVID-19 cases rise slightly; 81 more people die. Over 2,400 more cases of community transmission, and another nine fatalities reported in Gaza. The Inter-Agency Response Plan for the oPt is 49 per cent funded.
Decline in Israeli shooting incidents along the fence and at the sea; two Palestinian fishermen killed by the Egyptian navy. Easing of the COVID-related lockdown measures, including movement restrictions between governorates. A temporary UN mechanism to support the access of patients to medical treatment in the West Bank and Israel was launched. The Rafah passenger Crossing with Egypt opened for three days in both directions.
