On the Agenda

On 1 March 2021, Israeli police forces raided the ‘Obeid home in the neighborhood of al-‘Esawiyah, violently assaulting Marwan ‘Obeid and arresting his son, Tareq. The police also sprayed foul-smelling liquid along the streets and inside a house. ‘Obeid was taken to hospital for bruising following his interrogation, and released under house arrest after posting bail. The ongoing police violence in al-‘Esawiyah is another facet of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, aimed at driving them out and maintaining a Jewish majority.

On Sunday, 29 November 2020, soldiers entered al-'Arrub R.C. Some youths threw stones at the soldiers who responded with tear gas canisters and stun grenades. The soldiers severely beat one of the youths, Muhammad Muqbal (16), breaking his jaw, and arrested him and others. Muqbal underwent surgery and was then returned to detention for 26 days. He was released after the prosecution’s remand request was rejected twice. Israel boasts laws and procedures ostensibly in place to safeguard minors’ rights, but in practice, arrests hundreds of Palestinian minors every year, systemically and systematically violating their rights.

Every day and every night, soldiers may enter Palestinian homes. Such invasions of private space have long been an integral part of security forces’ operations in the West Bank. Palestinians know that soldiers may enter their homes at will, invade their bedrooms, wake their children and rummage through their belongings. For most of us, the home is a safe space. This is not so for Palestinians. Control, humiliation, and oppression penetrate their homes. In recent weeks, we published descriptions of incursions into homes in Ramallah, Qalqiliyah, and Tulkarm Districts. Below are descriptions of several raids on homes in Hebron District during these months.

Every day and every night, soldiers may enter Palestinian homes. Such invasions of private space have long been an integral part of security forces’ operations in the West Bank. Palestinians know that soldiers may enter their homes at will, invade their bedrooms, wake their children and rummage through their belongings. For most of us, the home is a safe space. This is not so for Palestinians. Control, humiliation, and oppression penetrate their homes. Throughout October and November 2020, Israeli security forces entered 493 homes in the West Bank. Read descriptions of two such incursions, one in Tulkarm District and the other in Qalqiliyah District.

Every day and every night, soldiers may enter Palestinian homes. Such invasions of private space have long been an integral part of security forces’ operations in the West Bank. Palestinians know that soldiers may enter their homes at will, invade their bedrooms, wake their children and rummage through their belongings. For most of us, the home is a safe space. This is not so for Palestinians. Control, humiliation, and oppression penetrate their homes. In the coming days, we will present cases that occurred throughout November and October 2020. Read the first of them, in the village of Kobar, Ramallah district.

On Monday morning, 17 December 2020, Border Police and Special Patrol Unit forces entered Qalandiya Refugee Camp. About 10 officers entered one of the camp’s homes, attacking a 15-year-old, locking his family members in rooms, violently searching the house, and leaving as they arrested two sons. During clashes that broke out in the camp, police snipers opened wanton fire, injuring five. In this case, as in hundreds of others, no one will be held accountable for the violence meted against the family or the shooting.

For three weeks, four soldiers abused the residents of Silwad, a town northwest of Ramallah, on a daily basis. They set up checkpoints, searched cars coming and going, swore at residents and assaulted them. The soldiers roamed the town firing stun grenades and tear gas canisters and damaging vehicles. In one case, they shot and wounded a teenager. Their commanders did not intervene to stop the abuse. Years of experience show no one will be held accountable for this conduct, which serves the occupation regime and allows it to continue.

The entire area Israel controls between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea is governed by a single regime working to advance and perpetuate the supremacy of one group over another. By geographically, demographically and physically engineering space, the regime enables Jews to live in a contiguous area with full rights, including self-determination, while Palestinians live in separate units and enjoy fewer rights. This qualifies as an apartheid regime, although Israel is commonly viewed as a democracy upholding a temporary occupation.

In 2020, Israeli security forces killed 27 Palestinians, seven of them minors. In at least 11 cases, the forces fired unlawfully at Palestinians who posed no risk. Despite the pandemic, Israel ramped up demolitions in the West Bank, leaving 1,006 Palestinians, including 519 minors, homeless. This year, we documented 248 cases of settlers harming Palestinians or their property –with full state backing. This year, too, Palestinians were subjected to a daily, violent occupation routine of incursions, night raids, movement restrictions, and arrests.

On 24 Nov. 2020, several dozen Palestinians and Israelis held a demonstration in the northern Jordan Valley. One was hit in the abdomen by a “rubber” bullet and put in an ambulance. Soldiers immediately opened the doors and tried to drag him out. A few minutes later, an officer ordered them to let go and he was taken to hospital. The soldiers’ violent conduct and disruption of urgent medical care cannot be considered legal. Along with the suppression of the protest, it is part of the systemic oppression of Palestinians under occupation.