A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Friday during a protest in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that the man, 45-year-old Atef Hanaysheh, was shot with live ammunition in the head during a protest against settlement expansion and the confiscation of Palestinian-owned land in the village of Beit Dajan.
The MOH said that Hanaysheh was taken by Palestinian medics to a hospital in Nablus, where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
Eyewitnesses told Israeli and Palestinian media outlets that Hanaysheh, the local imam at one of Beit Dajan’s mosques, was shot at “point blank range” by forces who were suppressing the Friday protest — a weekly occurrence in the village.
Reuters quoted the Israeli military as saying that “dozens of Palestinian rioters hurled rocks” at soldiers in the area, who “responded with riot dispersal means and by firing into the air.”
“We are aware of reports regarding a Palestinian casualty. The cause of the injury is still unknown. The incident is being examined,” the military said.
A number of Palestinian factions, including the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements condemned the killing of Hanaysheh, which they said was part of a “policy of murder and terror” on part of the Israeli occupation.
Hanaysheh is reported to be the third Palestinian in the West Bank killed by Israeli forces in 2021, among hundreds of others who have been injured by Israeli forces in the first three months of the year, according to UN documentation.
Palestinian demonstrations in the West Bank against Israeli settlements, the wall, and colonialist policies in the territory are a weekly occurrence, often resulting in confrontations between Palestinian protesters, who are leargely unarmed, and Israeli security forces.
Human rights groups have criticized for years what they call a policy of “excessive use of force” on the part of Israeli soldiers, who often use violent and deadly force against protesters in situations that did not pose a direct threat to the lives of the soldiers.
In 2020, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that between January and November, Israeli forces killed 23 Palestinians and wounded at least 3,221, including those suspected of attacking Israelis, “but also passersby and demonstrators.”
The Israeli military’s open fire regulations state that live ammunition may be fired in only two situations: when members of the security forces or other individuals are in life-threatening danger, and that members of the security forces may only shoot at a person’s legs, “as the last phase in an attempt to arrest the person in question, only after they have given warning and fired in the air, and only when no one else is in danger of getting hurt.”
Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has said that the Israeli military’s frequent use of live fire against Palestinian protesters “in breach of open-fire regulations, shows that it is a not a matter of exceptional incidents but rather the implementation of an unlawful policy.”
“This policy conveys Israel’s deep disregard for the lives of Palestinians and their property, and facilitates continued use of lethal force – a crucial element in Israel’s ability to maintain violent control over millions of Palestinians,” the group said.
Hope the Israeli Arabs who have decided to vote for Netanyahu’s party realizes that “Abu Yair” has racist policies, and that the Palestinian people will continue to be killed for protesting their suffering under the zionist occupation, and the stealing of Palestinian lands (again Netanyahu’s policies). By voting for him, they are endorsing those policies. Bibi’s deviousness shows again, as he courts the Israeli Arab voters this time, the very people he has shown his racism and hatred towards, by telling his Jewish voters they will be voting “in droves”, and the next time he placed video cameras in Arab voting areas to intimidate Arab voters.
Abu Yair is a snake, and surely they should realize it.
“But in the run-up to the election on March 23rd—Israel’s fourth in two years—Mr Netanyahu sounds different. He has been visiting Arab towns, where he takes credit for a highly successful roll-out of covid-19 vaccines. His party, Likud, has placed an Arab Muslim on its list of candidates. The prime minister says he enjoys it when Arabs call him “Abu Yair” (father of Yair), reflecting their practice of referring to someone as the parent of their eldest son. “It brings tears to my eyes,” he says.”
The Economist
It brings “tears to my eyes” to think this man, a war criminal, a racist, and a ruthless leader, whose armed thugs kill unarmed civilians almost on a daily basis, will be PM once again.
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Israeli settler attacks surge against Palestinians | Occupied West Bank News | Al Jazeera
“Israeli settler attacks surge against Palestinians”
“Unprecedented settler violence during the past few months in the occupied West Bank is raising fears the situation may escalate out of control.” Al Jazeera, March 18/21, by Mohammed Najib
EXCERPT:
Ramallah, Occupied West Bank – “Palestinian Saeed Alyan Awad was on the way to his land with his wife when 10 Israeli settlers attacked them near the illegal Mitzpe Yair settlement.
“The Awads’ land lies east of the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, and the family goes there every Saturday in an effort to prevent the Israelis from expanding their outpost onto their property.
“One of the attackers, wielding an iron pipe, cracked Saeed’s skull and broke his jaw on March 10, while his wife suffered severe bruises on her leg. With Awad’s children and nephews screaming in horror inside their vehicle, the settlers then moved towards them and smashed the windscreen and pelted it with rocks.
“’The assault on my family and me lasted about seven minutes,’ Awad, 49, told Al Jazeera. ‘My face was bleeding and I lost consciousness for a few minutes. I underwent an operation to re-attach my left jaw and heal the wounds on my face.’
“Young Palestinian men in the area heard the screams and saw the attacking settlers and came to the rescue. The Israelis backed away from the scene and soldiers from the Israeli military arrived, providing first aid for Awad. The troops watched, however, as the settlers departed without detaining them.
“’The army should have arrested the settlers but it did not, even though it was certain they attacked and tried to kill me,’ Awad said.” (cont’d)
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“Though he filed a complaint at the Israeli police station at the Kiryat Arba’a settlement on Wednesday, he said he does not expect any justice.“It was the latest in a series of increasing attacks on Palestinians by gangs of roaming Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
“According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, 94 violent attacks took place against Palestinian civilians between December 21, 2020, to March 13, 2021 – an unprecedented figure.
“The group accused Israeli security forces of failing do stop the attacks and said Israeli police routinely close criminal complaints filed by the victims without anyone being charged.
“The violent escalation against Palestinians appears to have been sparked after the death of Ahuvia Sandak, 16, from the Bayt Hayen settlement in the southern West Bank. He died when the car he was riding in with four other Israelis overturned while fleeing Israeli police east of Ramallah. The settlers were being pursued after undercover officers saw them throwing rocks at Palestinian vehicles on December 21.
“According to Israeli media, Sandak belonged to a group known as the ‘Hilltop Youths’, which is accused of attacking Palestinians and their property.
“’Since Sandak’s death, settlers’ violent attacks against Palestinians continues daily – on average two or three attacks per day,’ said Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who oversees settlements in the Nablus governorate.
“He said the settlers have also forced the closure of main roads in the West Bank cities of Nablus, Tulkarm, and Jenin.”