contact@ifamericansknew.org, Author at Israel-Palestine Timeline

Naomi Perlman

February 6, 2022February 8, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

February 6, 2022: Naomi Perlman, 90, died of wounds sustained in May 2021 from a Palestinian rocket fired from Gaza. Her housemaid, Soumya Santosh, from Kerala, India, was killed by the rocket when it hit the house last May.

Perlman’s son, Shuki, said upon his mother’s death that her health had been deteriorating due to the injuries she sustained, and she had recently moved into a nursing facility. “Before she was wounded, we could talk to her, but she simply couldn’t endure this experience at such an age.”

Ashekelon Mayor Tomer Glam issued a statement noting that Naomi Perlman and her husband “had made a significant contribution toward the establishment and development of the city in its early years.”

The day that the rocket hit her home followed two straight days of Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, during which time Israeli bombs killed 35 Palestinians including 12 children. Palestinian resistance fighters in the Gaza Strip responded with a barrage of rockets across the border into Israel, killing five Israelis, including a teenage girl and her father. In addition, a 50-year old Israeli woman was killed in Rishon Lezion, just south of Tel Aviv.

Rocket sirens sounded throughout the night in Israel’s southern towns and cities, and the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv was briefly shut down. 26 Israelis were reportedly injured – most with minor injuries.

The rockets were fired in the early morning hours on Wednesday, as Gaza’s hospitals were besieged with hundreds of wounded Palestinians, many of them children, who suffered traumatic and severe injuries from the numerous Israeli missile strikes into crowded Palestinian neighborhoods throughout Gaza on Monday and Tuesday.

In addition to bombing Palestinian neighborhoods for two straight days, the Israeli military called up 5,000 reservists and had them stationed at the border with Gaza to threaten the Gaza Strip with a possible ground invasion.

The Palestinian resistance responded to this violent aggression with rocket fire directed toward Tel Aviv. This marks the longest-range rockets that have been fired by the Palestinian resistance to date. Other rockets fired in the past have reached as far as the coastal Israeli city of Ashkelon (formerly the Palestinian town of Azkalan), but had not had the range or capacity to reach the Israeli capital Tel Aviv (built on the former Palestinian town of Yaffa) before.

Israelis in the cities of Sderot, Holon and Ashkelon rushed to shelters and many stayed there overnight to try to avoid the impact of Palestinian resistance rocket fire.

Israeli media reported that at 8:45 A.M. on Wednesday, Israeli forces intercepted a drone crossing from Gaza into Israel.

The teen girl and her father who were killed by a Palestinian resistance rocket, Nadine and Khalil Awaad, were themselves Palestinian – with Israeli citizenship. But their town, Dhamas near Lod, being a mainly Palestinian village, was never provided bomb shelters like the Jewish Israeli towns were provided by the government. In fact, their village, Dhamas, was not recognized by Israeli authorities, and so lacks basic services and is under threat of demolition by the Israeli government. One of their relatives, Ismail Arafat, lives there as well and has been part of leading the struggle for recognition of the village.

The Israeli news agency Ha’aretz quoted Ismail Arafat as saying, “We have nowhere to go. We don’t have a bomb shelter here for everyone. For the Thai [migrant] workers they built shelters, but we were not allowed because we are not humans. Nadine and Khalil were in the middle of breakfast before fasting [for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan]. It seems that he opened the door and that’s how he was hit.”

Naomi was from Ashkelon, Israel. Source: Haaretz, IMEMC

Fahmi Abdul-Rauf Hamad

January 24, 2022January 24, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

January 24, 2022: Fahmi Abdul-Rauf Hamad, 57, died from the severe effects of tear gas inhalation he suffered at an UNRWA-run clinic in Qalandia refugee, camp north occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank, after Israeli soldiers invaded the area and fired many gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets.

Medical sources said the soldiers invaded the refugee camp and fired a barrage of gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinians who protested the invasion, in addition to a clinic, and many surrounding homes.

They added that Fahmi suffered the severe effects of tear gas inhalation while inside a clinic run by UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees).

Palestinian medics tried to resuscitate the injured man and rushed him to a hospital in Ramallah, but he succumbed to his wounds.

Video By Qastal News

One of his relatives said the man had preexisting medical conditions, including kidney failure and diabetes, and added that many patients in the clinic also suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation.

He stated that Fahmi used to frequently head to the clinic for medical treatment, including dialysis.

He also said that the soldiers fired dozens of gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets at the Palestinians, including the area of the clinic.

Video By Qastal News

Hundreds of Palestinians marched in the funeral procession of the slain man while chanting against the escalating Israeli violations.

Video By Qastal News

In related news, the soldiers placed mobile homes in the location of the evacuated Homesh illegal colony, near Silat ath-Thaher town, south of Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank.

The soldiers also assaulted and injured a former political prisoner, identified as Islam Nidal Hamarna, from Ya’bad town, west of Jenin.

In addition, several illegal Israeli colonizers injured a Palestinian teen near the town of Huwwara, south of Nablus, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. The soldiers also abducted a young man at the roadblock.

It is worth mentioning that Fahmi is the sixth Palestinian to be killed this month.

On January 17^th, a Palestinian man, identified as Faleh Mousa Jaradat, 39, was killed by Israeli soldiers at the Etzion Junction, south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank after the army claimed he attempted a stabbing attack against the soldiers.

Also on January 17^th, Sheikh Suleiman al-Hathalin, 75, died from serious wounds he suffered on January 5^th, 2022, after an Israeli tow truck ran him over in the Um al-Khair area of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.

On January 12^th, an elderly Palestinian American man, Omar Abul-Majid As’ad, 80, was killed by Israeli soldiers who invaded a village north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, before detaining and constantly assaulting him in an under-construction building.

On January 6^th, the soldiers killed Bakeer Mohammad Hashash, 21, near Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Also on January 6^th, Mustafa Yassin Falna, 25, was killed after being rammed by an Israeli vehicle while heading to his work in Jerusalem.

Fahmi was from Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Faleh Mousa Jaradat

January 17, 2022January 17, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

January 17, 2022: Faleh Mousa Jaradat, 39, was killed by Israeli soldiers at the Etzion Junction, south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank after the army claimed he attempted a stabbing attack against the soldiers.

It added that no soldiers were hurt in the reported incident and that the army initiated a search for the car that transported the man.

The Palestinian remained bleeding on the ground without medical attention until he succumbed to his wounds, eyewitnesses said.

Palestinian medics rushed to the area, but the soldiers did not allow them to even approach Jardatat.

The slain man was a married father of five children; the youngest is a newborn.

After his death, the soldiers summoned his brother, Mohammad, for interrogation at the Etzion military base and security center.

In a statement, the Israeli army claimed that the Palestinian arrived in a vehicle before stepping out and attempted to stab a soldier who opened fire at him.

On Monday morning, the Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed that an elderly man, identified as Suleiman al-Hathalin, 75, who was seriously injured after an Israeli tow truck ran him over in the Um al-Khair area of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron earlier this month, has succumbed to his injuries.

On January 12, Israeli soldiers killed an elderly man, identified as Omar Abul-Majid As’ad, 80, after detaining and constantly assaulting him in an under-construction building in Jaljulia village, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, before detaining and constantly assaulting.

Faleh was from Sa’ir town, northwest of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Suleiman al-Hathalin

January 17, 2022January 17, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

January 17, 2022: Suleiman al-Hathalin, 75, died from serious wounds he suffered on January 5^th, 2022, after an Israeli tow truck ran him over in the Um al-Khair area of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry stated that Suleiman remained in the Intensive Care Unit at the al-Mezan Hospital in Hebron city until he succumbed to the serious wounds he suffered on January 5^th, 2022.

Al-Hathalin, 75, a well-known activist from the Um al-Khair area was rammed with a military truck during nonviolent protests that took place after the soldiers invaded Masafer Yatta, causing him to suffer a critical skull fracture.

His injuries were extensive; to the head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis, medical sources at the al-Mezan hospital have confirmed.

Fouad al-Amour, the Coordinator of the Protection and Steadfastness Committees in Masafer Yatta, stated after the elderly man was rammed and seriously injured, that the army invaded the area, accompanying a tow truck, and seized several Palestinian-owned vehicles, leading to protests, and added that local Palestinians gathered in the area to stop the Israeli army from confiscating their privately-owned vehicles when the tow truck drove over Suleiman.

His family said it will be filing a suit against the Israeli police for the excessive use of force against him, especially since he was repeatedly assaulted and abducted by the soldiers and the police, in various previous attacks, despite his old age and frail body.

Suleiman was a prominent figure and has been part of ongoing protests, especially after Israel confiscated Palestinian lands in the 1980s, and built the illegal Carmiel colony.

After the colony was built on the stolen lands, the Palestinians were denied the right to build homes in the area, an issue that forced them to live in tin houses and tents that have been demolished more than fifteen times.

The Israeli army previously demolished Suleiman’s home, after alleging it was close to Carmiel colony which was built on stolen Palestinian lands.

Suleiman’s family was displaced from the Arad area in the Negev desert when Israel was established in the historic land of Palestine in the year 1948.

Video By WAFA

The family then moved to the area east of Yatta town, south of Hebron, and in the year 1965 they bought the land where they built and resided, however, Israel illegally annexed Palestinian lands, including part of Suleiman’s land, and built the illegal Karmiel colony in the year 1980, and has since been expanding it by further theft of land.

Suleiman was from Um al-Khair area of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Omar Abul-Majid As’ad

January 12, 2022January 27, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

January 12, 2022: Omar Abul-Majid As’ad, 80, was killed by Israeli soldiers who invaded a village north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, before detaining and assaulting him in an under-construction building.

An autopsy conducted by Israeli authorities confirmed that the 80-year old Palestinian-American retiree died of a heart attack brought on by “external violence” inflicted by the Israeli soldiers upon his body.

Specifically, “bruises on his head, redness on his wrists from being bound, and bleeding in his eyelids from being tightly blindfolded”, according to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz.

The Mayor of Jaljulia, Fuad Motea’, said the soldiers invaded the Jaljulia village, abducted Omar, and took him to an under-construction home where they brutally assaulted him before leaving him on the ground.

Although he had U.S citizenship, he could not risk leaving the West Bank to be with his children in the United States for fear of not being allowed back to Palestine.

Motea’ also added that the elderly man, who is also an American citizen, was detained by the soldiers in the al-Ein area in Jaljulia before, around 1:30 at dawn, before he was cuffed, blindfolded, and assaulted by the soldiers in the building.

He added that the slain elderly man was returning home after visiting with relatives when the soldiers stopped his car and forced him out before proceeding to assault him in the building.

He stated that Palestinian medics rushed to the scene, but were unable to resuscitate the man, before moving his corpse to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. The soldiers also abducted at least four Palestinians in the village.

His nephew, Mohammad, told Palestine TV that several army vehicles invaded the village after midnight, before the soldiers forced his uncle out of his car, and proceeded to cuff and blindfold him, and started dragging him on the ground before taking him to the under-construction building.

He added that after the soldiers repeatedly struck his uncle in the under-construction home, and after realizing that he was dead they just left him on the ground and left the area.

“He was an old man with respiratory issues; the soldiers had no reason to abduct him, let alone to cuff and blindfold him, and to take him to an under-construction home, where they constantly assaulted him, and then just left him there!” Mohammad said.

The Palestinians found his corpse approximately at 4 at dawn in the under-construction building, after the soldiers withdrew from the village.

During the invasion, the soldiers also detained several Palestinians after the army broke into homes and searched them.

As’ad is just one of the hundreds of Palestinian men that have lost their lives during middle-of-the-night raids by Israeli soldiers.

The fully armed soldiers routinely carry out operations under the cover of the dark to frighten and intimidate Palestinians – often children – and detain them.

As’ad was an American citizen; he lived most of his adult life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but returned to Palestine about ten years ago. His US passport is what made him worthy of notice by US media and the government.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price indicated that the U.S. government had reached out for “clarification” on the matter and that Israel had begun an investigation into As’ad’s death. Beyond condolences to the family of the deceased, there was no further action taken by the U.S. government.

Update: Thirteen days after he was killed by the soldiers, his name was among the names of Palestinians who received family reunification documents from Israel.

This is not the first time an American citizen has met with tragedy and injustice at the hands of the Israeli military. A number of others have been killed, seriously injured, or tortured. Some of the victims were activists, fighting for equal rights for Palestinians. Others were Palestinian-Americans. If Americans Knew reported on six of these cases; the Foreign Service Journal documented others.

These American victims had little success in holding Israel accountable – Palestinian victims have even less.

Also at dawn on the day Omar was killed, the soldiers abducted eighteen Palestinians and injured two, including a journalist, in several parts of the occupied West Bank.

Omar, a Palestinian who also holds U.S citizenship, was from Jaljulia village, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Source: IMEMC, IsraelPalestineNews

Mustafa Yassin Falna

January 6, 2022January 8, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

January 6, 2022: Mustafa Yassin Falna, 25, was killed after being rammed by an Israeli vehicle while heading to his work in Jerusalem.

The incident took place approximately at six in the morning, on Road #443 near Maccabim roadblock, west of Jerusalem.

The young man, a married father of an 18-month-old baby, was crossing the road while on his way to work when he was killed, his family said.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement that “This situation confirms not only the racism of the occupying state in dealing with the Palestinians but also the absolute disregard for their lives as if they have no value.”

It added, “We consider such incidents, which have become a phenomenon that is repeatedly occurring without any real investigation of follow-up by the occupation police or the army, as crimes, whether intentional and deliberate or by negligence and indifference shown by the occupying police, even if they are ordinary traffic accidents involving a Palestinian.”

On Thursday at dawn, the soldiers killed a Palestinian man, identified as, Bakeer Mohammad Hashash, 21, with live rounds near the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank.

On Wednesday, an elderly Palestinian activist, identified as Sheikh Suleiman al-Hathalin, 75, was critically injured after being run over by an Israeli military truck during nonviolent in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, in the southern West Bank.

The elderly Palestinian man suffered a very serious skull fracture and is in hospital in critical condition.

On December 24, 2021, a Palestinian woman, Ghadir Anis Masalma, 63, was killed by an Israeli colonialist settler who rammed her with his car and fled the scene, near the entrance of the town of Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank.

Mustafa was from Safa village, west of Ramallah, in the central part of the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Bakeer Mohammad Hashash

January 6, 2022January 6, 2022 contact@ifamericansknew.org

January 6, 2022: Bakeer Mohammad Hashash, 21, was killed by Israeli soldiers near Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Media sources said protests took place after many Israeli army vehicles invaded the area.

His cousin, Mohammad Hashash, said Bakeer recently exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers during an invasion into Nablus city, especially the eastern area near Joseph Tomb site, and since then, the army has been trying to abduct him.

He added that, approximately at 2:30 at dawn, the soldiers invaded the eastern area of Balata refugee camp, Balata town, and the al-Quds Street, and said that Mohammad exchanged fire with the soldiers for almost twenty minutes before he was shot and killed.

During the invasion, the soldiers invaded and searched several homes and abducted a young man, identified as Mohammad Salama from Balata al-Balad adjacent town.

After his death, hundreds of Palestinians marched in Nablus calling for ongoing resistance against the Israeli occupation.

His mother said that just before the soldiers invaded the area, he asked her to make him some coffee, and added that after he drank the coffee, he told her he wants to seek shelter at a Palestinian security center but was killed minutes later.

Israeli sources have confirmed that the slain man has been “wanted” by the army for a long time.

Bakeer was from the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, in northern West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Amir Atef Khader Rayyan

December 31, 2021December 31, 2021 contact@ifamericansknew.org

December 31, 2021: Amir Atef Khader Rayyan, 36, was killed by Israeli soldiers after he allegedly attempted to carry out a stabbing attack near the illegal Ariel colony, northwest of Salfit in the central occupied West Bank.

Israeli sources claimed that the young man “got out of a vehicle and ran towards a bus stop at the Giti Avishar junction with a knife in his hand,” in an alleged stabbing attempt.

Israeli media agency “Walla” claimed that “the soldiers in the area ordered the man to stop, and when he did not respond, he was shot with several live rounds in the abdomen”.

The Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA) reported that the seriously injured young man was pronounced dead one hour after being shot and added that Palestinian medical crews rushed to the area but were denied access to provide him treatment.

There were no reports of any injuries among Israeli colonists or soldiers.

The slain Palestinian man was a married father of several children. His brother, Mansour, is a former political prisoner who was exiled by Israel from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, several years ago.

Video By Hadi Sabarna

The Palestinian is the ninth to be killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, in December 2021.

On December 24, a Palestinian woman, identified as Ghadir Anis Masalma, 63, was killed by an Israeli colonialist settler who rammed her with his car and fled the scene, near the entrance of the town of Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank.

On December 22, Israeli soldiers killed Mohammad Issa Abbas, 26, in the al-Biereh city, near Ramallah.

On December 21, the soldiers killed Abdul-Aziz Hikmat Mousa, 22, at Dothan military roadblock, near Ya’bad town, southwest of Jenin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

On December 12, 2021, the soldiers killed Jamil Mohammad al-Kayyal, 31, in Nablus city in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

On December 10, 2021, the soldiers killed Jamil Abu Ayyash, 31, during the weekly protest against the illegal Israeli colonies in Beita town, southeast of Nablus.

On December 6, 2021, the soldiers killed Mohammad Nidal Younis, 15, at a military roadblock near Tulkarem, in the northern part of the West Bank, after the army claimed he intentionally rammed his car into the roadblock.

On December 04, 2021, the army killed Mohammad Shawkat Salima, 25, after he stabbed an Israeli settler in occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank. He was first shot and injured and was lying on the ground before the soldiers fired a second live round that killed him.

Video By Al-Jazeera – Palestine

In addition, one Israeli was, identified as Yehuda Dimantman, 20, was killed on December 16, 2021, by Palestinians who opened fire at his car, near the evacuated Homesh colonialist outpost, which was built on Palestinian lands north of Nablus.

Amir was from Qarawat Bani Hassan town, northwest of Salfit in the central West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Ghadir Anis Masalma

December 24, 2021December 24, 2021 contact@ifamericansknew.org

December 24, 2021: Ghadir Anis Masalma, 63, was killed by an Israeli colonialist settler who rammed her with his car and fled the scene, near the entrance of the town of Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank.

The Mayor of Sinjil, Hazem Tawafsha, stated that Ghadir was standing with her husband at the entrance to the town, near the settler-only bypass Road 60 when she was killed.

Five years ago, Ghadeer won her battle with cancer; “I am stronger than cancer,” she used to say according to family.

Her husband, Saleh Abu Hamada, 67, said the Israeli colonizers rammed his wife with the car and fled the scene.

“He didn’t stop, he didn’t slow down, he just rammed her with his car, and sped away,” her husband stated, “We were just heading back home.”

“She was always very socially active, loves to be around people and her family. Her heart was always loving and caring,” her niece, Zahra said, “She was a loving mother to everybody who knew her.

In related news, Israeli colonizers attacked and injured three Palestinians while working on their lands in the Wadi Qana area, in Deir Istiya town, west of Salfit in the central West Bank.

Many farmers, who were working on their lands in the area, rushed to the aid of the Palestinians and managed to force the colonizers away.

Ghadeer is the seventh Palestinian to be killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers this month alone.

On December 22, Israeli soldiers killed Mohammad Issa Abbas, 26, in the al-Biereh city, near Ramallah.

On December 21, the soldiers killed Abdul-Aziz Hikmat Mousa, 22, at Dothan military roadblock, near Ya’bad town, southwest of Jenin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

On December 12, 2021, the soldiers killed Jamil Mohammad al-Kayyal, 31, in Nablus city in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

On December 10, 2021, the soldiers killed Jamil Abu Ayyash, 31, during the weekly protest against the illegal Israeli colonies in Beita town, southeast of Nablus.

Ghadeer was Sinjil town, northeast of Ramallah, in central West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Issa Abbas

December 22, 2021December 22, 2021 contact@ifamericansknew.org

December 22, 2021: Mohammad Issa Abbas, 26, was killed by Israeli soldiers in the al-Biereh city, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

In a statement, the Israeli army claimed that its soldiers were looking for Palestinians who were spotted approaching the Psagot colony and fired a few live rounds.

It added that its soldiers then invaded the outskirts of al-Biereh city looking for Palestinians, before they came under fire from a passing vehicle, and fired at the car, wounding a young man.

The slain Palestinian was not the driver but was apparently on the passenger side of the vehicle; no soldiers were injured in the incident.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that Mohammad was shot in the back before he was rushed to Palestine Medical Complex where he succumbed to his serious wounds.

Israeli sources said “it is believed” that the slain Palestinian was the one who fired the shots at Psagot. However, the allegation cannot be verified and remains speculation on the part of the Israeli military.

The invasion into al-Biereh led to protests before the army fired many live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, and concussion grenades.

After Mohammad’s death, dozens of Palestinians marched to Palestine Medical Complex while chanting against the illegal Israeli occupation and its constant violations.

On Wednesday night, dozens of soldiers invaded the Sateh Marhaba area in al-Biereh city and initiated a comprehensive search campaign.

The young man is the sixth Palestinian to be killed by Israeli soldiers this month alone.

On December 21, the soldiers killed Abdul-Aziz Hikmat Mousa, 22, at Dothan military roadblock, near Ya’bad town, southwest of Jenin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

On December 12, 2021, the soldiers killed Jamil Mohammad al-Kayyal, 31, in Nablus city in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

On December 10, 2021, the soldiers killed Jamil Abu Ayyash, 31, during the weekly protest against the illegal Israeli colonies in Beita town, southeast of Nablus.

Mohammad was from the al-Am’ari refugee camp, south of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Source: IMEMC