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

Dvir Sorek

August 8, 2019August 8, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

August 8, 2019: Dvir Sorek, 19, an off-duty Israeli soldier, was found stabbed to death on the side of the road near the Palestinian village of Beit Fajjar.

Israeli authorities announced Thursday morning that they had found Dvir’s body on the side of a road in the south-central part of the West Bank, and believe he was the victim of an attack.

The perpetrators of the attack remain unknown, although Israeli authorities say they assume the attackers were Palestinian.

The nearest Palestinian village to the location where the body was found is Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem. Israeli forces stormed the village and put a complete closure on the area.

Dvir was a settler living illegally on stolen Palestinian land in the settlement of Ofra.

He was a student of the Jewish religion at a yeshiva (religious Jewish college) in the settlement where he lived. He was also an active duty Israeli soldier.

According to Israeli sources, Dvir had gone to Jerusalem to shop, but did not return home. His family reported him missing Wednesday night, and police began a search, finding his body about 2:30 am Thursday morning.

The Israeli military say their theory is that Sorek was pulled into a vehicle and killed, then dumped on the side of the road, and they presume that this was done by Palestinians.

An Israeli military spokesperson told the Israeli paper Ha’aretz that the military is “beginning to carry out steps on the working assumption that there is a terrorist cell in the area that carried out the attack.”

The Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated that the military is “in pursuit now in order to capture the despicable terrorist and bring him to justice.”

The military has closed off nearby Palestinian villages and invaded them, issuing an order for Palestinians to remain in their homes.

This comes on the eve of the major Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, when many Palestinian families were planning to visit family in different parts of the West Bank. The curfews and closures have forced the families to remain indoors, and are a type of collective punishment on the Palestinian population in the area.

Hani Abu Salah

August 1, 2019August 1, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

August 1, 2019: Hani Abu Salah, 20, was shot dead before dawn on Thursday by Israeli troops after he allegedly crossed the border between Gaza and Israel. Israeli forces claim that the young man exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers for an hour before they killed him.

The Palestinian was later identified as Hani Abu Salah. According to a statement issued by the Israeli army, the young man came across the border and clashed with the soldiers.

It is worth mentioning that Hani is the brother of Fadi Abu Salah, 20, who was killed by the Israeli army during on May 14, 2018. He was a wheelchair user who lost both of his legs during the Israeli war on Gaza in 2008.

According to the military, one officer sustained a moderate injury, and two other soldiers were slightly injured, and were transferred to the “Soroka” Hospital in Beer Sheva.

The Israeli army also announced that in the aftermath of this killing, they decided to begin firing tank shells toward the Palestinian city of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, which led to exchanges of fire with Palestinian fighters in which no injuries were reported.

Eyewitnesses in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation army fired two shells and light bombs at the border area east of Khuza’a town in Khan Younis after hearing the sound of gunfire. Others also spoke of Israeli planes flying in the area .

Since weekly protests began on the Gaza-Israel border in 2018, at least 297 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces — most of them unarmed civilians participating in non-violent protests at the border. Seven Israelis have been killed by Palestinians during that same time period.

The protests have called for an end to the 12-year long siege of the Gaza Strip, and a return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes in what is now Israel.

Hani was from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Ahmad Mohammad al-Qarra

July 26, 2019July 27, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 26, 2019: Ahmad Mohammad al-Qarra, 22, died from serious wounds he suffered in earlier that day when Israeli soldiers shot him during the Great Return March processions.

The Health Ministry said the young man, identified as Ahmad Mohammad al-Qarra, 22, was shot with a live round in his abdomen, suffering serious wounds, and died at a hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza Strip.

It added that the Palestinian was shot east of Khan Younis and was treated by the medics who rushed him to the hospital but succumbed to his serious wounds.

It is worth mentioning that the soldiers injured during Friday’s processions 71 Palestinians, including 30 children, one medic and three women, after the army attacked the Great Return March processions in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said.

The PCHR referred to a report published last Tuesday by the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Aharonot, in which is said that the army has, in recent months, been training the soldiers on a new type of a sniper rifle, which indicates that the military is using the Palestinians as target practice for its weapons, in direct violation of all international laws and regulations, including human rights treaties and International Humanitarian Law.

According to extensive and ongoing PCHR documentation, the Israeli army has killed 207 Palestinians, including 44 children, two women, 9 persons with special needs, four medics and two journalists, in addition to wounding 13323 Palestinians, including 2742 children, 409 women, 221 medics and 207 journalists, since the Great Return March processions started on March 30 2018.

196 of the wounded Palestinians. Including 28 children and 5 women, suffered permanent disabilities. 149 of them suffered amputations as a result of Israeli gunfire, 21 suffered paralysis, 26 lost their hearing or vision, and 9 suffered permanent damage to reproductive organs.

Ahmad was from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Nassar Majed Taqatqa

July 16, 2019April 22, 2020 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 16, 2019: Nassar Majed Taqatqa, 31, died after having been tortured in an Israeli prison and then placed in solitary confinement in Nitzan Israeli Prison.

The Palestinian Prisoner Society reported that the autopsy revealed that Nassar died due to extreme torture and abuse by Israeli interrogators and soldiers.

In its report, the PPS stated that the detainee was constantly tortured during interrogation in Majeddo Israeli prison.

The PPS said the detainee, Nassar Majed Taqatqa, 31, was t abducted on June 19^th, 2019, after the soldiers invaded his home in Beit Fajjar town, and was transferred to the al-Maskobiyya interrogation facility in occupied Jerusalem. This was his first time in Israeli custody.

The detainee was later transferred to the al-Jalama interrogation facility, where he was interrogated and tortured again, and started suffering from serious complications due to physical and psychological abuse.

In addition, sworn testimonies provided by Palestinian detainees who saw Taqatqa, said that he was forced into solitary confinement in Majeddo prison, where he was once again tortured and restrained in a bed.

On July 11^th, the administration in Majeddo refused to remove him from solitary confinement, and place him with other detainees, under the pretext of him being punished.

On July 14^th, he was moved to an Israeli hospital in al-Ramla due to serious deterioration in his health, and on July 16^th, Israel announced his death in a solitary confinement cell in Nitzan (al-Ramla) prison.

Qaddoura Fares, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) said the detainee is not the first to be tortured, especially to death, and added that most imprisoned Palestinians are tortured and subjected to very difficult conditions, in addition to being deprived the right to proper medical attention, in direct violation of International Law, and all related agreements and treaties.

It also denied allegations by the Israel Prison Authority about his death and confirmed that the Palestinian did not have any preexisting health conditions.

The PPS held Israel fully responsible for his death, especially while under interrogation, as Palestinian detainees are frequently physically and psychologically tortured, in addition to the very bad living conditions they face, and the lack of medical treatment.

The PPS stated that the death of Taqatqa brings the number of detainees, who were killed or died in Israeli prisons since 1967, to 220.

The International Red Cross sent its condolences to the family and stated that although it does not take part in investigation committees or autopsy, it will be following the case closely with the Israeli authorities and the family.

It added that it is following the detainee’s death with great concern and advised refraining from publishing sensitive information for the privacy of the family.

In a statement, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) called for an immediate and impartial investigation into Taqatqa’s death while in solitary confinement in Nitzan (al-Ramla) Prison.

It quoted his family stating that the detainee did not have any health issues and was a completely healthy young man when he was taken prisoner.

The PCHR said:

According to human rights organizations’ reports followed up by PCHR’s field workers, Israeli forces arrested Taqatqa on 19 June 2019 after raiding his house in Beit Fajjar and taking him to al-Jalamah Center for investigation.

On 09 July 2019, the Israeli forces again raided and searched his family house while he was in prison. Two weeks after his arrest, the Israeli authorities sent Taqatqa to solitary confinement in “Nitzan” Prison (al-Ramla) in Israel to continue investigating with him.

Lawyer Raji Sourani, PCHR’s Director, commented on that by saying, “Israel has a record of prior incidents which prove Israeli security services’ involvement in torture, inhuman treatment, and deliberate medical negligence against dozens of prisoners as part of an Israeli systematic policy and under legal cover. Taqatqa, as said, did not have any health issues prior to his arrest, so his death during investigation raises suspicions, which urge opening an investigation into possible occurrence of torture and medical negligence.”

Taqatqa’s family said that this was his first arrest, and they knew about his death via media. Thus, they contacted the lawyer of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Committee to confirm this news.

PCHR emphasizes that living conditions of around 5800 Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails continue to deteriorate; 700 of them who suffer chronic diseases and do not receive the adequate healthcare. PCHR also holds the Israeli government fully responsible for the death of Taqatqa and calls for a prompt and impartial investigation into the death circumstances.

Nassar was from Beit Fajjar town, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Source: IMEMC

Tariq Zebania

July 15, 2019July 16, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 15, 2019: Tariq Zebania, 7, was struck and killed by an Israeli settler vehicle while he was riding his bicycle near his village in the southern part of the West Bank, near Hebron.

Tariq was riding his bicycle by the settlement road near his town. He was struck by a car driven by an Israeli settler who headed into the ‘Adhoura’ settlement after hitting the boy.

Eyewitnesses called the Israeli security forces, who sent a military ambulance to transport the child to an Israeli hospital, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries.

Local sources report that no efforts were made by the Israeli authorities to apprehend the driver who killed the boy.

Tariq was from Tarqumia, west of Hebron. Source: IMEMC

Mahmoud Ahmad al-Adham

July 11, 2019July 11, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 11, 2019: Mahmoud Ahmad al-Adham, 28, was killed by Israeli soldiers east of Beit Hanoun, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud was a member of Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and was shot while trying to prevent protesters from approaching the perimeter fence.

The Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed that the soldiers shot and seriously injured Mahmoud Ahmad al-Adham, 28, on Thursday morning, east of Beit Hanoun, and added that the young man succumbed to his injuries on Thursday evening.

He was one of many “Field Control” officers, stationed near the perimeter fence to prevent Palestinian protesters from approaching the perimeter fence with Israel as part of an agreement meant to avoid escalation.

It is worth mentioning that the soldiers also fired several live rounds at the field control post east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Al-Qassam Brigades issued a statement accusing Israel of deliberately killing the Palestinian, and said that “it is evaluating the situation, and its response to the grave Israeli violation.”

His death comes after a period of relative calm along the perimeter fence, especially after the indirect “ceasefire understandings” between Hamas and Israel, to avoid tension along the fence.

He was one of the dozens of officers, and fighters, tasked with preventing any Palestinian from reaching the perimeter fence or attempting to cross it.

In a statement, the Israeli army admitted it shot and killed the fighter, after claiming that the incident was a “mistake stemming from a misunderstanding,” and added that “it will investigate it.”

As part of these understandings, Israel increased the fishing zone in the coastal region to fifteen nautical miles, a move that was described by Israeli officials as aiming at “preventing humanitarian deterioration,” in the already besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip.

Mahmoud was from Beit Hanoun, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Rifqa Jamil

July 7, 2019July 9, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 7, 2019: Rifqa Jamil, 89, died of an injury sustained two months prior when Palestinian resistance fighters fired shells into her area. She fell while running to a bomb shelter, and injured her back.

Since that time, Israeli medical sources report that her condition severely deteriorated, and she died on July 7th. According to a statement from the hospital, “During her hospitalization at Barzilai Medical Center, other problems relating to her health arose which, as a result of her condition gradually deteriorated”.

Jamil was a resident of Ashkelon, a city on the coast of southern Israel which was once home to tens of thousands of Palestinian families who are now refugees in the walled-in Gaza Strip.

She was also the widow of an Israeli soldier, who was killed during the 1973 War against Palestinians and Arab states.

Her injury was sustained during the escalation two months ago, in which Israeli forces killed dozens of Palestinians through airstrikes and mortar shells, and Palestinian resistance fighters responded by firing shells into Israel, killing three Israeli civilians.

Rifqa was from Ashkelon, in southern Israel. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Samir Obeid

June 27, 2019June 28, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

June 27, 2019: Mohammad Samir Obeid, 21, was killed during a protest in Jerusalem when Israeli soldiers shot him with several bullets, including a live round in the heart.

Israeli soldiers and the police invaded, on Thursday evening, the al-‘Isawiya town, north of occupied East Jerusalem, killed a young Palestinian man, and injured many other residents, in addition to imposing a strict siege on the town.

Media sources said the soldiers invaded Obeid neighborhood in the town, and attacked many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards, in addition to searching homes and shops.

They added that the soldiers fired many live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs and concussion grenades at Palestinian youngsters protesting the invasion.

Local nonviolent activist, Yousef Obeid, said the soldiers killed Mohammad Samir Obeid, a former political prisoner.

He added that the soldiers also injured four other Palestinians, causing mild-to-moderate wounds.

After killing the young man, the soldiers took his body away, and assaulted several Palestinians with clubs and batons.

Furthermore, the soldiers imposed a strict siege on the town, and prevented the residents, including ambulances, from entering or leaving it.

An eyewitness, who was standing next to the slain Palestinian, said the soldiers shot him with three live rounds from a close range, including the fatal round in the heart, and one that struck him in his leg, and added that the shooting had no cause or justification, especially since it was carried out an hour after the nonviolent protest ended.

His statements, alongside other witnesses, contradict allegations by the police that the slain young man “lit firecrackers in the direction of the police,’” allegedly “endangering their lives.”

It is worth mentioning that the invasion, and the killing of the young man, took place after the army attacked the nonviolent procession held by the locals against the daily invasions and violent searches of homes and property, carried out by the Israeli military and the police.

The killing of the young man also led to protests in the neighborhoods and towns of Wadi al-Jouz, at-Tour, al-‘Isawiya, Shu’fat, Shu’fat refugee camp and Abu Dis.

Mohammad was taken to Hadassah Israeli Medical Center in Jerusalem, where his death was confirmed by the surgeons and physicians, including a Palestinian surgeon, who is also from al-‘Isawiya.

An eyewitness, who was also injured after the soldiers attacked him, and went to Hadassah, said the young man was shot by a police officer, wearing an armored suit and a helmet, and used a pistol in shooting and killing Mohammad Obeid.

The eyewitness added that the soldiers and the police, who also went to the urgent care unit in the hospital, prevented the family and friends of the slain Palestinian from entering it, before assaulting many Palestinians, including his family, causing serious lacerations.

The slain young Palestinian man is a former political prisoner, who was released just a year ago, after spending twenty months in prison.

He was also abducted and imprisoned several times since he was a young teen, spending more than four years in prison.

It is worth mentioning that, on March 25 2016, Israeli soldiers abducted his sister, Sondos Obeid, 16, after alleging she carried a knife; she was sentenced to five months and a fine.

Their father is a former political prisoner, who was abducted and detained several times, including being held under Administrative Detention orders, without charges or trial.

The nonviolent protests in al-‘Isawiya have been ongoing for more than three weeks, as the police and the army continue to invaded homes and stores, in addition to imposing high fines on the Palestinians, and the frequent abduction and imprisonment of many locals.

These protests are held by the local Palestinian residents of the town, in addition to Israeli peace activists.

Videos By Silwanic (The Wadi Hilweh Information Center In Silwan)

Mohammad was from al-‘Isawiya town, north of occupied East Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Mousa Abu Mayyala

June 19, 2019June 19, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

June 19, 2019: Mousa Abu Mayyala, 60, died from serious wounds he suffered two weeks ago, when several undercover Israeli soldiers repeatedly assaulted and struck him, in Shu’fat refugee camp, in occupied East Jerusalem.

Mousa was assaulted by the undercover soldiers while standing in front of his home in the refugee camp.

He suffered various serious injuries, including fractures in his ribs, due to the violent assault against him, before he was rushed to a hospital in occupied Jerusalem.

Various Palestinian human rights groups, and national factions, strongly condemned the fatal attack against Abu Mayyala, and denounced the seriously escalating Israeli violations against the Palestinian people, including children and the elderly.

Mousa was from Shu’fat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Sobhi al-Jodeili

June 10, 2019June 14, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

June 10, 2019: Mohammad Sobhi al-Jodeili, 36, a medic, died from serious wounds he suffered, on May 3, 2019, when Israeli soldiers shot him with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the face in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has confirmed that the medic, from the al-Boreij refugee camp in central Gaza, suffered fractures in his nose, face and skull.

The soldiers shot him in Abu Safiyya area, in Jabalia, in the northern part of the coastal region, while he was providing medical care to wounded Palestinians during the Great Return March processions.

He received treatment at one of the make-shift hospitals before he was moved to a medical center in Gaza, and later was moved to the al-Ahli hospital in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, due to the seriousness of his wounds.

Mohammad was from the al-Boreij refugee camp in central Gaza. Source: IMEMC