West Bank (Israeli) Archives - Page 5 of 10

Amit Ben Ygal

May 12, 2020June 7, 2020 contact@ifamericansknew.org

May 12, 2020: Amit Ben Ygal, 21, was killed during a pre-dawn invasion of the northern West Bank by Palestinians who dropped a large stone from a rooftop on his head while he was in the street.

According to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, Ygal was among a battalion of soldiers with the Golani Brigade who invaded the village of Ya’bad, southwest of the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank, around 4:00 in the morning on Tuesday.

Many villagers were awake at the time, to eat their pre-dawn meal and prepare for the day of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. So the soldiers, who often engage in pre-dawn raids but usually do so while residents are sleeping, instead were met by angry youth who demanded that they leave their town.

The Israeli military reported that the Golani Brigade was invading the village in order to abduct two Palestinians that they suspected of ‘terrorism’, and another two who were suspected of having thrown stones at soldiers during previous invasions.

Following the initial invasion, dozens of soldiers and armored vehicles stormed the town, and initiated very violent and extensive searches of homes and buildings, and abducted at least eighteen Palestinians, including a father and his three children.The person who dropped the stone on the soldier has not been identified, but Israeli troops have issued a complete lockdown order on the village and are searching house-by-house, interrogating the residents and preventing them from leaving their homes.

Media sources in Jenin said the soldiers abducted Mohammad Atiyya Abu Bakr along with his brothers Thabet, Bassel and Ra’fat, in addition to Ribhi Mohammad Abu Bakr, along with his wife, his daughter Eman, 15, and his sons Mohammad and Khaled.

The soldiers also abducted Anas Kamer Abu Shamla and his brother Yazan, in addition to assaulting and wounding their brother, Mohammad.

The soldiers also shot two young men with rubber-coated steel bullets and caused dozens to suffer the severe effects of teargas inhalation.

The soldiers also stormed and ransacked many homes, including the properties of Bassem Lufti Abu Bakr, Sa’ed Omar Abu Bakr, Atiyya Younis Asfour, in addition to his brothers Nathmi and Ribhi, and interrogated them for several hours.

Furthermore, the soldiers also occupied the rooftops of many homes, especially in the as-Salma neighborhood, while more soldiers were deployed in the town’s streets and around it, completely isolating it.

Amit was from Ramat Gan, in central Israel. Source: IMEMC

Rina Shnerb

August 23, 2019September 5, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

August 23, 2019: Rina Shnerb, 17, from Lod, was killed, while her brother Dvir, 19, suffered serious wounds, and her father Eitan, 46, was mildly injured, when an improvised explosive went off near them while they were hiking near a spring northwest of Ramallah, in the central part of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli sources have reported that Rina was killed, while her brother and father were injured, when a bomb went off near them while hiking near the illegal Dolev colony, in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli army said the bomb was placed by Palestinians and initiated a massive search campaign in the area.

The three Israelis were moved to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem; the condition of her brother was described as serious but stable, and he was placed in the Intensive Care Unit for monitoring.

The area where the explosion took place, filled with olive groves, is a destination for many Israeli hikers in the occupied West Bank, and the Palestinians are largely denied access to the land, despite having proof of ownership of the land.

Following the incident, the Israeli army closed the area around Deir Ibzi’ village, west of Ramallah.

The soldiers also closed all main roads leading to Palestinian villages west of Ramallah, while more troops were deployed on roads leading to Ramallah and al-Biereh governorate.

The closures and extensive military deployments were focused in Wad ad-Dalb area, west of Ramallah, Kafr Ni’ma village, Ein Ayyoub Junction and Ras Karkar village, where the soldiers stormed and ransacked dozens of homes and stores, and detained a Palestinian photojournalist, identified as Hisham Abu Shaqra.

In addition, the army closed the roads linking between Sarda village and al-Irsal Street, in addition to Ein Siniya junction, at the northern entrance of Ramallah, before stopping and searching dozens of Palestinian cars.

The army also invaded Betunia town, west of Ramallah, especially the area of its main roundabout in the town’s center, and prevented Palestinians from entering or leaving it.

In addition, dozens of illegal Israeli colonists closed the main roads linking between Huwwara town, south of Nablus in northern West Bank, and several other surrounding areas, and began throwing stones at Palestinian cars.

The colonists mainly gathered on Yitzhar road, where they attacked many Palestinian cars, while Israeli soldiers did not try to stop them.

Rina was from Lod, in western Israel. Source: IMEMC

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.

Ahiad Ettinger

March 19, 2019March 21, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

March 19, 2019: Rabbi Ahiad Ettinger, 47, was killed in a shooting near the settlement of Ariel in Salfit, in the northern West Bank.

Two Israelis were killed in the attack – one a soldier, the other Rabbie Ettinger, and two other Israelis were wounded.

The soldier who was killed was Lt. Gal Keidan, 19.

The location of the attack is just north of Salfit village, where, four days earlier, invading Israeli forces killed 23-year old Mohammad Jamil Shahin and wounded 40 other Palestinians.

According to Israeli media sources, an unknown Palestinian allegedly arrived at the Ariel Junction checkpoint and stabbed an Israeli soldier, killing him. The assailant then allegedly picked up the soldier’s gun and shot another soldier at the checkpoint.

Israeli sources state that the Palestinian assailant then began firing at Israeli vehicles driving by on the Israeli-only road in front of the settlement.

The assailant then allegedly stole a car of an Israeli settler and drove off carrying the soldier’s gun, arriving a couple minutes later to the Gitai Junction checkpoint.

He then allegedly abandoned the car and fled on foot toward the nearby Palestinian village of Burkin.

According to a report by the Israeli Ynetnews, Rabbi Ettinger was in a car and initially drove past the scene. He then turned his car around and drew his weapon, and was about to fire at the suspect when he was shot in the head. He remained in critical condition until his death two days later on March 19th.

Ettinger was a father of twelve, including one who is currently serving in the Israeli military. Rabbi Ettinger was head of the Oz V’emuna Hesder Yeshiva in southern Tel Aviv.

Following the attack, Israeli forces immediately sealed the area and launched a massive invasion of Burkin, Salfit and other area villages, preventing thousands of Palestinians from leaving their homes, go to work, or conduct their daily lives as the military invasion is in progress.

According to the Yeshiva World newspaper, the Israeli military is using a protocol they call “Pressure Cooker”, which involves Israeli army “payloaders, large armored vehicles, elite forces, the Oketz K9 unit, drones, and a chopper hovering overhead”. The protocol also authorizes the demolition of a building on the assailant, if the Israeli army decides that he is inside.

The Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated that he was sure that the Israeli military would find those responsible for the attack and “bring them to justice as we have in all previous cases.”

Ahiad’s death marks the third Israeli to be killed by a Palestinian in 2019. During that same time period, 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers, including 8 children.

Ahiad was from the illegal West Bank settlement of Eli, constructed on stolen Palestinian land between the cities of Nablus and Ramallah in the central part of the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Lt. Gal Keidan

March 17, 2019March 21, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

March 17, 2019: Lt. Gal Keidan, 19, was killed and two Israelis were wounded at an entrance to Ariel, the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The attack was allegedly carried out by a Palestinian who fled the scene.

The location of the attack is just north of Salfit village, where, four days earlier, invading Israeli forces killed 23-year old Mohammad Jamil Shahin and wounded 40 other Palestinians.

Israeli sources state that the Palestinian assailant then began firing at Israeli vehicles driving by on the Israeli-only road in front of the settlement.

The assailant then allegedly stole a car of an Israeli settler and drove off carrying the soldier’s gun, arriving a couple minutes later to the Gitai Junction checkpoint.

He then allegedly abandoned the car and fled on foot toward the nearby Palestinian village of Burkin.

One of the two wounded Israelis is in critical condition at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, where both wounded Israelis were taken.

The two wounded Israelis have not been identified, but Israeli medical sources have said that one is a 20-year old male, and the other is a 35-year old male.

This marks the second Israeli to be killed by a Palestinian in 2019. During that same time period, 26 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers, including 8 children.

Gal was from Beer Sheba in southern Israel. Source: IMEMC

Sgt. Yosef Cohen

December 13, 2018August 10, 2019 contact@ifamericansknew.org

December 13, 2018: Sgt. Yosef Cohen, 20, was shot and killed by a Palestinian gunman in a shooting attack close to the illegal colony of Ofra, near Ramallah, in central West Bank.

He and another Israeli soldier were killed, and two Israeli settlers were wounded in the attack.

The shooting took place at the hitchhiking section of Givat Assag, in the Benyamin Regional Council of Settlements, between Beit El and Ofra, illegal colonies.

Israeli sources said Magen David Adom national emergency medics rushed to the scene, and provided treatment to the two wounded soldiers.

One of the soldiers, who suffered a severe gunshot wound to the head, was rushed to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital, and a woman was taken to Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center, in occupied Jerusalem, suffering serious wounds.

The army said, according to its initial investigation, the shooter got out of a vehicle, before approaching the hitchhiking station, and opened fire at the people waiting there, then ran back to the car, where another man was behind the wheel, and both managed to escape unharmed.

The two wounded settlers are in their twenties.

Following the incident, dozens of colonialist Israeli settlers invaded the eastern area of ‘Asira al-Qibliya village, south of Nablus, before the Palestinians intercepted them, leading to confrontations.

The Israeli army also closed the Qalqilia-Nablus road, and installed dozens of roadblocks around Nablus, before stopping and searching hundreds of cars, and imposed a tight siege on Ramallah governorate.

In addition, the soldiers closed Huwwara military roadblock, south of Nablus, and prevented the Palestinians from crossing, while groups of colonialist settlers hurled stones at many Palestinian cars.

It is worth mentioning that, at 1 am on Thursday, a squadron of soldiers and police officers invaded Nablus, surrounded the house where a Palestinian suspected of killing two Israeli settlers a month earlier, was believed to be hiding, and shot and killed the man, who was identified as Ashraf Waleed Suleiman Na’alwa, 23.

On Thursday at dawn, the soldiers killed a Palestinian, identified as Majd Mteir, 26, in the al-Waad Street, in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, after he reportedly stabbed and injured two Israeli police officers.

On Wednesday evening, undercover Israeli soldiers assassinated a Palestinian Taxi driver, identified as Saleh Omar Saleh Barghouthi, 29, near Surda village, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah; the army claimed the Palestinian was allegedly “involved” in the shooting targeting colonialist settlers, the previous Sunday.

Yosef was originally from Beit Shemesh. Source: IMEMC

Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef

December 13, 2018December 14, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

December 13, 2018: Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef, 20, was shot and killed by a Palestinian gunman in a shooting attack close to the illegal colony of Ofra, near Ramallah, in central West Bank.

He and another Israeli soldier were killed, and two Israeli settlers were wounded in the attack.

The shooting took place at the hitchhiking section of Givat Assag, in the Benyamin Regional Council of Settlements, between Beit El and Ofra, illegal colonies.

Israeli sources said Magen David Adom national emergency medics rushed to the scene, and provided treatment to the two wounded soldiers.

Yovel served in the Netzah Yehuda Battalion in the Kfir Brigade.

The two wounded settlers are in their twenties.

Yovel was originally from Ashkelon. Source: IMEMC

Ziv Hagbi

October 7, 2018October 9, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

October 7, 2018: Ziv Hagbi, 35, an Israeli settler living in contravention of international law in the West Bank, was shot and killed by a Palestinian assailant in the Industrial Area of Barkan colony, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli sources confirmed that two Israelis were killed in the shooting. In addition to Ziv, Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 28, was also killed.

The sources added that the Israeli Shabak and the army launched a massive manhunt to find the shooter, identified as Ashraf Waleed Suleiman Na’alwa, 23, from Shweika village, near Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank.

The army invaded Shweika and stormed Ashraf’s family home, before violently searching it, interrogating the family, and taking measurements of their property in preparation for demolishing it as an act of collective punishment.

In the pre-dawn hours the following morning, with Ashraf still at-large, dozens of Israeli soldiers attacked his family home and abducted his mother and two sisters.

“According to Palestinian sources, neither the brother, arrested Sunday, nor the sister have any information related to the attack, but the arrests serve to pressure the assailant to reveal himself,” the Israeli paper Haaretz reported.

Meanwhile hundreds of Palestinians were prevented from entering the Barkan Industrial Zone, the site of Sunday’s shooting attack, located near Ariel settlement, as they arrived for work on Monday.

The soldiers conducted extensive searches of many homes and lands in the area, and abducted a number of Palestinians for questioning in relation to the shooting.

Israeli sources reported that the search to locate and arrest Ashraf was carried out with the assistance and full cooperation of the Palestinian Security Forces.

It quoted an unnamed Palestinian security official telling its reporter that the Israeli army believed that the shooter will likely surrender to the Palestinian security forces rather than the military, to avoid being shot dead by the Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli army, police and security forces, and Israeli political leaders stated that the fatal shooting attack “carried nationalistic motives”. Despite the fact that the Palestinian was recently fired from the factory where he carried out the deadly shooting, they “ruled out [the idea that] the shooting was motivated by this fact.”

Initially, the Israeli army and security establishment said the shooting attack was criminally motivated, but later changed their statement to say that the motivation was political.

Israeli Ynet News said the suspect worked at the Industrial Area for seven months, and carried a permit which was set to expire the following month. The area where the factory is located is in Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli control.

He reportedly entered the factory carrying a M-16 assault rifle, before shooting and seriously wounding a man and a man, who later succumbed to their wounds, in addition to moderately wounding another woman, 54 years old.

The army said the shooter apparently carried the attack out on his own, as he is not a member of any armed Palestinian group.

Ziv was from Rishon LeZion settlement, a Jewish-only settlement constructed on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Kim Levengrond Yehezkel

October 7, 2018October 9, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

October 7, 2018: Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 28, an Israeli settler living in contravention of international law in the West Bank, was shot and killed by a Palestinian assailant in the Industrial Area of Barkan colony, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli sources confirmed that two Israelis were killed in the shooting. In addition to Kim, Ziv Hagbi, 35, from Rishon LeZion was also killed.

In the pre-dawn hours the following morning, without having found Ashraf, dozens of Israeli soldiers attacked his family home and abducted his mother and two sisters.

Meanwhile hundreds of Palestinians were prevented from entering the Barkan Industrial Zone, the site of Sunday’s shooting attack, located near Ariel settlement, as they arrived for work on Monday.

The soldiers conducted extensive searches of many homes and lands in the area, and abducted a number of Palestinians for questioning in relation to the shooting.

Israeli sources reported that the search to locate and arrest Ashraf was carried out with the assistance and full cooperation of the Palestinian Security Forces.

Initially, the Israeli army and security establishment said the shooting attack was criminally motivated, but later changed their statement to say that the motivation was political.

The army said the shooter apparently carried the attack out on his own, as he is not a member of any armed Palestinian group.

Kim was from Rosh HaAyin settlement, a Jewish-only settlement constructed on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Ari Fuld

September 16, 2018September 17, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

September 16, 2018: Ari Fuld, 40, died of wounds sustained earlier the same day when he was stabbed at the entrance of a mall near Gush Etzion colony, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.

Ari died from serious wounds to his upper body at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, in occupied Jerusalem.

He was a paramilitary militia member from Efrat illegal colony, near Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. He had traveled to Israel from the U.S. in order to join the paramilitary colony several years prior.

The Palestinian,who reportedly stabbed and wounded the settler has been identified as Khalil Jabarin, 17, from Yatta town, south of Hebron. The Israeli National News, Arutz Sheva, said the wounded settler shot the Palestinian, who was also shot by a security guard and another settler.

Israeli daily Haaretz said that, according to a source close to Jabarin’s family, the teen told his parents about his intention to carry out an attack in the Ibrahimi Mosque area in Hebron city.

Haaretz added that the “family informed the security forces, but they were unable to find him in that area.”

Israeli Ynet News quoted Dr. Alon Schwartz, the head of Shaare Zedek Trauma Units, stating that the man “arrived at the hospital with a stab wound in his chest on the right side of his back, without a pulse.”The right-wing Israeli National News Agency quoted Lior Shurka, a friend of Ari, telling Tazpit Press Serve, an international Israeli news agency, that Ari “was active in explaining and defending Israel’s name,” adding that he was close to launching a Hasbara website in English, “defending Israel’s reputation.”

Shurka added that resuscitation efforts were carried out for fifty minutes, but the man died from his severe wounds, and his family was informed.

On Saturday, September 15, 2018, a Palestinian child, Soheib Abdul-Salam Abu Kashef, 16, died from serious wounds he suffered of August 3rd after Israeli soldiers shot him in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

On the day of his serious injury, the Health Ministry said the soldiers engaged in the excessive use of force against the nonviolent “Great Return March” in Gaza, on its nineteenth consecutive week, killing a young man, identified as Ahmad Yahia Atallah Yaghi, 25, and wounding 220 Palestinians, including 90 who were shot with live fire.

On Friday, September 14, 2018, the Israeli army killed three civilians, including a child, and Injured 148, Including 19 children, five women and five paramedics, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) has reported.

On the morning after the stabbing took place, dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded the home of Khalil Yousef al-Jabarin, the Palestinian who allegedly carried out the stabbing, and took measurements of the property in preparation for demolishing it, Maan News Agency has reported.

Maan stated that the soldiers surrounded and invaded Yatta town, south of Hebron, before storming the family home of the seventeen year old, and ransacking the property, causing excessive damage.

The soldiers, from the Combat Engineering Corps, took measurements of the property to prepare for demolishing it, as part of Israel’s illegal collective punishment policies targeting families of Palestinians who carried out, or are accused of carrying out attacks, against Israelis.

Ari was from Efrat settlement, located on illegally-seized Palestinian land near Bethlehem, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC