Hadeel ‘Awwad

Hadeel_Awwad


November 23, 2015: 
Hadeel Wajeeh ‘Awwad, 16, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers after attempting to stab Israelis. Her 14-year-old friend was seriously injured by the soldiers. A surveillance video showed an Israeli guard firing the fatal shot after Hadeel was already shot and wounded. She was from Qalandia, north of Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Alaa Khalil Hashah

Alaa_HashashNovember 23, 2015: Alaa Khalil Sabah Hashash, 16, was shot to death by Israeli soldiers, near Nablus, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army claimed that Alaa approached Huwwara roadblock while carrying a knife and allegedly attempted to stab a soldier.

A Palestinian woman identified as Samah Abd al-Mumen Ahmad from Ammuriya village was shot in the head in the crossfire, witnesses said.

A bus driver, Adham al-Sharfa, stated: “I saw what happened with my own eyes as Israeli soldiers opened fire at a youth for attempting to stab an Israeli soldier and then several Israeli soldiers arrived and shot the youth more than 10 times and he fell to the ground.”

Palestinian security sources said Samah was shot in the head while sitting inside her car near where the incident occurred. Her injuries were reported as critical. No Israelis were reported injured during the incident.

Alaa was from the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. Source: IMEMC

Ashraqat Qatanany

Ashraqat_Qatanani

November 22, 2015:  Ashraqat Taha Qatanany, 16, was killed when an Israeli settlement leader rammed her with his car, claiming that she had a knife.

When the girl fell to the ground, another Israeli paramilitary settler pulled over and shot her multiple times.

Israeli colonial settlement leader Gershon Mesika rammed a teenage girl with his car, claiming ‘she had a knife’.

When the girl fell to the ground, another Israeli paramilitary settler pulled over and shot her multiple times.

While Israeli authorities claim that Mesika ‘thwarted a terror attack’, the claim of Mesika and the other settler that the girl had a knife contradicts other accounts of the incident.

The child did not harm or attempt to harm anyone, and a knife photographed at the scene appears to have been tossed near her dead body.

Gershon Mesika, from Elon Moreh illegal colony, is the former head of the “Samaria Regional Council”, which is a body organized by Israeli settlers living illegally in the occupied West Bank.

He rammed the child with his car, landing the car in the ditch and leaving the girl lying prone on the ground. A paramilitary settler from the car behind Mesika’s then got out of his car and fired multiple shots at the girl. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the shooting was done by an Israeli driver of a vehicle behind Mesika’s. A later article by the Israeli news agency Arutz Sheva claimed that she was shot ‘by soldiers on the scene’.

A number of recent incidents in which Palestinians were shot and killed have been questioned by Palestinians and their supporters, as the eyewitness reports that unarmed Palestinian civilians were shot by Israeli paramilitary settlers have been reported in the Israeli and international media as ‘thwarted attacks’. In several cases, the Israeli military appears to have taken credit for shootings that were actually carried out by paramilitary settler groups.

Ashraqat was from Nablus in the northern part of the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Shadi Khseib

Shadi_Khseib
November 22, 2015: Shadi Mohammad Mahmoud Khseib, 32, was killed after his car crashed into the car of an armed Israeli settler, who jumped out and shot him. The incident took place on the main road near ‘Anata east of Jerusalem. His brother Fadi was subsequently killed by army fire on November 27, 2015. Shadi was a taxi driver from al-Bireh, near Ramallah. Source: IMEMC

Issam Thawabta

November 22, 2015: Issam Thawabta, 34, was killed by Israeli soldiers near the illegal Gush Etzion Bloc, near Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army said Issam stabbed to death a 21-year-old Israeli woman near the settlement bloc of Gush Etzion.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an News Agency that, after the Palestinian stabbed the woman at the Gush Etzion junction, ‘forces on site responded to the imminent threat and shot the attacker, resulting in his death.’

The Israeli victim, identified as 21-year-old Hadar Buchrus, was evacuated to Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem where she was pronounced dead. A spokesperson for the hospital said: ‘She was brought to the hospital almost dead.’

A Ma’an reporter who was in the area during the attack said that he witnessed dozens of Israeli soldiers rushing to the hitchhiking station for Israeli settlers at the Gush Etzion junction, firing gunshots.

The soldiers then shut down the main bypass road known as Route 60.

After his death, dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded his home, and violently searched it, causing excessive damage.

Thawabta was the third Palestinian to be killed on Sunday, after another two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli settlers in two separate incidents on Sunday morning.

A Palestinian taxi driver was shot and killed by a settler near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kfar Adumim in the central West Bank after he ran into another car on a main road, and allegedly got out ‘with a knife in his hand,’ Israeli police said.

Less than an hour earlier, a prominent Israeli settler ran over a 16-year-old Palestinian girl near Nablus, saying that he believed she intended to carry out a stabbing attack at Huwwara checkpoint. After she was hit by the car, another Israeli settler then shot her multiple times while she was lying on the ground.

The teenager was identified as Ashraqat Taha Ahmad Qatanani from Nablus, while Israeli media identified the man who ran her over as Gershon Mesika, the former head of the ‘Samaria regional council,’ which represents Israel’s illegal settlements in the northern West Bank.

After running the girl over with his car and driving into a ditch, Mesika got out of his car and shot the girl. Israeli forces also opened fire on her.

More than 90 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of October — many shot dead under circumstances which rights groups said that Israeli forces used unnecessary force — while at least 16 Israelis have been killed in the same period.

The Gush Etzion junction in particular has been the site of several deadly encounters, including a shooting attack on Thursday that resulted in the death of two Israelis and one Palestinian bystander, and the injury of ten others.

In response, Israeli officials agreed on Thursday to increase security measures inside the settlement bloc, including increased restrictions on the movement of Palestinians.

Israeli news site Ynet reported that the measures could include the temporary restriction of movement of Palestinians in the area, the deployment of extra Israeli security forces, and the construction of a ‘fence’ along certain roads.

The measures come after a meeting between the Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli army’s chief of staff, and the mayor of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, an administrative body for illegal settlements in the area.

The regional council also urged settlers who own firearms to voluntarily accompany children on school buses to assist as first responders after attacks.

Issam was from Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Shadi ‘Arafa

Shadi_Zohdi_Arafa
November 20, 2015: Shadi Zuhdi ‘Arafa, 28, was killed by Israeli soldiers who randomly shot at Palestinian vehicles. Shadi was driving near the site where a Palestinian gunman had fired at Israeli settlers, wounding more than 10 of them and killing two. Shadi was from Hebron in the southern West Bank. Source: IMEMC