Women & Girls (Palestinian)

Shireen Abu Akleh

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May 10, 2022: Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers who targeted her and other journalists with sniper fire while the journalists were gathered to cover an Israeli invasion of Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank. Shireen was a prominent Palestinian journalist and Al-Jazeera TV correspondent.

Later in the day, after the assassination was reported around the world, dozens of soldiers and police officers invaded the home of the slain journalist in Beit Hanina, in the north of occupied Jerusalem.

The soldiers tried to intimidate the family and threatened to abduct her grieving parents and family members if anyone dared to raise a Palestinian flag at her funeral. Her family, who had gathered in the home to mourn her execution, managed to push the soldiers out of their property.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that Shireen was shot with a live round in the head — while wearing her press vest and helmet — when an Israeli army sharpshooter fired one round at her.

The Ministry added that the soldiers first shot journalist Ali Sammoudi with a live round in the back, then shot Shireen in the head.

The attack targeted a group of journalists from various media agencies – clearly marked as journalists, wearing press vests and holding cameras and equipment – while they gathered in an open area in a clear line of sight from Israeli soldiers when the army committed its heinous crime.

Sammoudi, who was shot in the back, said that he, Shireen, and several other journalists gathered near a UNRWA-run school near Jenin refugee camp and were all wearing press vests and helmets when the soldiers shot him in the back and then shot Shireen with a live round in the head.

“The soldiers had a clear view of us. They knew we were journalists, yet, then deliberately targeted us with sniper fire,” Sammoudi said, “Nothing was happening there, no protests, no exchange of fire between the soldiers and the Palestinian fighters; they targeted us knowing we are all journalists – what they did was a crime and a deliberate attack.”

Al-Jazeera TV issued a statement denouncing the deliberate targeting of reporters, the assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh, and the shooting of Ali Sammoudi.

Al-Jazeera said Abu Akleh was assassinated and was not by accident and added that eyewitnesses and other journalists, including Shatha Hanaysha, who was standing next to Shireen, revealed that the army killed Shireen, and Israeli army snipers also pinned down Hanaysha and several journalists.

“We stood together in a collective way as journalists, then we started moving. We were shocked by the live ammunition fired at us, we reached an area that did not allow us to withdraw.” Hanaysha told Al-Jazeera.

“We were just facing the snipers. If they were not really willing to kill some of us, they could have started shooting before our arrival in this narrow area. I see this as a clear assassination of journalists,” she said.

“The one that killed Shireen was intended to kill her because he shot the bullet at an area of her body that was not protected,” Hanaysha also said.

The Al-Jazeera Media Network issues an official statement condemning the Israeli crime and holding the Israeli government and its occupation army responsible.

“Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty. Al Jazeera holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of Shireen. It also calls on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their intentional targeting and killing of Shireen.”

“The Israeli authorities are also responsible for the targeting of Al Jazeera producer Ali al-Sammoudi, who was also shot in the back while covering the same event, and is currently undergoing treatment.”

“Al Jazeera extends its sincere condolences to the family of Shireen in Palestine and to her extended family around the world, and we pledge to prosecute the perpetrators legally, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crime, and bring them to justice.”

Shireen was born in occupied Jerusalem in the year 1971; she hails from a Palestinian Christian family in Bethlehem. She lived in Jerusalem and, as a child, she studied at the Rosary Sisters School in Beit Hanina, in occupied Jerusalem.

She obtained her B.A. degree in journalism from Al-Yarmouk University in Jordan and returned to Palestine where she worked in various professions, including Palestine Radio, The UNRWA, Amman Satellite TV, Radio Monte Carlo, and in the year 1997, she started working for the Al-Jazeera News Agency.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the assassination of Shireen and the ongoing Israeli crimes against civilians, including Journalists.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh issued a statement mourning the killing of Abu Akleh and denouncing the Israeli crime. “She was killed while exposing the horrific Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.”

Shireen was from Beit Hanina, Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Hanan Mahmoud Khdour

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April 18, 2022: Hanan Mahmoud Khdour, 18, died from serious wounds she suffered when she was shot by Israeli soldiers who invaded a village near Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, on April 9th.

Palestinian medical sources said the young woman, Hanan Mahmoud Khdour, 18, was shot with a live round in the abdomen after the army fired many live rounds at a car she was in when the soldiers invaded Jenin city.

She was rushed to Ibn Sina Specialized Hospital in Jenin and remained in critical condition until she succumbed to her wounds nine days after being shot.

She was on her way to her school in Jenin when the soldiers opened fire on the car during an invasion of the city.

Hundreds of Palestinians participated in her funeral in Jenin before her body was sent to her village, Faqqu’a, east of Jenin, for final burial.

On the day she was injured, the Israeli soldiers shot at least ten Palestinians and killed a young man Ahmad Nasser Sa’adi, 21, in the Jenin refugee camp.

Nineteen Palestinians, including three women and three children, have been killed by the Israeli army in April:

  1. April 18, 2022: Hanan Mahmoud Khdour, 18.
  2. April 15, 2022: Shawkat Kamal ‘Aabed, 17
  3. April 14, 2022: Mustafa Faisal Abu ar-Rob, 31
  4. April 14, 2022: Sha’s Fuad Kamamji, 29.
  5. April 14, 2022: Fawwaz Ahmad Hamayel, 45.
  6. April 13, 2022: Omar Mohammad Elyan, 20.
  7. April 13, 2022: Qussai Fuad Hamamra, 14.
  8. April 13, 2022: Mohammad Hasan Assaf, 34.
  9. April 12, 2022: Abdullah Tayseer Mousa Srour, 41.
  10. April 11, 2022: Mohammad Hussein Zakarna, 17.
  11. April 10, 2022: Mohammad Ali Ghneim, 21.
  12. April 10, 2022: Ghada Ibrahim Ali Sabateen, 48.
  13. April 10, 2022: Maha Kathem Zaatari, 24.
  14. April 9, 2022: Ahmad Nasser Sa’adi, 21.
  15. April 8, 2022: Ra’ad Fathi Hazem, 29.
  16. April 2, 2022: Saif Hifthy Abu Libda, 25.
  17. April 2, 2022: Khalil Mohammad Tawalba, 24.
  18. April 2, 2022: Sa’eb Tayseer Abahra, 30.
  19. April 1, 2022: Ahmad Younis al-Atrash, 29.

Hanan was from the village of Faqqu’a, east of Jenin, in the northern West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Ghada Ibrahim Ali Sabateen

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April 10, 2022: Ghada Ibrahim Ali Sabateen, 48, was killed by Israeli soldiers in Husan village, west of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.

The Ministry said Ghada, a widowed mother of six children, was shot in the thigh and added that the bullet severed an artery, leading to excessive bleeding.

Eyewitnesses denied the military allegations about an alleged stabbing attempt and said the soldiers seemed to be very frightened and on edge when they installed the roadblock at the eastern entrance of Husan town.

They added that, immediately after seeing Ghada walking in their direction, they started shouting at her, startling her, and causing her to panic, before they fired two rounds at the woman although she posed no threat to them.

The soldiers left Ghada bleeding without first aid while they “secured the area”, and later allowed the Palestinian medics to reach her before taking her to Beit Jala governmental hospital.

Israeli daily Haaretz said, “Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian woman in her forties after she approached them in a suspicious manner”.

Haaretz also said “no weapons were found on her person”, and that the army is allegedly “investigating the incident.”

The slain woman cannot see in one eye, and her vision in the second eye is weak. Her funeral ceremony was held in Husan a few hours after the soldiers killed her.

It is worth mentioning that the soldiers attacked and detained a Palestine TV crew and prevented them from documenting the unfolding events.

Video By Palestine TV

The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR) said its independent investigation revealed that the soldiers established a checkpoint near eastern Husan village, western Bethlehem, to search the passers-by and check their IDs.

“At around 12:15, Ghada who was wearing glasses and abaya crossed the street towards the Israeli soldiers who were on the pavement; two were behind a cement cube and one was in front of them.

Video footage showed the woman walking on the pavement when she was targeted, and her hands were empty, and did not carry anything.  She approached where 3 soldiers were positioned; two were behind cement cubes and one in front of them.  The latter opened fire at the woman, wounding her in the left thigh, and she fell to the ground.

According to the investigations, when the passers-by attempted to help her, the soldiers forcibly pushed them away and fired tear gas canisters at them.  Meanwhile, the soldiers thoroughly searched the wounded woman and cut her clothes without giving her first aid.

When they were sure she did not have any knife or tool, they allowed the passers-by after half an hour of severe bleeding to take her in a civilian vehicle to Beit Jala Hospital to receive treatment.  A few minutes later, the medical crews at the hospital pronounced her death after succumbing to her injury caused by a bullet that penetrated the leg artery and massive blood loss due to being left to bleed for half an hour at the scene without offering her first aid.

PCHR’s investigations confirm that Sabateen was visually impaired, she did not pose threat or danger to the Israeli soldiers’ lives, and they could have controlled her without resorting to excessive force.

Sabateen’s family affirmed that she had a visual impairment, and she was a widow and mother of 6 children from Husan village. The family added that Sabateen was heading to her relative’s house in the village. According to eyewitnesses, she approached the soldiers, although they warned her, perhaps because she was confused and stumbled while passing by the street adjacent to the soldiers, who did not give her enough time to obey their orders and immediately opened fire at her.”

Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Eshteyya, denounced “Israel’s state-sponsored terrorism” and the allegations the soldiers constantly use to justify the killings of the Palestinians.

Eshteyya also called on the International Community and all international legal and human rights groups to condemn the escalating Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and act on stopping them.

Ghada was from Husan village, west of Bethlehem. Source: IMEMC

 

Maha Kathem Zaatari

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April 10, 2022: Maha Kathem Awad Zaatari, 24, was killed by Israeli soldiers near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, after she reportedly stabbed a soldier, causing a mild injury.

The Israeli army claimed the woman arrived at the roadblock, where many soldiers and officers are stationed, and stabbed one before she was fatally shot.

After killing the young woman, the army closed the Ibrahimi Mosque and declared the area around it a closed military zone.

|Update: On December 23, 2022, the Israeli Authorities finally allowed the transfer of her corpse to her family.|

The soldiers prevented the Palestinian medics, who rushed to the area, from approaching her to render the needed medical aid.

The soldiers also fired gas bombs and concussion grenades at the Palestinians to force them away.

After her death, the soldiers invaded her home and ransacked it, in addition to interrogating her family.

On the same day, the soldiers killed a widowed Palestinian mother of six children, Ghada Ibrahim Ali Sabateen, 48, in Husan village, west of Bethlehem.

Maha was from the Abu Da’jan area in Hebron city, in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Fatma Jalal al-Masri

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FatimaMarch 25, 2022: Fatma Jalal al-Masri, 1, was declared dead at the Gaza European Hospital after she was denied access to a hospital outside Gaza by Israeli authorities at the Erez crossing.

Fatma was subjected to Israel’s arbitrary and discriminatory permit system, which delays access to hospitals outside the Strip and denies care in around 30 percent of urgent cases. The continued movement restrictions by Israeli authorities on Palestinian patients in the Gaza Strip systematically violate inhabitants’ right to health by aggravating health conditions and placing numerous barriers to health access.

According to Al Mezan, Fatma’s legal representative, she was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect in 2021. Despite having obtained a medical referral from the Palestinian Ministry of Health and confirming three hospital appointments at Al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem, Israeli authorities denied Fatma the requisite exit permit to travel to Jerusalem for the appointments, the last of which was on 5 March 2022.

The young patient’s health deteriorated over the course of several months of denied care and she died three weeks after her last missed appointment.

Al Mezan deeply regrets Fatma’s death and strongly condemns Israel’s ongoing closure of the Gaza Strip and its associated restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, which includes denying patients access to the hospitals in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Israel, and abroad.

Al Mezan’s documentation shows that since 2011, 71 Palestinians—including 25 women and nine children—have died following Israel’s denial of requests for exit permits and delays. Notably, Israel’s targeted, discriminatory permit system is one of the practices and policies at the core of its apartheid regime against the Palestinian people as a whole.

This case is yet another example of Israel’s continuing violation of international humanitarian and human rights law and its obligations as an occupying power, notably to respect and ensure freedom of movement in occupied territory and to guarantee the right to health of the occupied population.

These obligations bear greater weight when involving children and as provided in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Israel has an obligation to ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. Delaying access to necessary medical care for a toddler for more than five months is unwarranted and grave.

Al Mezan emphasizes that Israel is fully responsible for Fatma’s death as the occupying power and relevant duty bearer in these circumstances.

The State’s persistent breaches of its international law obligations require the intervention of the international community and accountability of perpetrators.

Al Mezan calls on the international community—in particular, the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Geneva Conventions—to uphold their moral and legal obligations vis-à-vis the protected Palestinian people and to ensure Israel complies with its obligations under international law, ends the closure and blockade on the Gaza Strip, and stops its ongoing restrictions of Palestinian patients’ access to medical care outside the Gaza Strip.

Fatma was from the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Fatma Jalal al-Masri

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March 25, 2022: Fatma Jalal al-Masri, 19 months, died at the Gaza European Hospital after she was denied access to a hospital outside Gaza by Israeli authorities at the Erez crossing.

The Al-Mezan Center For Uman Rights said Fatma was subjected to Israel’s arbitrary and discriminatory permit system, which delays access to hospitals outside the Strip and denies care in around 30 percent of urgent cases. The continued movement restrictions by Israeli authorities on Palestinian patients in the Gaza Strip systematically violate inhabitants’ right to health by aggravating health conditions and placing numerous barriers to health access.

According to Al Mezan, Fatma’s legal representative, she was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect in 2021. Despite having obtained a medical referral from the Palestinian Ministry of Health and confirming three hospital appointments at Al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem, Israeli authorities denied Fatma the requisite exit permit to travel to Jerusalem for the appointments, the last of which was on 5 March 2022.

The young patient’s health deteriorated over the course of several months of denied care and she died three weeks after her last missed appointment.

Al Mezan deeply regrets Fatma’s death and strongly condemns Israel’s ongoing closure of the Gaza Strip and its associated restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, which includes denying patients access to the hospitals in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Israel, and abroad.

Al Mezan’s documentation shows that since 2011, 71 Palestinians—including twenty-five women and nine children—have died following Israel’s denial of requests for exit permits and delays. Notably, Israel’s targeted, discriminatory permit system is one of the practices and policies at the core of its apartheid regime against the Palestinian people as a whole.

This case is yet another example of Israel’s continuing violation of international humanitarian and human rights law and its obligations as an occupying power, notably to respect and ensure freedom of movement in occupied territory and to guarantee the right to health of the occupied population.

These obligations bear greater weight when involving children and as provided in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Israel has an obligation to ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. Delaying access to necessary medical care for a toddler for more than five months is unwarranted and grave.

Al Mezan emphasizes that Israel is fully responsible for Fatma’s death as the occupying power and relevant duty bearer in these circumstances. The State’s persistent breaches of its international law obligations require the intervention of the international community and accountability of perpetrators.

Al Mezan called on the international community—in particular, the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Geneva Conventions—to uphold their moral and legal obligations vis-à-vis the protected Palestinian people and to ensure Israel complies with its obligations under international law, ends the closure and blockade on the Gaza Strip, and stops its ongoing restrictions of Palestinian patients’ access to medical care outside the Gaza Strip.

Fatima was from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Source: Al-Mezan Center For Human Rights

Ghadir Anis Masalma

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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.

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.

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.

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

Isra’ Khaled Khzaimiah

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September 30, 2021: Isra’ Khaled Khzaimiah, 30, was killed by Israeli soldiers near the Chain Gate, leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank.

The Israeli police claimed the woman carried a sharp object and attempted to stab officers before they delivered the fatal shots.

It also claimed that the woman exited the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound through the Chain Gate, and “pulled a knife out in an attempt to stab officers, before they fired live rounds at her.”

Eyewitnesses said the woman was still alive, but seriously injured and unable to move, and added that the police prevented anybody from reaching her to render the urgently needed first aid before she succumbed to her wounds.

The Children Of Isra’

The slain woman is married mother of four children, the youngest are four and two years of age.

The Israeli police and the army then closed the entire area and declared it a closed zone, preventing the Palestinians, including school children, from leaving or entering it.

The soldiers alo closed many roads and installed various roadblocks in several areas of East Jerusalem, especially near and around Al-Aqsa Mosque.

On the same day, the soldiers also killed Ala’ Nasser Zayyoud, 22, from Qabatia, and Mohammad Ammar, 41, from al-Boreij in central Gaza Strip.

Isra’ was from Qabatia town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Source: IMEMC

Mai Affana

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June 16th, 2021: Dr. Mai Affana, 29, was shot and killed by Israeli forces while she was in her car at the entrance to Hizma town, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli forces opened fire at Afaneh, who was a doctor, and the mother of an eight-year-old girl, when she drove her vehicle down a road that was under construction, at the entrance to Hizma town. Local sources reported that Afaneh apparently had accidentally driven her vehicle down the wrong road and was trying to turn around when she was shot.

The army claimed that the slain woman “attempted to ram her car into a number of Israeli soldiers before exiting the vehicle with a knife” the Anadolu Agency reported.

But the Israeli authorities offered no evidence to back their claim. The claim also goes against the forensic evidence showing that Mai was in her car when she was shot and killed.

On Friday, July 16th, Palestinians held a peaceful protest in Abu Dis town, on the one month anniversary of Mai’s killing, demanding the Israeli occupation authorities hand over her body to her family.

Her body had been withheld by the army since she was shot and killed near Hizma town on June 16, 2021.

Video from Wadi Hilweh Information Center (Silwanic)

May was from Abu Dis town, southeast of occupied Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC 

Ibtisam Khaled Ka’abna

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June 12, 2021: Ibtisam Khaled Ka’abna, 28, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at the Qalandia Terminal, north of occupied Jerusalem, after she allegedly attempted to attack them.

The Palestinian Detainees Committee has reported that the slain woman, Ibtisam Khaled Ka’abna, 28, is a former political prisoner, who was abducted in the year 2015 and was imprisoned for 18 months.

Her brother, Khaled Mohammad Ka’abna, stated that the soldiers shot his sister at the terminal, and left her bleeding on the ground without any medical attention until she succumbed to her wounds.

Khaled added that his slain sister is a married mother of one child.

Israeli sources claimed that the woman “was yielding a knife”, while the “Times of Israel” alleged she “ran towards the soldiers while brandishing a knife.” No soldiers were hurt in the alleged attack.

Videos from the scene show the woman far away from any soldier when she was shot. Palestinian analysts point out that even if she had been holding a knife (which may or may not have been the case), the soldiers had the option to injure her at least instead of delivering fatal shots and leaving her without medical treatment until she bled to death.

Ibtisam was from Aqbat Jaber refugee camp in Jericho. Source: IMEMC