Bethlehem

Qussai Fuad Hamamra

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April 13, 2022: Qussai Fuad Hamamra, 14 was killed by Israeli soldiers in Husan village, west of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.

Many army jeeps invaded the al-Matina area near the main road of Husan, leading to protests, and fired many live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, and gas bombs at the protesters and many surrounding homes.

The Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed that the soldiers shot a child with a live round in the head and left him bleeding without first aid, especially after the army prevented the Palestinian medics from reaching him.

It added that the soldiers took the corpse of the slain child and refused to allow its transfer to the Palestinian side.

The Palestinians and the medics tried to retrieve the corpse of the slain child, but the soldiers prevented them and started pushing them away.

The child was walking home after performing evening prayers at the local mosque.

After killing Qussai, the soldiers surrounded the mosque and refused to allow the Palestinians to leave.

The army made several allegations, including claiming that the child was throwing stones at the soldiers or that he was throwing a Molotov cocktail.

However, eyewitnesses said Qussai was not participating in any protests but was walking back home from the local mosque.

Medical sources have confirmed at least eleven injuries, including some with live fire and rubber-coated steel bullets.

Dozens of Palestinians suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation, especially after the soldiers fired gas bombs at mosques to force the locals to leave.

Qussai was killed not far from where the Israeli soldiers killed Ghada Ibrahim Ali Sabateen, 48, on April 10, 2022.

On Wednesday morning, the soldiers killed a Palestinian lawyer, Mohammad Hasan Assaf, 34, after firing many live rounds at his car in the Industrial Area in Nablus city, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Qussai was from Husan village, west of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Ali Ghneim

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April 10, 2022: Mohammad Ali Ghneim, 21, was killed by Israeli soldiers in the Al-Khader town, south of the Bethlehem city in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian, a former political prisoner, was standing near his home, close to the illegal Annexation Wall, when shot with a live round in the back before the bullet exited from the chest area.

Palestinian medics rushed Mohammad to the al-Yamama hospital in Al-Khader town, where he died from his serious wounds.

In related news, the soldiers killed a widowed Palestinian mother of six children, Ghada Ibrahim Ali Sabateen, 48, in Husan village, west of Bethlehem, and another woman, Maha Kathem Awad Zaatari, 24, near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.

Mohammad was from the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, in the 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

 

Ammar Shafiq Abu Afifa

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March 01, 2022: Ammar Shafiq Abu Afifa, 21, was killed by Israeli soldiers near Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Civil Affairs Department said the soldiers shot Ammar and prevented Palestinian medics from reaching him before he bled to death.

The soldiers wrapped Ammar’s body with a plastic sheet and took it to an unknown destination.

According to allegations by the Israeli army, the soldiers “observed the young man hurling stones towards their direction and shot him.”

However, a cellphone video filmed from a distance shows Ammar walking away from the soldiers, not posing any threat before the person documenting the event started shouting at him, asking him to walk faster because the soldiers were approaching his direction.

The soldiers who fired several live rounds at the young man were far away, contradicting some Israeli claims.

His cousin described what happened as an assassination, especially since Ammar wasn’t posing any threat, and there were no protests in the area.

“He was just out there walking in the mountain area, the only place for us in the refugee camp to observe nature….”, he added, “Ammar was doing well in college. He also was an outgoing person; however, the soldiers decided to shoot him without any cause of justification, especially since the area was calm, and no protests were taking place….”

Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie said Ammar was one of its students studying Information Technology.

The Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry denounced the young man’s killing and described it as a coldblooded murder that reflects the illegal Israeli occupation’s real criminal and vicious nature.

It added that the killing is “state-sponsored terrorism” and held Israeli responsible for the deadly escalation and called on the International Community to intervene and end the Israeli crimes committed by the soldiers and the paramilitary colonizers.

The Ministry said these crimes are authorized and encouraged by the political and military leadership of his illegal occupation of Palestine.

On Tuesday at dawn, Palestinian medical sources have confirmed that Shadi Najm, 18, died from serious wounds he suffered on Monday night after the soldiers shot him with live rounds in Jenin city.

On Monday at night, the army killed Abdullah al-Hosary, 22, during a fire exchange with Israeli soldiers in Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Ammar was from the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Rezeq Salah Shehada

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February 22, 2022: Mohammad Rezeq Salah Shehada, 14, was killed by Israeli soldiers in the Al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, south of the occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank.

Medical sources have confirmed that the soldiers shot the child with live rounds and prevented a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance from reaching him.

Local activist Ahmad Salah said the soldiers, including undercover officers, invaded the Bakoush area in the western part of Al-Khader, leading to protests by local Palestinians.

The army fired many live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs, and concussion grenades at the protesters, killing one and wounding several others.

A video from the scene shows the child on the ground with two soldiers near him after removing his clothes; one was standing near the child, and the other appeared to be listening if he had a heartbeat.

According to Israeli Ynet News, the Israeli army said in a statement that the soldiers spotted three Palestinians arriving in an area where they claimed that firebombs had been thrown at Israeli vehicles several times recently. The army alleged that the soldiers shot the child after throwing a Molotov cocktail.

It added that the soldiers “shot one of the suspects and provided treatment to him before he succumbed to his wounds.”

The child’s father said that he heard about his son being shot and ran towards him before the soldiers pointed their guns at him and threatened to shoot him.

“I told the soldiers I just need to know where my son is and whether he was wounded or dead,” he said, “I asked a soldier if my son was still among the living, and he only ordered me to leave or get shot and be thrown next to him…. that is when I knew they killed my child…”

“This is an army that has no mercy, no respect for human life, and its state continues to claim to care about human rights…”, the father added, “they continue to kill children and the elderly just as we have witnessed recently in Ramallah and Hebron…”

The child’s father denied the Israeli allegations describing them as pure lies and fabrications, especially since his child was receiving treatment for his arm and recently had X-rays done; therefore, the Israeli claims that the child hurled Molotov cocktails or even threw stones at the soldiers are lies, as his son doesn’t have a full motion in his armed to be able to do so.

The child’s killing caused more protests in the town, and the soldiers fired many live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs, and concussion grenades.

Contrary to the army’s claim, the child was shot in the town and not near the road where the army claimed that Palestinians had hurled the Molotov cocktails. Nevertheless, their invasion into Al-Khader resulted in protests.

After killing the child, an Israeli ambulance took his corpse to a hospital, and the army is still refusing to transfer it to his family for a proper burial ceremony.

The soldiers also shot at least one Palestinian with a rubber-coated steel bullet and caused dozens to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation in the Nashash area in the western part of Al-Khader.

Palestinian factions and civil society institutions declared a one-day strike, including the closure of schools and stores, to mourn the slain child.

After his death, dozens of Palestinians marched in the town and chanted for ongoing resistance and steadfastness against the illegal Israeli occupation and unity among all Palestinian factions until liberation, sovereignty, and independence are achieved for the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian Education Ministry also issued a statement mourning the child and declaring the closure of schools in the town for one day.

The Ministry said the slain child was a seventh-grade student at a government-run school in Al-Khader.

Mohammad’s funeral procession was held on Wednesday evening in his town after the army transferred his corpse to his family.

Ayed Abu Eqtaish, the accountability Program Director at Defense for Children International – Palestine branch, said in a TV interview with Maan News Agency that the lack of accountability encourages Israel to continue killing Palestinian children with impunity.

Mohammad was from Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Faleh Mousa Jaradat

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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

Amjad Osama Abu Sultan

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October 15, 2021: Amjad Osama Jalal Abu Sultan, 15, was killed by Israeli soldiers near Beit Jala city, west of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources said the soldiers fired many live rounds at two Palestinian children in the Be’er Owna area in Beit Jala city, killing one.

They added that the soldiers shot and killed Amjad, and injured abducted another child, identified as Mohammad Khalil ‘ Al-Arouj, 14, before taking him to an interrogation facility.

In a short statement, the Israeli army claimed the soldiers opened fire at the Palestinians when they “tried to hurl Molotov cocktails at the Tunnels Road,” connecting the Gush Etzion colony with occupied Jerusalem.

The death of the child has led to protests in the area, especially on the main roads between Jerusalem and the Gush Etzion colony, before the soldiers fired live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, and gas bombs.

In related news, Israeli sources said a Border Police officer was seriously injured after being struck by a Palestinian car near Qalqilia, in northern West Bank.

They added that the officer sustained several injuries to the head and abdomen and was rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

The Israeli army claimed that the incident was a “deliberate attack,” and added that the driver, Salah Nazzal, 22, from Qalqilia, was also injured in the head before he was taken to Hadassah hospital, where he was also interrogated by the Israeli Shin Bet security service.

On Thursday evening, the soldiers injured many Palestinians in Douma village, south of Nablus, and abducted two at the nearby Za’tara permanent military roadblock, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

On Thursday at dawn, the soldiers abducted at least fifteen Palestinians from several parts of the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.

Amjad was from Bethlehem, in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Hussein Masalma

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September 22, 2021: Hussein Masalma, 39, died from Leukemia that went untreated when he was imprisoned by Israel for 19 years. He was only was recently released after his condition seriously deteriorated, and died at a Palestinian hospital in Ramallah, in central West Bank.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) said Masalma,  from the al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, was released from an Israeli prison in February of this year when his condition became extremely serious after he was denied the right to receive the urgently-needed specialized medical treatment for his Leukemia.

The PPS added that the detainee was first moved to Hadassah Israeli medical center, before being sent, a week ago, to the Istishari Arab Hospital in Ramallah.

The PPS held Israel fully responsible for his death, especially since he was subject to medical neglect while in prison, and only started receiving treatment when his condition became life-threatening.

Masalma started suffering from complications and sharp pain in late 2020, and it took Israel more than a month to send him to the clinic of the Negev Desert detention camp and was only moved to an Israeli hospital when his condition became very serious, where he was diagnosed with End-Stage Leukemia.

The Palestinian was taken prisoner by the Israel army in the year 2002 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He spent 19 years in prison before he was released due to his serious medical condition.

His release came after various appeals, deliberations, and delays by Israeli courts before his lawyer filed an appeal with the Israeli High Court.

In an interview with the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic), in February of this year, Masalma stated that he has been suffering for two years and that the Israeli physicians didn’t render an accurate diagnosis to his condition.

“For more than two years I have been suffering, and they couldn’t diagnose my condition currently,” he said, “It is not just me, there are so many detainees suffering from serious conditions.”

The PPS said that many Palestinian political prisoners, especially those who have been held captive by Israel for more than 20 years are facing serious health conditions, including cancer.

It called on various regional and international human rights and legal groups, including the World Health Organization, to act on ensuring the release of all ailing Palestinian detainees from Israel prisons and to send an independent medical committee to look into these cases.

Masalma was from the al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem in occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Rihab Mohammad Mousa Za’oul

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May 2nd, 2021: Rihab Mohammad Mousa Za’oul, 60, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers near a checkpoint south of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank.

Initially, Rihab was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Later that night, she died of her wounds.

Israeli Ynet News claimed the woman was shot in her leg when the soldiers claimed “she carried a knife.”

The incident did not lead to any injuries among the soldiers.

Za’oul was later moved to Sha’arei Zedek Israeli medical center, in Jerusalem, where she succumbed to her serious wounds. Her corpse remains held by Israel.

Israeli soldiers shot, on Sunday morning, a Palestinian woman at the Etzion junction, south of Bethlehem, south of the occupied Palestinian capital, Jerusalem, in the West Bank.

Media sources said the soldiers shot Rihab Mohammad Khalaf al-Hroub, 60, from Wadi Fukin village, southwest of Bethlehem, while walking near the military roadblock.

Israeli sources said the woman was moved to Shaare Zedek hospital, in Jerusalem.

Following the incident, the soldiers closed the junction to all Palestinian traffic.

Rihab was from Wadi Fukin Palestinian village, southwest of Bethlehem. Source: IMEMC

Ahmad Mustafa Erekat

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June 23, 2020: Ahmad Mustafa Erekat, 26, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at the “Container” military roadblock, northeast of Bethlehem, while he was preparing for his sister’s wedding that was scheduled to take place later that day.

The soldiers claimed that Ahmad ‘tried to ram them with his car’ – a claim that his family says is beyond ridiculous.

The head of Abu Dis Town Council, Ahmad Abu Hilal, said the soldiers shot Ahmad with multiple rounds, and left him to bleed to death, before taking his corpse away.

Abu Hilal added that Ahmad was driving to Bethlehem city to fetch his sisters and his mother from a hairdressing shop in Bethlehem, as the family was preparing for the wedding of one of his sisters, which was supposed to take place on the same day, Tuesday, June 23 2019.

|Erekat: “Netanyahu Is Responsible For Ahmad Erekat’s Execution”|

Eyewitnesses said the soldiers at the permanent military roadblock closed the area, and prevented Red Crescent medics from approaching the young man, in addition to firing many gas bombs at Palestinian cars and residents to force them away.

The Israeli army alleged that the young man “accelerated towards the roadblock, and attempted to ram a female soldier with his car,” and added that the soldier reportedly suffered mild wounds before she was moved to a hospital in Jerusalem.

The spokesperson of the Israel police, Micky Rosenfeld, claimed that “after trying to ram the soldiers, the young man got out of his vehicle, and approached them before they shot him.”

The family denied the military allegations and said the soldiers rushed to shoot Ahmad without any justification, and added that they believe their slain son must have lost control over his car.

“As we have seen in previous similar incidents, the soldiers were quick to open deadly fire,” his family said, “Our son would never have tried to deliberately ram soldiers, or anybody else, especially on the day of his sister’s wedding!”

They added that they intend to hire a lawyer to demand Israel to release his corpse for burial.

Palestinian journalist Christine Rimawi said that the slain Palestinian was a Facebook friend and that he himself was preparing to get married soon.

“Today’s victim, Ahmad Mustafa Erekat, 27, was executed by the soldiers at the Container roadblock, and the army was ready with its familiar allegation of attempted ramming attack, Christine stated, “But the truth is that he was just going to Bethlehem to fetch his mother and sisters from a hairdressing salon when the soldiers shot him and left him to bleed to death,” she added.

“He was getting ready for the celebration, for his sister’s wedding! He was shot and killed instead! Can you imagine what this wedding has turned into?! Not only that today is his sister’s wedding. His own wedding was supposed to take place soon!”

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates issued a statement strongly denouncing the escalating Israeli violations and the “cold-blooded murder of Ahmad at the racist deathtrap roadblocks.”

“This crime is part of Israel’s ongoing policies; this illegal authority of the Israeli occupation continues to commit crimes against our people, including field executions, and extrajudicial assassinations,” the Ministry stated, “All of these policies and crimes, committed by the police, the army, and the paramilitary colonialist settlers, are targeting the Palestinian civilians, their homes and lands, and are aimed at trying to force us out of our ancestral lands.”

The Ministry also stated that it will file a complaint with the United Nations, and all its related institutions, as part of its constant efforts to document the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, including the murder of Ahmad Erekat.

It called on the International Community, the United Nations, and the Security Council, to act on providing immediate protection to the Palestinian people, living under the illegal Israeli military occupation, and to implement the basics of International Law.

“Our people urgently need protection, the International Community; the United Nations must act and end these escalating Israeli crimes,” it added, “The criminal Israeli occupation of Palestine continues to target innocent civilians. Silence is complicity!”

Video By Palestine TV

Ahmad was from Abu Dis, in the central West Bank. Source: IMEMC