West Bank

Mohammad Ayman Fathi

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May 7th, 2021: Mohammad Ayman Fathi, 20, was killed by Israeli forces along with Abdullah Khaled Da’bas, 20, near the Salem Israeli military roadblock, close to the northern West Bank city of Jenin. A third Palestinian was injured by gunshot wounds inflicted by the Israeli troops. The injured Palestinian has been identified as Ahmad Bashir Foqaha, 19.

The Israeli army claimed the Palestinians fired live rounds at the soldiers and were killed in the ensuing exchange of fire.

Israeli media sources said the exchange of fire took place at a bus stop near the Salem colonialist outpost, outside the Salem military base.

They added that the Palestinians allegedly used improvised Carl Gustav rifles (known as Carlos) in the attack, before they were shot and killed, and stated that the incident did not lead to any injuries among the soldiers.

Following the shooting, Palestinian ambulances rushed to the scene, but the soldiers did not allow them to reach the Palestinians.

Israeli Ynet News said two of the Palestinians were instantly killed during the exchange of fire, and one was injured before he was taken to the HaEmek hospital in Afula, where his condition has been described as very serious.

It is worth mentioning that some Israeli media agencies initially reported that three Palestinians were shot dead.

Following the fatal shooting, the soldiers closed the entire area, forced the Palestinians away, and attacked Palestinian journalists.

Israeli military analysts said the shooting could just be the start of a serious escalation in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and added that the shooting seems to have been carried out by a small cell, however, could be the start for more escalation especially amidst the increasing tension in Jerusalem.

Mohammad was from the Tulkarem refugee camp. Source: IMEMC

Yehuda Guetta

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May 5th, 2021: Yehuda Guetta, 19, of Jerusalem, died from wounds sustained three days earlier in a drive-by shooting

He was one of three 19-year old Israeli settlers were shot and injured by gunshots from a passing vehicle while standing on the roadside by Za’tara military checkpoint in southern occupied Nablus.

Israeli soldiers stationed at the checkpoint opened fire at the vehicle from which the shots were fired — identified as a silver SUV — but the vehicle drove away.

The three wounded Israelis were identified as Yehuda Guetta from Jerusalem, Benaya Peretz from Beit Shean, and Amichai Hala from Safed. The three were students at a Yeshiva (Jewish religious school) located in Itamar settlement, built on stolen Palestinian land near Nablus.

Yehuda sustained critical injuries, while the other two sustained moderate and light injuries, respectively.

According to the Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, “The [Israeli military] and security forces will not rest until they get their hands on the terrorists who carried out the attack”.

Following the shooting, Israeli forces closed the checkpoint, preventing all Palestinian civilians from entering or leaving the area. They also began invading nearby villages and towns, forcing all residents to remain in their homes during the invasions.

In addition, the Israeli military set up a number of ‘flying checkpoints’ throughout the northern West Bank, forcing Palestinian civilians to remain stopped on roadways for hours at a time waiting for their vehicles to be examined by the soldiers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a a statement saying that, “We will not allow terror to raise its head, and we will strike our enemies forcefully.”

The three victims were taken to the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva for treatment.

The attack came in the midst of high tensions throughout the West Bank, with numerous attacks against Palestinian civilians by Israeli settlers and soldiers. The violent attacks against Palestinian civilians began two weeks ago, at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when a right-wing Israeli group Lehava held a march through Palestinian neighborhoods shouting ‘Death to Arabs’ and injuring more than a hundred Palestinians in a single night.

Israeli soldiers and settlers have, over the previous three weeks before this shooting, repeatedly attacked Palestinian worshipers at and around the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which is the third-holiest site in Islam.

According to Israeli media, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement issued a statement that, “We praise the courageous operation at Za’tara checkpoint. We consider it a message in the name of the entire Palestinian people that Jerusalem is a red line and harming the holy places will cause an explosion of anger in the face of the occupation”.

Yehuda was from Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Sa’id Yousef Mohammad Odah

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May 5th, 2021: Sa’id Yousef Mohammad Odah, 16, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers who were invading Sa’id’s village. Israeli forces invaded the village of Odla, south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, and began firing live ammunition at local youth who were protesting the Israeli closure of his village for the past three days, and of many villages and towns in the northern West Bank.

Sa’id was known in his town as a very skilled soccer player. He played for the Balata Youth Football League, and competed in different parts of the West Bank (when the Israeli occupation would allow). Soccer matches for Palestinian athletes living under Israeli martial law are frequently stopped by the Israeli military, or teams are prevented from traveling for matches.

Since a drive-by shooting on Sunday in which three Israeli colonial settlers were wounded (one later died of his wounds), Israeli forces conducted a massive manhunt which shut down the daily lives and activities of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who live in the area. Many were prevented from leaving home, prevented from going to work or school, and forced to wait in lines at ‘flying checkpoints’ for many hours at a time.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), Sa’id was shot with a live round by Israeli forces, while another young man was shot with a rubber-coated steel round and taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus.

The Israeli forces who shot Sa’id then prevented Palestinian medics from reaching the scene. The soldiers dragged his body into a military vehicle and took him to an unknown destination – likely a military base. He was not given medical treatment, and his body was only returned to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society after his death.

It is unknown if he would have survived his injuries if he had been allowed to receive proper medical care at the scene.

Israeli forces frequently detain the Palestinians they have injured and killed, and prevent them from receiving medical care. This denial of medical care is

Sa’id was from the northern West Bank village of Odla. 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

Shafiqa Mohammad Suleiman Aqel

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April 7th, 2021: Shafiqa Mohammad Suleiman Aqel, 73, was killed after being rammed by the speeding vehicle of an illegal Israeli colonialist settler at the western entrance of the Sammoa’ town, southwest of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Medical sources said the woman, identified as Shafiqa Mohammad Suleiman Aqel, 73, suffered very serious wounds when the colonist’s car rammed her in the Mothallath as-Simia area, near as-Sammoa’.

They added that an Israeli ambulance was called to the scene before the medics rushed her to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba (Be’er as-Sabe’), where she succumbed to her serious wounds.

Such incidents are frequent and have led to many Palestinian casualties, in various parts of the West Bank.

It is worth mentioning that Shafiqa is the 11th Palestinian to be killed by Israelis this year – the third to be killed in a vehicle ramming incident.

On Friday, February 12th, 2021, a Palestinian man, identified as Bilal Shehada Bawatna, 52, was killed and two were injured, after being rammed by an illegal Israeli colonist’s car, while participating in a nature walk activity in the Northern Plains of the occupied West Bank.

On February 10, a Palestinian man, identified as Azzam Jamil Amer, from Kafr Qalil village near Ramallah, was killed after being rammed by an Israeli colonists’ car near Salfit, in central West Bank.

On January 31, the soldiers shot and killed Mohammad Hussein Amro, 35, from Halhoul, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron,

On January 26, the soldiers shot and killed Atallah Mohammad Rayyan, 17, near Salfit in central West Bank.

On January 11, the Israeli police killed Bashar Zubeidat, 18, during a protest against police violence near Haifa.

Shafiqa was from Hebron district in the southern West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Osama Sidqi Mansour

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April 6th, 2021: Osama Sidqi Mansour, 42, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers, and his wife was shot in the back and injured, when the soldiers opened fire at their car near the occupied Palestinian capital, Jerusalem, in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that the soldiers shot Osama Sidqi Mansour, 42, with a live round in the head while he was driving his car on the road between Biddu village to al-Jeeb town, northwest of Jerusalem.

The Ministry added that Osama’s wife was also injured in the same incident, after the soldiers shot her in the back, and was rushed to a Palestinian hospital in Ramallah. Her condition was described as stable.

The army claimed that its soldiers were “operating” in Bir Nibala nearby village before the driver “attempted to ram them with his car.”

The Israeli military spokesperson alleged that the soldiers set up a roadblock and were standing there in order to close the area while the army operated nearby before the Palestinian driver “approached them with his car and started talking to the soldiers before he suddenly sped towards them before they opened fire.

The allegations were strongly refuted by the family and were described as another Israeli attempt to justify a cold-blooded murder.

Talking to reporters from his hospital bed, the wounded wife said, “we were heading back home, and on the road, we saw two Israeli military vehicles, and many soldiers on the road; they stopped our car, along with many cars, but one soldier told us we could go.”

“But that is when the soldiers started shooting at our car, my husband was hit while driving and slumped over my chest,” she added, “I first realized I was shot, and tried to tell him, but this is when he was hit with their bullets….”

Eyewitnesses, including Fateh movement secretary in Jerusalem, Adel Abu Zneid, told the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) the incident took place approximately at 3:30 am, before dawn, and added that a soldier hurled a concussion grenade at the man’s car before he tried to drive away from it, and then the soldiers then opened fire at his car.

Osama was from Biddu village, northwest of occupied Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Atef Yousef Hanaisha

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March 19th, 2021: Atef Yousef Hanaisha, 45, the Imam of the local mosque, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers who fired a live round in his head while he was participating in a peaceful demonstration in his village, Beit Dajan.

The protest was in defense of Palestinian-owned land which is under the threat of confiscation.

The army opened fire toward Palestinian civilians exercising their right to protest with live rounds, rubber-coated steel rounds, and teargas to suppress the march, which was organized to reject the Israeli occupation’s continued expropriation of Palestinian-owned land.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) stated that they rushed the severely injured man to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, where he was soon pronounced dead due to his of his serious wounds.

It is worth mentioning that Hanaisha worked as a carpenter with his brother, however, he also spent the last twenty years of his life as a volunteer Imam of the local mosque.

Atef was from Beit Dajan, in the northern part of the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Bilal Shehada Bawatna

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February 12, 2021: Bilal Shehada Bawatna, 52, was killed, and two other Palestinians were injured, after they were rammed by an illegal Israeli colonist’s car, while participating in a nature walk activity in the Northern Plains of the occupied West Bank.

Mo’taz Bisharat, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors Israel’s colonialist activities in Tubas, said one man was killed and two were injured, all from the Ramallah governorate in central West Bank, when they were struck by the speeding colonist’s car near Ein al-Baida and Bardala Junctions in the Northern Plains of the Jordan Valley.

Bisharat added that the Palestinians came to the area to participate in a nature walk and exploration in the Northern Plains.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) rushed to the scene and moved the corpse of Bilal Shehada Bawatna, 52, to a Palestinian hospital, while Israeli medics moved the wounded residents to the al-Afula hospital.

Bawatna is from the Sateh Marhaba neighborhood in the al-Biereh city, north of Ramallah.

Eyewitnesses said the Israeli colonist was driving at an exceedingly high speed when he rammed the Palestinians, killing Bawatna and wounding the two others.

The funeral procession of Bilal Shehada was held, on Friday evening, starting from Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, heading towards Sateh Marhaba neighborhood, before the Palestinians took his body to the al-Ein Mosque in the city, and conducted the burial ceremony in the Shuhada Graveyard in the city.

Bawatna is the fifth Palestinian to be killed by Israelis this year.

On February 10, a Palestinian man, identified as Azzam Jamil Amer, from Kafr Qalil village near Ramallah, was killed after being rammed by an Israeli colonists’ car near Salfit, in central West Bank.

On January 31, the soldiers shot and killed Mohammad Hussein Amro, 35, from Halhoul, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron,

On January 26, the soldiers shot and killed Atallah Mohammad Rayyan, 17, near Salfit in central West Bank.

On January 11, the Israeli police killed Bashar Zubeidat, 18, during a protest against police violence near Haifa.

Bilal was from Ramallah, in the central West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Azzam Jamil Amer

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February 11, 2021: Azzam Jamil Amer died after being rammed by a speeding Israeli colonialist settler’s car near Salfit, in northwestern West Bank.

Medical sources said the man, Azzam Jamil Amer, from Kafr Qalil village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus was struck by the Israeli colonists’ car, before he was moved to an Israeli hospital where he succumbed to his serious wounds.

The Israeli police said it opened an investigation to determine whether the incident was a traffic accident or a deliberate attack.

Salfit Governor Abdullah Kamil said the Israeli colonist deliberately targeted the young man at the junction of Kifl Hares.

Azzam Jamil Amer with his children

Kamil held Israel responsible for the young man’s death, adding that Israel’s colonies are illegal under International Law since they are built on occupied lands, and constitute war crimes.

The deceased husband, and father, is a day laborer who was returning home from work when the incident took place.

It is worth mentioning that many Palestinians, including children, have been killed, and dozens injured, in similar incidents across the occupied West Bank.

In August of 2020, a young Palestinian man was killed when a speeding Israel colonists’ car struck him near a military roadblock, south of Tulkarem, in northern West Bank.

The Palestinian has been identified as Eqab Bashir Darawsha, 21, from Tallouza village, north of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. Azzam was from Kafr Qalil village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Source: IMEMC 

Khaled Maher Nofal

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February 5th, 2021: Khaled Maher Nofal, 34, was shot and killed by a paramilitary illegal Israeli colonialist settler near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, after he reportedly attempted to break into a house.

According to the Israeli military, Khaled, who was unarmed, attempted to break into a home in the illegal Sadeh Ephraim colony, which was installed on privately-owned Palestinian lands.

The army also claimed that, at about 3:45 in the morning, the Palestinian drove his car fast through a field, and stopped in front of a house at the edge of the colony, and allegedly tried to enter through a locked door.

It added that a guard woke up and began a physical confrontation with the man before another guard shot and killed him.

Radi Abu Fkheitha, the head of Ras Karkar Village Council, said the army informed the family Khaled Maher Nofal, 34, that he was shot and killed, and accompanied his father, Maher, and his brother, Mohammad, to the scene to identify him and his bloody clothes.

It is worth mentioning that Khaled is a married father of a boy, only four years of age, and works at the Palestinian Finance Ministry.

He was near the ar-Reesan Mountain, which was recently illegally confiscated by Israeli colonists who established the Sde Ephraim colony on the stolen Palestinian lands.

After the man was shot, Palestinian medics rushed to the area, but the soldiers prevented them from reaching him, and took his corpse away.

His family denied the Israeli allegations, and said that the guard or the soldiers did not have to deliver fatal shots, especially since he was unarmed, and could have been easily arrested.

They added that their son was executed in cold blood, and that the soldiers confiscated his car, in addition to invading and ransacking the family’s home and interrogated them.

“He just went to check on his land in the ar-Reesan Mountain where Israeli has been trying to illegally annex the lands of the Palestinians in the area for its colonialist activities,” the family stated, “He owns dozens of Dunams of lands there.”

Khaled was from Ras Karkar village , in the Ramallah District, in central West Bank. Source: IMEMC