Israeli army, settlers commit 1,124 attacks against Palestinian Bedouin communities
Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank are being subjected to ethnic cleansing and forced displacement at the hands of Israeli forces and settlers, according to al-Baidar Organisation for Defending Bedouin Rights. Over the past year, the organisation said that the Israeli army and settlers have committed 1,124 attacks against Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank.
The organisation pointed out that Israel is exploiting attention turned to its war on the Gaza Strip to carry out its largest mass displacement operation against Bedouin communities, summarised in physical attacks, demolishing homes, uprooting and destroying crops, seizing property and establishing new settlement outposts.
Al-Baidar reported that Israel and its settlers displaced approximately 28 Bedouin communities, comprised of 276 families and 1,593 individuals. There are 160 Bedouin communities spread out from Hebron in the south to the far north of the West Bank, as well as alongside the eastern plains and in Area C – which makes up 60 percent of the occupied territory but is under Israeli military and civil control.
Palestinians released from Israeli detention receive care at Rafah hospital
A released Palestinian man is brought to Abu Youssef Al Najjar Hospital for treatment
As we’ve been reporting, there are growing calls for an end to the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees subjected to weeks of imprisonment in unknown locations, and physical abuse by Israeli forces in Gaza. Palestinian men were held by Israeli forces for between 30 to 55 days, UN human rights official Ajith Sunghay said in a report yesterday during his visit to Gaza, where he met some of the released detainees.
More accounts of abuse from Palestinians released from Israeli detention
Many Palestinians are being imprisoned by Israeli forces each day and abused. Muhammad Abu Samra, one of those released, says he and other detainees were blindfolded and beaten up after being accused of carrying and using weapons.
“They transferred us to an army camp in Israel. They let dogs urinate on us and shoved sand on us. They threatened to shoot us. After two hours of being half-naked in such conditions, they moved us a few metres and told us to get ready for our execution,” he said.
Abdel Qader Tafesh, another former prisoner, says, “I only survived because of God’s will. “We’ve gone through collective punishment day in, day out. I feel very sorry for the Palestinian men, the detained teenagers who are 15,16 years old, for the torture they’ve gone through.”
‘Destroying Hamas and returning captives are conflicting’
The sister of an Israeli captive in Gaza who was shot by Israeli forces at close range as he was trying to escape shelling, has said the goals of the war stated by Israel do not align. “The goals of the war are conflicting, the destruction of Hamas and the return of the kidnapped are not in line, the fighting puts the detainees at risk and kills them,” Merav, the sister of Itay Saversky, said in an interview with Channel 12.
“The war must stop and a prisoner exchange deal must be reached. They said that returning abductees is the priority and if not, they lie to us all the time. This is the truth they lie to us and sacrifice us, if they can’t bring back the kidnapped they have to tell the truth. “I say to all Israelis: Get out of your homes and demonstrate. Join the protesters in front of Netanyahu’s house and shout.”
The tide is starting to turn in Israel, it needs to turn a lot faster
No let-up in Israel’s bombing of Gaza
There hasn’t been any let-up in the intense bombing across the Gaza Strip and it looks like it’s all started again in the north where more residential buildings have been targeted. There appears to be a surge in the intensity and scale of the bombings, with the remaining buildings in the vicinity of al-Shifa Hospital and the western part of Gaza City and Jabalia and Beit Lahiya being hit. Air strikes in Khan Younis are particularly concentrated in the vicinity of Nasser hospital and the Jordanian field hospital.
More people were ordered to evacuate Gaza City as of yesterday evening. Four centres were ordered to evacuate immediately. There is a heightened risk for people leaving during the night, taking the coastal road to the central area. Due to the ongoing blackout and lack of communication it has been really difficult to tell if people have actually been able to evacuate.
Palestinian fighters resurgent in Jabalia, claim 4 days of attacks on Israelis
Palestinian fighters have claimed attacks on Israeli forces in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza for a fourth consecutive day, amid assessments that armed groups in Gaza are “re-infiltrating” areas in the north of the territory that Israel previously considered “cleared”.
The last time Palestinian fighters claimed four straight days of attacks in Jabalia was between December 24 and 27, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) said in their latest Gaza battlefield assessment. “Palestinian fighters continued to attack Israeli forces in three areas of the northern Gaza Strip where Israeli forces previously conducted clearing operations,” the US-based think tanks said.
