Questions over why Israel hid reported death of Palestinian doctor in detention months ago
Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, says it is “not clear” why the Israeli military hid the death of Palestinian doctor Iyad al-Rantisi for months after he reportedly died at a Shin Bet interrogation centre in November last year.
Barghouti noted the news was only reported on Tuesday after Israel’s Haaretz newspaper “was given permission” to publish an article detailing al-Rantisi death.
Al Jazeera is reporting from outside Israel because it has been banned by the Israeli government, while Israeli media are required to submit articles on certain topics related to the war to Israel’s Chief Censor, according to a memo released in December last year.
As we reported earlier, al-Rantisi’s family and the organisations representing Palestinian prisoners held in Israel said they had still not been informed of al-Rantisi’s fate on Tuesday, after the Haaretz report of his death was published.
20 settlers came today from the direction of the Yitzhar settlement and invaded the village of Burin. They burned agricultural land and olive trees, set fire to a car, and wounded several Palestinians. Soldiers who were nearby stood idly by and did not attempt to stop the crimes. pic.twitter.com/jlnYySrXTV
— Yesh Din English (@Yesh_Din) June 18, 2024
Wells, olive trees destroyed in Israeli settler attacks
Our colleagues in the occupied West Bank are reporting that Israeli settlers’ attacks on Palestinians took place across the region on Tuesday, including in Burin, south of Nablus, and Yasouf, northeast of Salfit, where they destroyed crops and demolished a well. In Burqa, east of Ramallah, they set olive trees on fire.
On average, there are four such attacks witnessed daily. The UN has documented 962 settler attacks since October 7, which have led to the destruction of 43,000 Palestinian-owned trees and saplings.
Israel forces arrest 20 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have arrested 20 more people as its raids widen in the occupied West Bank, reports the Wafa news agency. The forces arrested 17 people in the town of Dhahriya, south of Hebron, two people in Askar camp in Nablus governorate, and one person in Hebron city.
The arrests come after our earlier reports of Israeli soldiers shooting four people during a raid on Qalqilya, while carrying out a spate of arrests in the town of Jayyous, to the north.
