Entire community in East Jerusalem at risk of forcible displacement, NGO says
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is warning that hundreds of Palestinians in the al-Bustan community in the Silwan neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem are at risk of forcible displacement after Israeli forces demolished a home there.
The demolition – which displaced seven Palestinians, including two children – breaches international law prohibitions on forcible transfer and the wanton destruction of property, the group said. The demolished home belonged to Mohammed Odeh and is the first among several houses belonging to nine families that are slated to be destroyed by Israeli authorities in occupied East Jerusalem.
The NRC said Israel wants to displace Palestinians and increase the Jewish presence in al-Bustan as it is located near the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. The community is home to about 1,550 Palestinians and 150 housing units.
“All structures in Al Bustan are currently unprotected and at risk of demolition,” NRC said.
The Palestinian al-Bustan neighbourhood in Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem, in 2021
Israeli forces blow up Fatah building in Balata camp: Report
Israeli forces have raided the Balata camp east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank and blown up the regional headquarters of the Fatah movement, reports Wafa news agency.
The forces stormed into the camp with bulldozers, entering from the eastern part of al-Quds Street, and fired sound cannons and tear gas. They carried out raids on numerous homes in addition to targeting the Fatah building, said Wafa.
As we reported earlier, Israel’s military also carried out a separate raid on the nearby town of Beit Furik, injuring three Palestinians, including two teenagers, with live gunfire.
Israeli forces seize house in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have seized a house in the village of Jalbun, east of Jenin in the West Bank this morning, Wafa reports.
The head of the Jalbun village council, Ibrahim Abu al-Rab, told Wafa that Israeli forces stormed the village and raided the house of resident Rafeh Rafiq Abu al-Rab. The forces then seized the second floor of al-Rab’s house and turned it into a military post.
Israel makes 10,000 West Bank arrests since October 7
Israeli forces have apprehended 26 people in their latest raids across the occupied West Bank, said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society. This brings the total number of Israeli arrests in the West Bank since the Gaza war broke out to about 10,000, said the group.
In a statement, the group said Israel’s mass arrest campaign has been accompanied by:
- Field executions.
- Shootings or the threat of shootings.
- Severe beatings.
- Field interrogations.
- Use of police dogs.
- Use of citizens as human shields.
- Confiscation of people’s belongings, vehicles, money, jewellery and electronic devices.
- Demolition of homes belonging to Palestinians in Israeli jails.
Three siblings detained during Israeli raid in Qalandiya refugee camp
Israeli forces detained three siblings during a military operation in the Qalandiya refugee camp north of the occupied city of Jerusalem, Wafa reported. Local sources told Wafa that Israeli forces detained three brothers after breaking into and searching their home in the camp.
Israeli forces assaulted several young men during the raid on several homes in the camp, causing a fracture in one of the sibling’s legs.
Man shot yesterday by Israeli forces in Jenin dies of wounds
The Palestinian Health Ministry says in a statement that a young man, 22-year-old Muhammad Ali Muhammad Abu Hijab succumbed to wounds he received at the hands of Israeli soldiers during an intense, hours-long raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
With the death of Abu Hijab, Israeli attacks, including air strikes on Jenin, killed at least 13 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank yesterday, in one of the deadliest days in the territory in recent months.
Israel has killed at least 620 Palestinians, including 145 children and nine women, in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza war began on October 7, the ministry said in its statement.
