Israeli veterans group says tying shoelaces could get you killed in occupied West Bank
A Palestinian who bends over to tie their shoelaces in Gaza could be shot under Israeli military rules of engagement but now an Israeli veterans group says the same shoot-to-kill protocols have been imported to the occupied West Bank.
Israeli military veterans advocacy group Breaking the Silence published the transcript of a conversation with an anonymous captain in the Israeli military who said Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank had been given permission to shoot anyone thought to be “messing with the ground”.
The captain said that specific phrase was “code” first used in Gaza and initially intended to describe Palestinians suspected of planting explosives.
In reality, the captain said, the term was regularly used to justify shooting Palestinians who might be otherwise going about their business.
“Think of yourself as a civilian: You mess with the ground to tie your shoelaces, pick something up, throw away garbage; you might be looking for something; you might be picking a flower,” the captain said.
“[But in Gaza], messing with the ground is a code name for planting an explosive device, always.”
https://x.com/BtSIsrael/status/1890030387541278725
Israeli military carries out more raids across the occupied West Bank
Israel continued to carry out overnight and early morning raids across the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency and other Palestinian media outlets report, including:
- The Israeli military deployed throughout Tulkarem city, particularly in the market area, and near the Al-Alemi Roundabout, where they conducted searches and patrols.
- Israeli military vehicles and soldiers stormed Tulkarem’s eastern suburb of Thinnabeh, searching homes and interrogating residents.
- Israeli forces carried out a dawn raid on the Askar refugee camp east of Nablus, deploying tear gas and sound grenades and firing live bullets as they searched homes. No injuries or arrests were reported.
- Troops also stormed the town of Jaba, south of Jenin.
A view of the destruction following the Israeli army’s withdrawal from the Far’a refugee camp in Tubas, occupied West Bank, on Wednesday
Israeli forces killed 25 Palestinians in West Bank’s Jenin in 25 days: Report
The Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting that Israeli forces are raiding the city and refugee camp of Jenin in the occupied West Bank for the 25th consecutive day.
The raids have left 25 Palestinians dead, dozens injured and wide-scale destruction of property and infrastructure in the area.
Wafa quoted local sources as saying 470 facilities and homes have been completely or partially destroyed due to the ongoing raids, and residents are cut off from electricity or water.
Schools and health services have been shuttered, and Israeli forces have stopped water from reaching the four main hospitals.
UNRWA accuses Israel of breaching international law by using its facility as detention centre
The UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, says the Israeli military used its Arroub Camp Health Centre near Bethlehem as a temporary detention site during a search and arrest operation on February 12, despite the UN premises being protected by international law.
“[The military] forcibly entered the health centre and used it for the detention and interrogation of tens of Palestinian residents rounded up in the camp,” a statement by the agency said.
It condemned the move as “a blatant disregard for the inviolability of United Nations facilities”.
“Unfortunately, this recent incident follows a pattern of forcible entries into UNRWA installations in the West Bank since October 2023, by both Israeli security forces and Palestinian armed groups,” the statement stressed.
“All UN premises are inviolable and are protected under international law,” UNRWA added.
The agency reminded that the new Israeli laws that entered into force on January 30 impose “a no-contact policy” between UNRWA and Israeli authorities, and the agency is no longer able to engage with Israeli officials to directly report such incidents as they occur.
