Ref: 73/2023
Date: 03 July 2023
Time: 13:30 GMT
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) ongoing escalation in the West Bank. Today at dawn, IOF moved into Jenin city and refugee camp, killing 7 Palestinians, including 2 civilians, and injuring 28 others, mostly civilians and amongst them in critical condition, during a widescale military operation; during which IOF have used armored military vehicles and warplanes. It is worth noting that the military operation is still ongoing on Jenin at the time of writing this press release.
Lawyer Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, commented on this escalation, saying: “This military operation reminds us of IOF’s recurrent and consistent attacks across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt), where civilians are in the eye of the storm and IOF deliberately inflict harm on them and systematically destroy civilian property and infrastructure, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity according to the international law. We reiterate our call on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take an immediate action, including proceeding with the investigation into the situation of Palestine to end these crimes and send a clear message to the perpetrators of the war crimes that no crime goes unpunished.”
According to information collected by PCHR’s fieldworkers on what is going on in Jenin, at approximately 01:00 on Monday, 03 July 2023, IOF, backed by heavy machinery, warplanes, and drones, moved into Jenin and its refugee camp, and closed all the camp’s entrances with sand berms, isolating it from the city, amid airstrikes conducted by IOF warplanes on civilian facilities. A number of Israeli soldiers topped the roofs of many residential houses in the camp and turned them into military barracks for Israeli snipers. Afterwards, clashes broke out between members of Palestinian armed groups and IOF, killing 4 members namely Nour al-Deen Husam Yousef Marshoud, Sameeh Firas Sameeh Abu al-Wafa, Aws Hani Hasan al-Hanoun, and Husam Mohammed Abu Thibah.
At around 10:00, an Israeli sniper opened fire at a Palestinian armed group member namely ‘Ali al-Ghoul (20) in al-Damaj neighborhood in the camp’s outskirts, wounding him in the chest, and when Majdi ‘Ar’arawi (21) approached al-Ghoul to pull him, the Israeli sniper shot him with a live bullet in the neck. Afterwards, Mohammed Mohanad al-Shami (18) walked towards al-Ghoul and ‘Ar’arawi to pull them, but the sniper opened fire at al-Shami as well, wounding him in his head. The three of them were left to bleed for more than half an hour when people managed to pull them inside one of the houses but were dead bodies.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) until this moment, 28 injuries have been reported, mostly civilians and 9 in critical condition, noting that the military operation is still ongoing.
In protest against IOF’s crimes in Jenin, at approximately 03:44 on Monday, 03 July 2023, a peaceful demonstration made its way from the center of al-Bireh city towards the northern entrance to the city, where many young men and boys gathered and threw stones at the soldiers stationed at al-Mahkamah military checkpoint established near “Beit El” settlement, north of al-Bireh city. Tens of these soldiers then fired live and rubber-coated bullets, teargas canisters, and stun grenades at the protestors. According to eyewitnesses, during the clashes, Mohammad ‘Imad Abu Hassanein (21) was 30 meters away from the clashes when the Israeli soldiers directly opened fire at him, wounding him with a live bullet in the head. Abu Hassanein was taken via a Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance to the Palestine Medical Complex, where he was pronounced dead half an hour after attempting to resuscitate him.
PCHR warns of further deterioration in thesituation in the West Bank and reiterates its call on the international community to take an immediate action to stop the Israeli crimes and double standard when applying the international law. PCHR urges in particular the ICC Prosecutor to take serious action in the situation of Palestine.
PCHR demands the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention fulfil their obligations as per Common Article 1 of the Convention, “undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances,” and their obligations under Article 146 of the same Conventions, i.e., to hold accountable persons accused of committing grave breaches of the Convention.