Ref:149/2022Date: 30 November 2022Time: 18:30 GMTToday afternoon and yesterday, two Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) fire during the latter’s incursion into Jenin and Ramallah in the West Bank. These killings come at a time IOF escalate their murders, thereby increasing the number of Palestinians killed within 24 hours to 6. 

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian C entre for Human Rights (PCHR) into the killing of a Palestinian civilian in Jenin, at approximately 13:45 on Wednesday, 30 November 2022, an Israeli special force from “Yamam Unit” sneaked into Ya’bad village, southwest of Jenin, and cordoned off ‘Abed al-Ghani Hamza Hussain Hirzallah (21)’s house in al-Hamarsha neighborhood. Afterwards, large Israeli reinforcements arrived and tightened the cordon around the house and in its surrounding in the village center and in al-Karajat area, amid heavy shooting that ended with ‘Abdel Ghani turning himself in. During the cordon that continued until 14:30, clashes broke out with young Palestinians while IOF, including Israeli snipers stationed on the top of house roofs opened fire at the Palestinian protestors. As a result, one of them identified as Mohammed Tawfiq Shaker Badarna (23), from Ya’bad village, was killed after being shot with a live bullet in his chest, although he posed no danger or threat to Israeli soldiers’ lives.

According to field investigations and an eyewitness’s testimony to PCHR’s fieldworker about the killing of a civilian in Ramallah, at around 15:00 on Tuesday, 29 November 2022, IOF accompanied with an SUV belonging to the Israeli Civil Administration moved into al-Mughayyir village, east of Ramallah, and distributed demolition notices to residential houses under the pretext of being located in Area C. Meanwhile, clashes erupted, where IOF fired live and rubber-coated bullets, teargas canisters and stun grenades at the Palestinian protestors. As a result, Raied Ghazi Al-Na’san (22), was injured with a live bullet in the right side of his chest as the bullet penetrated the lungs and reached the heart, killing him immediately.

PCHR reiterates its call upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to 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.