Shocking Spike in Willful Killings against Palestinians in the West Bank: Israeli Occupying Forces Kill 14 Palestinians, including 3 Children, in Tulkarm, and Settler Kill Ambulance Driver in Nablus
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the ongoing willful killings committed by the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) and settlers in the northern West Bank that have killed 15 Palestinians, including 3 children and an ambulance driver, in Tulkarm and Nablus on Friday and Sunday.
These crimes unfold within a comprehensive context of Israel’s escalating war crimes, crimes against humanity and crime of genocide, particularly in the Gaza strip where IOF continue their military aggression for 198 days amid the international community failure to end the ongoing genocidal acts.
According to our initial field documentation on the killing of 14 Palestinians in Nour Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm, at around 17:30 on Thursday, 18 April 2024, IOF raided the Camp, east of Tulkarm from several directions: Nitzanei Oz Checkpoint, Enav Checkpoint, Jubarah Checkpoint, and Avnei Hefetz settlement. They deployed across the camp and imposed a total security cordon there amid heavy deployment of Israeli soldiers in the bush road in the northern side and opposite to the Camp. IOF’s incursion and ensuing attacks expanded into several neighborhoods in Tulkarm refugee camp and city, where armed clashes broke out between IOF and Palestinian armed group members. Meanwhile, IOF have conducted widescale incursions and massive demolitions of houses and infrastructure in the camp for 3 days, during which, IOF’s shooting and bombardment could be heard. Moreover, IOF denied ambulances access to the camp to evacuate those killed and injured in the camp. On Friday afternoon, 19 April 2024, the dead body of Qays Fathi Nasrallah (13), from Tulkarm refugee camp, arrived at Tulkarm Governmental Hospital after he we shot by IOF with a bullet in the chest during their incursion in the camp.
At around 22:00 on Saturday, 20 April 2024, IOF withdrew from Nour Shams refugee camp while ambulance crews could enter the camp and retrieve 9 dead bodies, including 2 civilians while the rest were Palestinian armed group members raising the death toll to 14, including 2 brothers. It should be noted that the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority and Ministry of Health informed that IOF have detained four corpses of those killed in the incursion. Moreover, 8 civilians, including a paramedic, were injured and evacuated to Dr. Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital.
Those Killed were identified as follows:
PCHR’s field researchers continue to investigate the reported killings and document the total violations committed by IOF in the Camp that have been subjected to massive destruction as tens of houses were either razed, targeted with shells or blown up in addition to the extensive destruction inflicted to the Camp’s infrastructure, including streets, electricity and communications networks and waterlines.
According to initial available information on the killing of an ambulance driver by settlers’ fire in Nablus, at around 16:30 on Saturday, 20 April 2024, a group of settlers from “Ali” settlement, north of As-Sawiy village, southeast of Nablus, attacked Palestinian houses, south of the settlement. As a result, locals gathered and confronted the settlers with stones when suddenly the settlement’s guard opened fire at the civilian locals, wounding 2 of them: one in the chest and the other with shrapnel in his face, abdomen and lower limbs. Meanwhile, a Palestinian ambulance coming from Nablus was traveling by coincidence near the area, so it stopped and evacuated the 2 injuries intending to take them to the hospital. As soon as the ambulance moved, around only 50 meters away, the settlement’s guard fired a barrage of bullets at the ambulance. As a result, the ambulance driver and volunteer paramedic, Mohammed ‘Awadallah Mohammed Mousa (49), From Qaryout village, was wounded with a bullet in his thigh that has cut the femoral artery and his head hit the steering wheel, saying: “I got injured.” Immediately, his colleague, who was sitting next to him, moved him to continue driving the ambulance to al-Seraj clinic in Qablan village, where it turned out that Mousa had no vital signs and was then referred to Rafidia Governmental hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. Meanwhile, the other 2 injured persons were referred to Annajah Hospital in Nablus, where the injury of one of them was deemed critical and other’s moderate.
So far this year, PCHR has monitored the killing of 167 Palestinians, including 38 children and 3 women, by IOF in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Among those killed, 3 were shot dead by settlers and 7 detainees died in the Israeli prisons.
PCHR believe that these crimes would not have continued without Israel’s long-enjoyed impunity and third states failure to hold perpetrators accountable and put an end to these crimes, according to Common Article 1 of the Four Geneva Conventions and Articles 146 and 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
PCHR condemns the ongoing settlers’ violence and willful killings committed under IOF’s protection. Thus, it warns that such crimes might become the routine with international community’s failure to oblige Israel, the occupying power, to cease its genocidal acts continuously committed against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since 07 October 2023.
PCHR believes that IOF is solely responsible for this systamtic violence backed up by the upper political echelon in Israel.
PCHR calls on the international community and United Nations (UN) bodies to abide by their moral and legal obligations and act promptly to stop the crimes committed by IOF and settlers against the Palestinians and provide protection for the latter, emphasizing Israel’s impunity and international community’s inaction towards Israel’s crimes are fueling further commission of such crimes.
As Israel attempts to eliminate the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination, PCHR reiterates that addressing the situation in Palestine requires tackling the root causes of the Palestinian struggle, emphasizing that this is the primary responsibility of the international community and UN member states.
Trial Version
