Ref: 96/2023

Date: 20 September 2023

Time: 15:30 GMT

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) continuous escalation and killings; the latest was the unjustified killing of 6 Palestinians, including 3 civilians, amongst them a child, in extrajudicial executions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. IOF continue to commit such crimes due to the impunity and protection provided to their soldiers by Israel’s top military and political echelons.

According to information collected by PCHR’s fieldworker about the latest killings in Jericho, at approximately 05:30 on Wednesday, 20 September 2023, IOF backed by several military vehicles moved into ‘Aqabat Jaber refugee camp adjacent to Jericho, where they raided two houses and arrested two Palestinians. They were stationed on the rooftops of some high buildings and turned them into military barracks for snipers. While IOF were patrolling the main street in the camp’s center, Palestinian young men gathered and threw stones and empty bottles at the military vehicles. Immediately and indiscriminately, IOF fired live and rubber-coated bullets at the protestors amid clashes in the camp’s center that lasted for about half an hour. As a result, Durgham Mohammed Yehia al-Akhras (19) was injured with a live bullet in his head while he was among the protestors on the main street near the Palestinian Trade Unions Headquarters. Al-Akhras was evacuated to Jericho Governmental Hospital, where doctors had tried to save him before announcing his death 2 minutes later.

According to information collected by PCHR’s fieldworker on the killing of 4 Palestinians, including a child, and injury of 30 others in Jenin refugee camp, at around 19:40 on Tuesday, 19 September 2023, an Israeli Special Force infiltrated via a Mercedes bus and an SUV through the camp’s northern entrance. Afterwards, several members of the special force in military uniforms stepped out and pointed their weapons at those who were in the area. Upon their arrival, the electricity in Jenin refugee camp and nearby neighborhoods went out. Meanwhile, IOF’s backups arrived in the area and the Israeli Special Force cordoned off and raided a wanted person’s house, but they could not arrest him. During their incursion, armed clashes broke out between members of the Palestinian armed groups and IOF, who raided several houses and turned their rooftops into military barracks for snipers. The incursion and clashes continued for around 2 hours; during which, IOF used two “Maoz” suicide drones that exploded among Palestinian civilians and Palestinian armed group members, wounding many of them. IOF officially announced that they blew up one of the two drones. ¹IOF’s shooting and the drones’ explosions killed 4 Palestinians, including a child namely Ra’fat Omar Ahmed Khamaisa (16) who was shot by IOF with a bullet in his abdomen while he was near his grandfather’s house. Meanwhile, the three others were members of the Palestinian armed groups and were identified as: Mahmoud Khaled Sa’oud ‘Ar’arawi (26), Mahmoud ‘Ali Nafi’a Sa’di (24), and ‘Ataa Yaser ‘Ataa Mousa (29). Also, 30 other Palestinians sustained various injuries. IOF’s shooting has also caused damage to the Jenin Governmental Hospital, an UNRWA Clinic, several houses, and shops.

According to eyewitnesses to the killing of a Palestinian and injury of another in protests in eastern Khan Yunis, at around 18:25 on Tuesday, 19 September 2023, IOF in a military SUV stationed along the border fence in eastern Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, fired several bullets at two young men, who were running away from the border fence. The two young men were hiding behind a sand berm around 40 meters away from the border fence after setting tires ablaze during protests organized in solidarity with the al-Aqsa Mosque in the border area, east of Khuza’a village. As a result, Yousef Salem Yousef Redwan (24), from Bani Suhila in Khan Yunis, was shot with 2 bullets; one penetrated the back of his chest and exited his face while the other penetrated his back and exited his chest. Redwan fell on the ground about 100 meters away from the border fence and was then evacuated to the Gaza European Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, succumbing to his injury. The eyewitnesses emphasize that IOF unjustifiably opened fire at Redwan and killed him, as he was running away from the border fence when Israeli snipers targeted him, noting that he posed no threat or danger to soldiers’ lives either while running away or while hiding behind the sand berm. Moreover, around an hour earlier, another young man was shot with a bullet in his foot in the same area while 7 Palestinians, including 3 children, were injured during IOF’s suppression of similar protests in eastern Gaza and Jabalia refugee camp.

PCHR warns against IOF’s unjustified deadly escalation and excessive use of force in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and reiterates its call on the international community to take immediate action to stop the Israeli crimes and double standards when applying international law. PCHR also urges the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take serious action in the situation of Palestine. PCHR demands the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention fulfill 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 Convention, i.e., to hold accountable persons accused of committing grave breaches of the Convention.

1. https://twitter.com/AvichayAdraee/status/1704191957545689117 ↩︎