11 jan 2018
Israeli occupation forces killed 15 Palestinian children in the besieged Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, in 2017, Defense for Children International-Palestine revealed on Tuesday.
The human rights organization said, in a report, that 12 children were shot dead, four of them during protests and three in ambushes setup by the army.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces also killed five children during alleged attempts to carry out stabbing attacks.
The report pointed out, according to Days of Palestine, that a child was killed by artillery shelling in the Gaza Strip, and another by the explosion of a suspicious body while herding sheep near the city of Tubas in the northern West Bank while another died from injuries sustained in 2014.
The organization stressed that the Israeli army takes advantage of the lack of accountability to kill more children.
In related news, Israeli Minister of Agriculture Ori Ariel remarked, on Wednesday, that he had not heard any news about deaths under Israeli strikes in Gaza.
Speaking to Israeli general radio, the Israeli minister said that he wanted “qualitative” responses to alleged Palestinian rockets attacks.
“For months, I haven’t heard about news and wounded in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip,” he told the Israeli radio.
He wondered: “Which is the weapon we use when we strike the Gaza Strip that does not cause death and injuries among the Gazans?”
He continued: “When the Israeli forces trike Gaza, we only see smokes rising from the rubble of Palestinian houses and later on, no news about casualties.”
The human rights organization said, in a report, that 12 children were shot dead, four of them during protests and three in ambushes setup by the army.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces also killed five children during alleged attempts to carry out stabbing attacks.
The report pointed out, according to Days of Palestine, that a child was killed by artillery shelling in the Gaza Strip, and another by the explosion of a suspicious body while herding sheep near the city of Tubas in the northern West Bank while another died from injuries sustained in 2014.
The organization stressed that the Israeli army takes advantage of the lack of accountability to kill more children.
In related news, Israeli Minister of Agriculture Ori Ariel remarked, on Wednesday, that he had not heard any news about deaths under Israeli strikes in Gaza.
Speaking to Israeli general radio, the Israeli minister said that he wanted “qualitative” responses to alleged Palestinian rockets attacks.
“For months, I haven’t heard about news and wounded in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip,” he told the Israeli radio.
He wondered: “Which is the weapon we use when we strike the Gaza Strip that does not cause death and injuries among the Gazans?”
He continued: “When the Israeli forces trike Gaza, we only see smokes rising from the rubble of Palestinian houses and later on, no news about casualties.”
The Israeli authorities have stepped up apartheid practices in the Palestinian territories, following the decision by US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Euro-Mediterranean Observatory for Human Rights said in a new report.
Since Trump's announcement, Israel has notably been expanding settlements and plans to annex the West Bank, not to mention the high frequency of arrests against Palestinians by applying discriminatory military rules and policies to which only Palestinians are subject, says the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
Israeli officials' statements regarding the expansion of settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank have increased dramatically since US President Donald Trump's Jerusalem move, according to the report.
The Israeli Minister of Housing and Construction, Yves Galant, announced just two days after Trump's decision that the Israeli government intends to build 6,000 new settlement units in East Jerusalem, bringing the number of units to a total of 63,000 units. This is a serious development in the Israeli settlement construction, the largest in two decades," says Euro-Med.
Euro-Med stresses that the new expansion of the settlements would mean more separation among Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem, with more than 2,000 Israeli settlers in the heart of those neighborhoods. These settlers are militarily protected by Israeli forces, making the Palestinians at risk and more vulnerable to threats.
On the other hand, Israeli control over Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem has a negative impact on providing infrastructure and transportation services to the Palestinians, since the Israeli authorities are responsible for providing these services. In return, these services are provided to Israeli settlers, despite the Palestinians' obligation and commitment to pay taxes.
Furthermore, the number of clinics for women and children in Palestinian neighborhoods is four times less than those in Israeli settlements.
Euro-Med reiterates its assertion of the report issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which was later withdrawn, and which pointed out that Israel is imposing apartheid on the Palestinians, noting that the Israeli authorities seemed to be applying racist practices that affect the demographic presence of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, including the refusal to grant building permits to Palestinians, which would expose more than 20,000 buildings to a continuing demolition threat by the municipality of the Israeli government.
In addition, the Israeli government practices a policy of threatening to revoke the identity of the residents of East Jerusalem, if they leave the city for any reason. This policy has resulted in the loss of 14,595 Palestinians to their Jerusalem IDs and residence permits over the past years.
In the same context, Euro-Med documented the Israeli authorities’ waging of a wave of large-scale arrests of Palestinians, following protests that erupted in the Palestinian territories following the decision of US President Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
In this regard, Euro-Med said that the Israeli forces have stormed the West Bank and East Jerusalem more than 278 times since December 7, 2017, following the decision of President Trump, which led to the arrest of 601 Palestinians, 414 of them are from the West Bank, including 119 children and women, and 187 from East Jerusalem, including 45 women and children.
Most of the arrests are based on military orders and laws that Palestinians living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are subject to, while Israeli settlers living in the same areas are not. Under these military orders, Palestinians are deprived of many basic rights, such as the right to peaceful expression and protest, or participation in political parties. These acts are criminalized when it comes to Palestinians alone and they are punishable by up to ten years in prison.
According to Euro-Med, the prison itself is subject to discriminatory criteria that distinguish between Palestinian and Israeli prisoners. The Palestinians are classified as "security prisoners." Under this classification, many of the rights granted to non-security prisoners, such as the right to conjugal visits or the right to make telephone calls. Also, Palestinian prisoners do not benefit from the early release system, which is often granted to other Israeli prisoners.
This system states that the Israeli perpetrator of a murder receives privileges in prison greater than those obtained by a Palestinian convicted of belonging to a Palestinian political party or participating in an anti-occupation demonstration or stone throwing, simply because he is classified as a "security prisoner."
Euro-Med stresses that the racist practices by the Israeli authorities in the Palestinian territories contradict the provisions of international law and international conventions such as the Fourth Geneva Convention and its Protocol I, which prohibited the confiscation of property belonging to the inhabitants of the occupied territories, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. These conventions defined racial discrimination as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life, which Israel systematically practices against the Palestinians.
Euro-Med reiterates its assertion of the report issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which was later withdrawn, and which pointed out that Israel is imposing apartheid on the Palestinians, noting that the Israeli authorities seemed to be applying racist practices that affect the demographic presence of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, including the refusal to grant building permits to Palestinians, which would expose more than 20,000 buildings to a continuing demolition threat by the municipality of the Israeli government.
Since Trump's announcement, Israel has notably been expanding settlements and plans to annex the West Bank, not to mention the high frequency of arrests against Palestinians by applying discriminatory military rules and policies to which only Palestinians are subject, says the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
Israeli officials' statements regarding the expansion of settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank have increased dramatically since US President Donald Trump's Jerusalem move, according to the report.
The Israeli Minister of Housing and Construction, Yves Galant, announced just two days after Trump's decision that the Israeli government intends to build 6,000 new settlement units in East Jerusalem, bringing the number of units to a total of 63,000 units. This is a serious development in the Israeli settlement construction, the largest in two decades," says Euro-Med.
Euro-Med stresses that the new expansion of the settlements would mean more separation among Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem, with more than 2,000 Israeli settlers in the heart of those neighborhoods. These settlers are militarily protected by Israeli forces, making the Palestinians at risk and more vulnerable to threats.
On the other hand, Israeli control over Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem has a negative impact on providing infrastructure and transportation services to the Palestinians, since the Israeli authorities are responsible for providing these services. In return, these services are provided to Israeli settlers, despite the Palestinians' obligation and commitment to pay taxes.
Furthermore, the number of clinics for women and children in Palestinian neighborhoods is four times less than those in Israeli settlements.
Euro-Med reiterates its assertion of the report issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which was later withdrawn, and which pointed out that Israel is imposing apartheid on the Palestinians, noting that the Israeli authorities seemed to be applying racist practices that affect the demographic presence of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, including the refusal to grant building permits to Palestinians, which would expose more than 20,000 buildings to a continuing demolition threat by the municipality of the Israeli government.
In addition, the Israeli government practices a policy of threatening to revoke the identity of the residents of East Jerusalem, if they leave the city for any reason. This policy has resulted in the loss of 14,595 Palestinians to their Jerusalem IDs and residence permits over the past years.
In the same context, Euro-Med documented the Israeli authorities’ waging of a wave of large-scale arrests of Palestinians, following protests that erupted in the Palestinian territories following the decision of US President Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
In this regard, Euro-Med said that the Israeli forces have stormed the West Bank and East Jerusalem more than 278 times since December 7, 2017, following the decision of President Trump, which led to the arrest of 601 Palestinians, 414 of them are from the West Bank, including 119 children and women, and 187 from East Jerusalem, including 45 women and children.
Most of the arrests are based on military orders and laws that Palestinians living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are subject to, while Israeli settlers living in the same areas are not. Under these military orders, Palestinians are deprived of many basic rights, such as the right to peaceful expression and protest, or participation in political parties. These acts are criminalized when it comes to Palestinians alone and they are punishable by up to ten years in prison.
According to Euro-Med, the prison itself is subject to discriminatory criteria that distinguish between Palestinian and Israeli prisoners. The Palestinians are classified as "security prisoners." Under this classification, many of the rights granted to non-security prisoners, such as the right to conjugal visits or the right to make telephone calls. Also, Palestinian prisoners do not benefit from the early release system, which is often granted to other Israeli prisoners.
This system states that the Israeli perpetrator of a murder receives privileges in prison greater than those obtained by a Palestinian convicted of belonging to a Palestinian political party or participating in an anti-occupation demonstration or stone throwing, simply because he is classified as a "security prisoner."
Euro-Med stresses that the racist practices by the Israeli authorities in the Palestinian territories contradict the provisions of international law and international conventions such as the Fourth Geneva Convention and its Protocol I, which prohibited the confiscation of property belonging to the inhabitants of the occupied territories, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. These conventions defined racial discrimination as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life, which Israel systematically practices against the Palestinians.
Euro-Med reiterates its assertion of the report issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which was later withdrawn, and which pointed out that Israel is imposing apartheid on the Palestinians, noting that the Israeli authorities seemed to be applying racist practices that affect the demographic presence of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, including the refusal to grant building permits to Palestinians, which would expose more than 20,000 buildings to a continuing demolition threat by the municipality of the Israeli government.
10 jan 2018
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A report by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that almost half of the Palestinian patients in the Gaza Strip, who need treatment outside of the besieged Gaza Strip and applied for exit permits from Israel, have their exit permit applications delayed, and lost their hospital appointment as a result.
In its report on Health Access for Referral Patients from the Gaza Strip covering the month of November, WHO said that out of 2,047 patient applications for permits to exit Gaza through the Israeli Erez checkpoint for health care, 54% of applications were approved; 2% were denied; and 44% were delayed, receiving no definitive response from Israeli authorities by the date of hospital appointment. |
Losing the appointment date means the patients have to re-schedule their hospital appointment before they can re-apply for an exit permit, a process that can take months and therefore cause long delays for possibly badly needed treatment not available in Gaza.
Most of the referrals are for hospitals in East Jerusalem and Israel, with some to the West Bank and Jordan and many are for cancer patients.
In addition, out of 2,351 permit applications for patient companions to Israeli authorities in November. 43% were approved, 2% were denied and 55% were delayed, still pending by the date of the patient’s hospital appointment.
The report said 58 patients (37 males; 21 females) were requested for interrogation by Israeli General Security Services at Erez during November. Only seven were approved permits to travel for health care.
Palestinians in Gaza were also advised that permit applications will take 26 working days to process, more than twofold increase from 10 working days prior to May 2017, said the report.
Most of the referrals are for hospitals in East Jerusalem and Israel, with some to the West Bank and Jordan and many are for cancer patients.
In addition, out of 2,351 permit applications for patient companions to Israeli authorities in November. 43% were approved, 2% were denied and 55% were delayed, still pending by the date of the patient’s hospital appointment.
The report said 58 patients (37 males; 21 females) were requested for interrogation by Israeli General Security Services at Erez during November. Only seven were approved permits to travel for health care.
Palestinians in Gaza were also advised that permit applications will take 26 working days to process, more than twofold increase from 10 working days prior to May 2017, said the report.
9 jan 2018
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) shot and killed over December eight unarmed Palestinian demonstrators, none of whom posed mortal danger, who were participating in protests near the Gaza perimeter fence, B’tselem’s new report revealed.
According to the report, Israeli troops fired live ammunition during protests against US recoginition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, killing 10 Palestinians and injuring hundreds in West Bank, Gaza, and occupied Jerusalem.
In the Gaza demonstrations, the soldiers were located on the Israeli side of the fence, at some distance from the Palestinian protesters. They were undeniably not in mortal danger – certainly not of a kind that could not be prevented by other means, the report said.
Yet even this recent upsurge in the killing and injury of Palestinians through the unlawful and excessive use of live ammunition will not, most probably, be addressed any differently than thousands of other cases in which no one was held accountable.
The announcement of the launching of an investigation by the Military Police Investigation Unit into the killing of Ibrahim Abu Thuraya – released after the incident sparked headlines in Israel and around the world – holds no promise. It is no more than the first in a routine series of steps taken to whitewash the circumstances in which Israeli security forces kill Palestinians.
With the MAG Corps at the helm, the process will inevitably yield the familiar result: instead of being held to account, those responsible for these killings will be afforded protection.
According to the report, Israeli troops fired live ammunition during protests against US recoginition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, killing 10 Palestinians and injuring hundreds in West Bank, Gaza, and occupied Jerusalem.
In the Gaza demonstrations, the soldiers were located on the Israeli side of the fence, at some distance from the Palestinian protesters. They were undeniably not in mortal danger – certainly not of a kind that could not be prevented by other means, the report said.
Yet even this recent upsurge in the killing and injury of Palestinians through the unlawful and excessive use of live ammunition will not, most probably, be addressed any differently than thousands of other cases in which no one was held accountable.
The announcement of the launching of an investigation by the Military Police Investigation Unit into the killing of Ibrahim Abu Thuraya – released after the incident sparked headlines in Israel and around the world – holds no promise. It is no more than the first in a routine series of steps taken to whitewash the circumstances in which Israeli security forces kill Palestinians.
With the MAG Corps at the helm, the process will inevitably yield the familiar result: instead of being held to account, those responsible for these killings will be afforded protection.
An Israeli human rights report has revealed that the majority of Israelis are not convicted of attacks committed against Palestinians or Palestinian property, in the occupied territories.
Israel’s Yesh Din: Volunteers for Human Rights issued a report saying that “From the beginning of 2014 to the end of August 2017, Yesh Din monitored 225 new investigation files.”
“At the time of publication, investigation and prosecutorial bodies had completed the processing of 185 of these investigations. Twenty-one (11.4 per cent) of these investigations resulted in indictments, and 118 (64 per cent) were closed under circumstances attesting to police investigative failure,” it added.
The organization did not reveal the result of the other cases.
Yesh Din listed data suggesting the Israeli authorities’ lenience with Israelis attacking Palestinians.
In this regard, the organization said that it monitored over 1,200 investigations into Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005.
According to the data, only three per cent of investigations regarding ideologically motivated crime against Palestinians have resulted in a conviction.
In addition, only 8.1 per cent of the investigation files monitored by Yesh Din, during this period (94 of 1,163 concluded files), have led to indictments.
Israel’s Yesh Din: Volunteers for Human Rights issued a report saying that “From the beginning of 2014 to the end of August 2017, Yesh Din monitored 225 new investigation files.”
“At the time of publication, investigation and prosecutorial bodies had completed the processing of 185 of these investigations. Twenty-one (11.4 per cent) of these investigations resulted in indictments, and 118 (64 per cent) were closed under circumstances attesting to police investigative failure,” it added.
The organization did not reveal the result of the other cases.
Yesh Din listed data suggesting the Israeli authorities’ lenience with Israelis attacking Palestinians.
In this regard, the organization said that it monitored over 1,200 investigations into Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005.
According to the data, only three per cent of investigations regarding ideologically motivated crime against Palestinians have resulted in a conviction.
In addition, only 8.1 per cent of the investigation files monitored by Yesh Din, during this period (94 of 1,163 concluded files), have led to indictments.
5 jan 2018
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by Ibrahim Husseini & Liam O’Hare
A Palestinian refugee camp in the occupied West Bank may be the most exposed place to tear gas in the world, according to the author of a new study. The Human Rights Centre of the University of California at Berkeley recently reported that Israel’s security forces have carried out a “widespread”, “frequent” and “indiscriminate” use of tear gas against Palestinian refugees in Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem. The report – said to be the first to analyse the effects of tear gas in the West Bank – found that 100 percent of the more than 200 Palestinian residents surveyed in Aida camp were exposed to tear gas over the past year. The report, No Safe Space: Health Consequences of Tear Gas Exposure Among Palestine Refugees, collected testimonies last summer in Aida and the nearby Dheisheh refugee camp. “We found that the constant and unpredictable use of tear gas in Palestine refugee camps has a devastating effect on the mental and physical health of residents,” said the report’s co-author, Dr Rohini Haar, a researcher at the UC Berkeley centre and a doctor with Physicians for Human Rights. The effects, Haar told Al Jazeera, are especially harmful on “the most vulnerable, including pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people already in ill health”. |
The report surveyed 236 residents of Aida, all of whom said they were exposed to tear gas in the last year.
Of that, 84 percent of people said they were exposed while in their homes.
As its name implies, tear gas is intended to cause a person’s eyes to water and skin to burn.
Residents also told the report’s authors that the Israeli army’s use of tear gas was “primarily unprovoked”.
The Israeli army did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on the study’s findings.
Densely populated camp
Refugee camps are among the most vulnerable to tear-gas exposure in the occupied Palestinian territories, the report states.
Home to about 6,400 Palestinian refugees, Aida covers just 0.017 square kilometres, making it one of the most densely populated places in the world.
Clashes between Israeli security forces and Aida camp residents are frequent, with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimating that at least 376 confrontations took place between January 2014 and December 15 of this year, the report stated.
“Our life here in the camp is filled with tear gas, filled with stun grenades, filled with skunk water,” said 30-year-old resident Sabreen, the mother of a Palestinian prisoner, referring to a foul-smelling liquid frequently sprayed by the Israeli army on Palestinian protesters and homes across the West Bank.
“It is the life of a refugee. What can we do?” added Sabreen, who did not give Al Jazeera her last name.
Two years ago, an Israeli soldier was filmed warning the camp’s residents: “People of Aida refugee camp, we are the occupation forces. You throw stones, and we will hit you with gas until you all die. The children, the youth, the old people – you will all die.”
Firing tear gas near homes violates the UN Code of Conduct and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, the report stated.
It also explained that homes and schools are not designed to shield against tear gas, leaving residents with few options to avoid it or reduce its effects.
Last Friday, Al Jazeera saw the Israeli army fired hundreds of tear-gas canisters into a small crowd of protesters in an area bordering Aida camp. Limited clashes also spread into the camp, where Israeli soldiers responded with more tear gas.
“I came back home from a wedding, and I found 25 gas canisters near my home,” said Sana, a resident of the camp, who also did not give Al Jazeera her last name.
Many residents of the camp have taken to wearing gas masks to protect themselves, though they are difficult to obtain and costly.
Devastating effects
According to Dr Haar, regular exposure to tear gas can affect “all [the] body[‘s] systems”.
In the report, residents described various physical effects from such frequent exposure to tear gas, including losses of consciousness, miscarriages, trouble breathing, asthma, coughing, dizziness, rashes, severe pain, allergic dermatitis, headaches, neurological irritability and even blunt trauma from being hit by tear gas canisters.
“Everybody’s system is affected by this,” Dr Haar said.
The Israeli army’s frequent use of tear gas has also had left residents with psychological scars.
Because of the random nature of the Israeli raids, Aida camp residents find them themselves “perpetually on edge, fearing the next attack”, according to the report.
Amal Manasra, 27, a resident of Aida, told Al Jazeera her infant daughter was recently exposed to tear gas after a canister fired by the Israeli army landed near a door to her home.
“The oxygen level was zero … She was suffocating … We carried her to the hospital … She spent seven days there,” Amal said.
“We are in an area we are exposed to shootings daily, to smelling tear gas. I have kids. The gas leaks into the house through windows and from under the door,” she said.
Dr Haar told Al Jazeera that “no one else experiences this level of tear gas”.
‘It is poison’
The protests against US President Donald Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital have increased Palestinians’ exposure to tear gas, the study found.
Meanwhile, Palestinians have also alleged that the gas has become more potent.
“This is not tear gas; it is poison,” Thaer, another Aida camp resident, told Al Jazeera.
While tear gas is usually composed of a mixture of synthetic or naturally occurring gases, including pepper spray, “the specific chemical utilised by the [Israeli security forces] in recent years is unknown”, the report stated.
According to Dr Haar, “the Israeli government is obligated to disclose the composition of the tear gas” it uses so medical professionals can treat the symptoms the chemicals cause.
Meanwhile, Chris Gunness, UNRWA spokesperson, said the “report raises serious concerns about the use of tear gas in heavily built-up areas such as the refugee camps in Bethlehem”.
“The widespread, indiscriminate and frequent use of tear gas exposes refugees including our own staff to health risks, but at this stage, it is impossible for health professionals to fully assess these risks and the long-term impact of prolonged and regular exposure,” Gunness told Al Jazeera.
“It is clear that the psychological impact on young people surveyed is significant and that the development and educational prospects of children are being affected.”
Of that, 84 percent of people said they were exposed while in their homes.
As its name implies, tear gas is intended to cause a person’s eyes to water and skin to burn.
Residents also told the report’s authors that the Israeli army’s use of tear gas was “primarily unprovoked”.
The Israeli army did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on the study’s findings.
Densely populated camp
Refugee camps are among the most vulnerable to tear-gas exposure in the occupied Palestinian territories, the report states.
Home to about 6,400 Palestinian refugees, Aida covers just 0.017 square kilometres, making it one of the most densely populated places in the world.
Clashes between Israeli security forces and Aida camp residents are frequent, with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimating that at least 376 confrontations took place between January 2014 and December 15 of this year, the report stated.
“Our life here in the camp is filled with tear gas, filled with stun grenades, filled with skunk water,” said 30-year-old resident Sabreen, the mother of a Palestinian prisoner, referring to a foul-smelling liquid frequently sprayed by the Israeli army on Palestinian protesters and homes across the West Bank.
“It is the life of a refugee. What can we do?” added Sabreen, who did not give Al Jazeera her last name.
Two years ago, an Israeli soldier was filmed warning the camp’s residents: “People of Aida refugee camp, we are the occupation forces. You throw stones, and we will hit you with gas until you all die. The children, the youth, the old people – you will all die.”
Firing tear gas near homes violates the UN Code of Conduct and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, the report stated.
It also explained that homes and schools are not designed to shield against tear gas, leaving residents with few options to avoid it or reduce its effects.
Last Friday, Al Jazeera saw the Israeli army fired hundreds of tear-gas canisters into a small crowd of protesters in an area bordering Aida camp. Limited clashes also spread into the camp, where Israeli soldiers responded with more tear gas.
“I came back home from a wedding, and I found 25 gas canisters near my home,” said Sana, a resident of the camp, who also did not give Al Jazeera her last name.
Many residents of the camp have taken to wearing gas masks to protect themselves, though they are difficult to obtain and costly.
Devastating effects
According to Dr Haar, regular exposure to tear gas can affect “all [the] body[‘s] systems”.
In the report, residents described various physical effects from such frequent exposure to tear gas, including losses of consciousness, miscarriages, trouble breathing, asthma, coughing, dizziness, rashes, severe pain, allergic dermatitis, headaches, neurological irritability and even blunt trauma from being hit by tear gas canisters.
“Everybody’s system is affected by this,” Dr Haar said.
The Israeli army’s frequent use of tear gas has also had left residents with psychological scars.
Because of the random nature of the Israeli raids, Aida camp residents find them themselves “perpetually on edge, fearing the next attack”, according to the report.
Amal Manasra, 27, a resident of Aida, told Al Jazeera her infant daughter was recently exposed to tear gas after a canister fired by the Israeli army landed near a door to her home.
“The oxygen level was zero … She was suffocating … We carried her to the hospital … She spent seven days there,” Amal said.
“We are in an area we are exposed to shootings daily, to smelling tear gas. I have kids. The gas leaks into the house through windows and from under the door,” she said.
Dr Haar told Al Jazeera that “no one else experiences this level of tear gas”.
‘It is poison’
The protests against US President Donald Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital have increased Palestinians’ exposure to tear gas, the study found.
Meanwhile, Palestinians have also alleged that the gas has become more potent.
“This is not tear gas; it is poison,” Thaer, another Aida camp resident, told Al Jazeera.
While tear gas is usually composed of a mixture of synthetic or naturally occurring gases, including pepper spray, “the specific chemical utilised by the [Israeli security forces] in recent years is unknown”, the report stated.
According to Dr Haar, “the Israeli government is obligated to disclose the composition of the tear gas” it uses so medical professionals can treat the symptoms the chemicals cause.
Meanwhile, Chris Gunness, UNRWA spokesperson, said the “report raises serious concerns about the use of tear gas in heavily built-up areas such as the refugee camps in Bethlehem”.
“The widespread, indiscriminate and frequent use of tear gas exposes refugees including our own staff to health risks, but at this stage, it is impossible for health professionals to fully assess these risks and the long-term impact of prolonged and regular exposure,” Gunness told Al Jazeera.
“It is clear that the psychological impact on young people surveyed is significant and that the development and educational prospects of children are being affected.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed in its weekly report that Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) escalated over the past two weeks their restrictions against Palestinians.
On 3 January, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed by Israeli forces in clashes that erupted during a demonstration in Deir Nidham village (Ramallah), the report said.
The wave of protests and clashes across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), which started on 6 December following the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, continued during the reporting period, albeit at a lower rate.
Overall, since the beginning of the protests, 14 Palestinians were killed and 4,549 were injured by Israeli forces; injuries during this period constitute about 56 per cent of all injuries during 2017.
In the Gaza Strip, three Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli forces in clashes in the abovementioned protests, and 280 were injured; another two civilians died of wounds sustained in similar incidents during the previous reporting period.
The incidents, which took place next to the perimeter fence between Gaza and Israel, involved stone throwing at Israeli forces deployed on the Israeli side, who fired live ammunition, rubber coated bullets and tear gas canisters towards protesters. The three fatalities, all men, occurred in two separate incidents on 22 and 30 December, east of Jabalia, Gaza city and east of Deir al-Balah. The other two fatalities, also men, died of wounds sustained on 8 and 17 December. Of the recorded injuries, at least 27 were children, over a third (103 people) were hit by live ammunition, and the rest were either treated for tear-gas inhalation or directly hit by tear gas canisters.
1,386 Palestinians, of whom at least 226 were children, were injured by Israeli forces in clashes, the majority (93 per cent) in the context of the abovementioned protests.
Most other injuries were recorded during search and arrest operations, the largest of which took place in Qalqiliya city and in Aqbat Jaber refugee camp (Jericho). Similar to the previous reporting period, the majority of the injuries (68 per cent) were caused by tear gas inhalation requiring medical treatment, followed by injuries by rubber bullets (21 per cent).
Across the West Bank, Israeli forces conducted 170 search and arrest operations and detained 214 Palestinians, including at least 18 children. More than a third of these operations triggered clashes with residents. Another three Palestinians, including a woman and a child, were arrested in three separate incidents while attempting to carry out stabbing attacks against Israeli forces (two cases) and carrying explosives on the body (one case), according to Israeli sources.
On at least 22 occasions, Israeli forces opened fire towards farmers and fishermen while enforcing access restrictions to land along the fence and to fishing areas along the Gaza coast; four fishermen were detained, including one injured by live ammunition. One boat was confiscated. On five occasions, Israeli forces entered Gaza, near Khan Younis and the middle area, and carried out land-levelling and excavation operations in the vicinity of the perimeter fence.
Israeli authorities demolished or seized five structures in Area C and East Jerusalem on grounds of lack of building permits, displacing five Palestinians, and affecting another 33. Three of the targeted structures, including one demolished by their owners following receipt of demolition orders, were in East Jerusalem, and the other two structures in the Area C parts of Tarqumiya (Hebron) and Al Walaja (Bethlehem) villages.
Also in Area C, the Israeli authorities issued demolition and stop work orders against eight donor-funded structures in the village of Bani Na’im (Hebron), including a school, a health clinic, a mosque and five residential structures; three of these structures were funded by the oPt Humanitarian Fund.
On 21 December, the Israeli police forced a Palestinian family to remove their belongings from a storage shop in the Old City of Jerusalem, and handed it over to an Israeli settler organization, which claims ownership.
At least 180 Palestinian households in East Jerusalem have eviction cases filed against them. Most of these cases were initiated by Israeli settler organizations, based on ownership claims, as well as claims that the residents are no longer ‘protected tenants’
At least eight attacks by Israeli settlers resulting in Palestinian injuries or property damage were reported. Four of these incidents were reportedly perpetrated by settlers from Yitzhar settlement against residents of Madama and Burin villages (Nablus), involving damage to 62 trees, the physical assault of two men and the raiding of a school.
On 3 January, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed by Israeli forces in clashes that erupted during a demonstration in Deir Nidham village (Ramallah), the report said.
The wave of protests and clashes across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), which started on 6 December following the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, continued during the reporting period, albeit at a lower rate.
Overall, since the beginning of the protests, 14 Palestinians were killed and 4,549 were injured by Israeli forces; injuries during this period constitute about 56 per cent of all injuries during 2017.
In the Gaza Strip, three Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli forces in clashes in the abovementioned protests, and 280 were injured; another two civilians died of wounds sustained in similar incidents during the previous reporting period.
The incidents, which took place next to the perimeter fence between Gaza and Israel, involved stone throwing at Israeli forces deployed on the Israeli side, who fired live ammunition, rubber coated bullets and tear gas canisters towards protesters. The three fatalities, all men, occurred in two separate incidents on 22 and 30 December, east of Jabalia, Gaza city and east of Deir al-Balah. The other two fatalities, also men, died of wounds sustained on 8 and 17 December. Of the recorded injuries, at least 27 were children, over a third (103 people) were hit by live ammunition, and the rest were either treated for tear-gas inhalation or directly hit by tear gas canisters.
1,386 Palestinians, of whom at least 226 were children, were injured by Israeli forces in clashes, the majority (93 per cent) in the context of the abovementioned protests.
Most other injuries were recorded during search and arrest operations, the largest of which took place in Qalqiliya city and in Aqbat Jaber refugee camp (Jericho). Similar to the previous reporting period, the majority of the injuries (68 per cent) were caused by tear gas inhalation requiring medical treatment, followed by injuries by rubber bullets (21 per cent).
Across the West Bank, Israeli forces conducted 170 search and arrest operations and detained 214 Palestinians, including at least 18 children. More than a third of these operations triggered clashes with residents. Another three Palestinians, including a woman and a child, were arrested in three separate incidents while attempting to carry out stabbing attacks against Israeli forces (two cases) and carrying explosives on the body (one case), according to Israeli sources.
On at least 22 occasions, Israeli forces opened fire towards farmers and fishermen while enforcing access restrictions to land along the fence and to fishing areas along the Gaza coast; four fishermen were detained, including one injured by live ammunition. One boat was confiscated. On five occasions, Israeli forces entered Gaza, near Khan Younis and the middle area, and carried out land-levelling and excavation operations in the vicinity of the perimeter fence.
Israeli authorities demolished or seized five structures in Area C and East Jerusalem on grounds of lack of building permits, displacing five Palestinians, and affecting another 33. Three of the targeted structures, including one demolished by their owners following receipt of demolition orders, were in East Jerusalem, and the other two structures in the Area C parts of Tarqumiya (Hebron) and Al Walaja (Bethlehem) villages.
Also in Area C, the Israeli authorities issued demolition and stop work orders against eight donor-funded structures in the village of Bani Na’im (Hebron), including a school, a health clinic, a mosque and five residential structures; three of these structures were funded by the oPt Humanitarian Fund.
On 21 December, the Israeli police forced a Palestinian family to remove their belongings from a storage shop in the Old City of Jerusalem, and handed it over to an Israeli settler organization, which claims ownership.
At least 180 Palestinian households in East Jerusalem have eviction cases filed against them. Most of these cases were initiated by Israeli settler organizations, based on ownership claims, as well as claims that the residents are no longer ‘protected tenants’
At least eight attacks by Israeli settlers resulting in Palestinian injuries or property damage were reported. Four of these incidents were reportedly perpetrated by settlers from Yitzhar settlement against residents of Madama and Burin villages (Nablus), involving damage to 62 trees, the physical assault of two men and the raiding of a school.
