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Three Palestinians killed, 1,000 prisoners go on hunger strike
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Palestinians carry the body of Mustafa al-Kastouni, 32, who was killed by Israeli gunfire during a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on August 17, 2023. (Photo: Ahmed Ibrahim/APA Images)
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Key Developments (August 14-17):
- Two Palestinians, including a minor, were killed by Israeli forces
during a raid early Tuesday morning, August 15th, in the Aqbat Jaber
Refugee Camp in Jericho. The two young men were identified by the
Palestinian Ministry of Health as Qusai al-Walaji, 16, and Mohammad
Nujoom, 25. A third Palestinian was also detained from the camp during
the raid. The Aqbat Jaber refugee camp
has become a target of frequent Israeli raids and attacks this year, as
part of the Israeli military’s attempts to squander the proliferation
of armed resistance groups in the West Bank. With the killing of
al-Walaji and Nujoom on Tuesday, the number of Palestinians killed in
Aqbat Jaber camp this year has risen to 11 people.
- Israeli forces raided the northern West Bank city of Jenin early
Thursday Morning, August 17th, shooting and killing one Palestinian and
injuring several others. According to the MOH, Mustafa al-Kastouni, 32,
was shot in the head, chest and abdomen during the raid. The health
ministry also added that a woman and member of its nursing staff was
also shot and wounded by Israeli gunfire. The Israeli raid, which was
conducted to allegedly arrest several Islamic Jihad-affiliated fighters,
sparked widespread confrontation from both armed and unarmed
Palestinians in the area. While the Israeli army claimed in a statement
that it “shot back” after its soldiers came under fire, a Reuters report
quoting eyewitnessed said that the soldiers, who arrived in civilian
vehicles, “began firing at the house as soon as they got out….without
warning [al-Kastouni] or members of his family to leave.” Israeli forces
blew up al-Kastouni’s family home, causing significant damage to the
home and a bakery next door. Following the killing of al-Kastouni, who
was a fighter affiliated with Fatah’s armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade, his story quickly went viral on social media. Palestinian
journalists and social media users shared a photo
that purportedly showed a young al-Kastouni running away from an
Israeli army tank during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. The
photo of him as a boy was juxtaposed with photos of him as a resistance
fighter today.
- Israeli forces raided the densely populated Balata refugee camp in
Nablus city on Wednesday, August 16th, blowing up a building and
shooting and injuring dozens of local residents with live ammunition and
tear gas. According to local reports, Israeli forces raided the camp
and began forcing out families living in a residential building that
also housed the offices of the Fatah movement in the camp, before
blowing up the building. The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency services
said that more than 80 Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation
during the raid, and that one man was seriously injured with live
ammunition, and six others were injured with shrapnel. The Red Crescent
also said Israeli forces blocked entrances and exits to the camp,
preventing its crews from reaching the wounded to treat them. Al Jazeera
reported that Israeli forces fired toward press crews that were
covering the raid. In a separate incident in Nablus, Israeli forces shot
and detained a Palestinian man near the Huwwara checkpoint south of
Nablus. Red Crescent crews also reported being prevented from treating
the injured man. Israeli forces also conducted a raid near the Joseph’s Tomb
area of Nablus, injuring dozens of Palestinians with tear gas, while
escorting settlers into the area to perform religious rituals.
- Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian school in a Bedouin
community near the village of Kafr Malik outside of Ramallah, leaving
around 50 students without a school. The demolition began early Thursday
morning, when Israeli forces and bulldozers raided the community of
al-Qaboun and made their way to the Ras al-Teen school and began tearing
it down. According to Middle East Eye, the demolition took place just
days after Israeli settlers attacked and ransacked the school, which was
the only school in the area. The Palestinian Ministry of Education
condemned the demolition for “depriving students from obtaining their
right to education.” According to the PA-owned Wafa news agency, the
residents of al-Qaboun were recently displaced from their homes
due to Israeli settler violence. Wafa added that the community used to
consist of 500 people, but due to constant Israeli violence over the
years, the residents have been dispersed across different areas
throughout the Ramallah district of the central West Bank.
- Israel’s crackdown on Palestinian prisoners continued this week, as
hundreds of political prisoners threatened to go on open hunger strike
in protest. Israeli forces, which Palestinian prisoners groups refer to
as “special repression forces,” stormed Section 3 in the Naqab prison on
Thursday and forcibly removed a number of prisoners from their cells
and relocated them. It was the latest in a series of raids by the Israel
Prison Service (IPS), which at the behest of far-right National
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been imposing a number of new
restrictions and punitive measures targeting Palestinian prisoners.
Ben-Gvir visited the Ofer prison outside Ramallah on Wednesday, saying,
“the policy that I’m leading as the minister in charge of the Israel
Prison Service should be known by everyone, and I’m glad that it’s begun
to be implemented: reducing as much as possible the indulgences for
Hamas terrorists”. On Thursday, shortly after the raid on the Naqab
prison, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners announced that they would
launch a hunger strike in protest of Israeli repression, local
Palestinian prisoners rights groups reported. A joint statement said 75
prisoners recently forcibly transferred from Naqab prison to Nafha
prison would also participate in the strike. Local reports indicated
that the strike went into effect shortly after 7pm local time Thursday
and included around 1,000 prisoners. The prisoners called on the
Palestinian people outside the prison walls to partake in protests and
demonstrations and to rally in support of the prisoners in their effort
to end the targeted repression against them by the IPS and Israeli
government.
- Palestinian Authority Security Forces conducted raids in the city of
Jenin, seizing weapons and ammunition, and arresting a number of
unidentified people in Jenin on Monday night. According to local
reports, the PA security forces seized a weapons lathe. 12 M16 rifles,
along with a number of explosives and carlo submachine guns near the
Jenin-area town of Sannour. The PA’s Jenin district commander told the
PA-owned Wafa news agency that its forces arrested “wanted persons”
allegedly “based on intelligence information, pointing out that the
equipment seized was used in the manufacturing of weapons, which
increase crime and shootings.” The commander also “[urged] the public to
cooperate with the security forces to create a safe environment for the
children and people in Jenin.” While it remained unconfirmed if those
arrested were members of the resistance in Jenin, the raid is the latest
in a widespread effort by the PA to “regain control” in
cities like Jenin and Nablus, where armed resistance against Israel has
surged in the past year. Over the past week, PA security forces have
reportedly arrested five Palestinians who are allegedly affiliated with
the resistance. Many of those who were arrested are former prisoners,
previously jailed by Israel for their political and resistance
activity.
Important Figures
- An estimated 227 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire, including soldiers and settlers, since the start of the year
- Israel is currently imprisoning 5,100 Palestinian political prisoners in its jails, according to prisoners rights group Addameer
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Faris Giacaman, Managing Editor
Articles
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