In a report released Monday from Human Rights Watch (HRW), the group outlined instances when senior Israeli officials have either openly called for the extra-judicial killing of Palestinians or have failed to condemn the calls. According to the group, there have been more than 150 instances since October 2015 where Israeli forces have “fatally shot Palestinian adults and children suspected of trying to stab, run over, or shoot Israelis in Israel and the West Bank.” The killings have been condemned by rights groups who say that at many times the alleged Palestinian assailants have been killed after they no longer posed a threat. HRW said in the report that since 2015, the group had documented “numerous statements” made by senior Israeli politicians, including Israel’s defense minister and police minister “calling on police and soldiers to shoot to kill suspected attackers, irrespective of whether lethal force is actually strictly necessary to protect life.” Sari Bashi, the Israel adv...

At least 20 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces during overnight and pre-dawn military raids Sunday, according to Palestinian and Israeli security sources. Palestinian Authority (PA) security sources told Ma’an that in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus, Israeli forces detained six Palestinians from the town of Sebastiya. Sources identified the detainees as Nimir Hatim Ghazal, Abd al-Karim Buhluq, Ramzi Naser al-Hajj, Ahmad Azim, Adham Radi, and Rami Radi. The sources highlighted that Israeli forces sealed off an apartment and a warehouse in Nablus city that were allegedly being used for manufacturing explosive devices. Israeli troops also reportedly broke into a print shop on al-Salam street in Nablus and confiscated equipment. From the northernmost West Bank district of Jenin, Israeli forces raided the town of Qabatiya and detained Majdi al-Qazaha. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that there were three detentions from Sebastiya, and confirmed one...

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip commemorated on Saturday the anniversary of the 1967 Israeli invasion and occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai, and the Golan Heights that began on June 5, a day that Palestinians refer to as the Naksa, meaning setback. Demonstrators at the Naksa Day rally waved Palestinian flags as they marched from the Unknown Soldier Square in central Gaza City to the UNRWA headquarters, condemning Israel for its continued crimes against Palestinians. Hamas official Ismail Radwan called for achieving national reconciliation in accordance with the Cairo agreement, referring to the 2012 accords between Fatah, Hamas, and the Palestinian National Council to form an interim government in preparation for national elections, which haven't been held since 2006. Radwan warned Palestinian factions against pinning their hopes on international negotiation efforts that promise “illusions” that “will not achieve anything,” in an allusion to the French initiative to hold a...

Israeli forces raided multiple neighborhoods across the occupied West Bank overnight Saturday, detaining at least three Palestinians, launching tear gas canisters and stun grenades, and setting fire to olive trees, as Palestinians around the world commemorated the 68th anniversary of the Nakba. In the northern district of Qalqiliya, dozens of Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation, and several trees caught fire when clashes erupted between local youths and Israeli forces in the village of Kafr Qaddum. Coordinator for a popular resistance committee in the village Murad Shtewi said the Israeli army "turned Kafr Qaddum's sky into a cloud of poisonous gas" after firing tear gas heavily and randomly. Dozens of olive trees in the area caught fire from Israeli forces-fired tear gas and stun grenades. Shtewi added that civil defense vehicles were prevented from reaching the fire because Israeli forces had closed the roads with dirt berms, forcing firefighters to walk u...

Israeli forces maintained a complete closure Thursday of the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem in the search for a gunman who injured a former member of a Jewish terror group and his wife, locals said. Locals told Ma’an that Israeli forces on Wednesday night raided Tulkarem and surrounding areas directly after the shooting, closing entrances leading into the city with cement blocks. Israeli forces retreated from Tulkarem early Thursday morning and remained deployed near city entrances, locals said. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that “in order to locate the gunman from last night’s attack, security measures were implemented in Tulkarem.” The measures began with security checks at all entrances and exits of the area, which were later closed completely, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that all entrances and exits leading into Tulkarem were still closed Thursday and would remain closed to all movement “except for humanitarian cases.” more

This video shows Israeli forces using a dog to attack and injure 20-year-old Ahmad Shteiwi as he participated in an anti-occupation protest in the West Bank village of Kufr Qaddoum, near Nablus, in March 2012. It is one of numerous instances of Israeli forces setting dogs on unarmed Palestinian civilians, including children – a violent tactic reminiscent of US police practices against Black citizens. The Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and Dutch lawmakers are calling on the Netherlands to immediately halt the annual export of dozens of police and military dogs to Israel. Such dogs “are intentionally used by Israeli occupying forces to terrorize and bite Palestinian civilians, especially during protests and night house raids,” Al-Haq director Shawan Jabarin wrote to Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders and trade minister Lilianne Ploumen earlier this month. more

Medical sources have reported, Monday, that eight Palestinians were shot with live Israeli army fire, during clashes with soldiers invading Qotna village, northwest of Jerusalem, following the funeral procession of two young slain Palestinians. The clashes took place following the funeral ceremony of Mohammad Shamasna, 23, and Omar al-Faqeeh, 25. Shamasna was killed in occupied Jerusalem on October 13, after the army claimed he “attempted to snatch a weapon from an Israeli soldier.” Al-Faqeeh, was killed on October 17, after the army alleged he "attempted to stab a soldier" in the Qalandia terminal, north of Jerusalem. The Israeli army refused to transfer the remains of the two slain Palestinians, until Monday, November 2. more

An elderly Palestinian woman from the al-’Eesawiyya town, in occupied Jerusalem, died late on Sunday at night, on a military roadblock, after Israeli soldiers, manning a roadblock on the eastern entrance of the town, delayed a car moving her to a hospital. Member the Follow-up Committee in al-‘Eesawiyya, Mohammad Abu al-Hummus, said the elderly woman, Hoda Mohammad Darwish, 65 years of age, suffered a respiratory issue due to tear gas inhalation, before her family took her in their car, in an attempt to reach a hospital. He added that the family reached the Israeli military roadblock, east of the town, where dozens of cars were lined up. The driver tried to bypass the cars, but the soldiers fired several live rounds in the air, and forced him to stop. Abu al-Hummus added that the family pleaded with the soldiers, who saw the elderly woman fading away due to severe effects of tear gas inhalation, but they kept delaying until the woman was near death. more

Tonight, Hamas official Ismail Radwan called for a third intifada on Al-Aqsa TV and other media outlets: “Our people in the West Bank, Gaza and inside [Israel], tomorrow is the day of rage, the day of confrontation, and the day of renewing the intifada.” Hamas is attempting to ride popular sentiment and ignite a fire which the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s biggest asset in sustaining the occupation, cannot control. A whole generation of Palestinian youth have grown under Israeli occupation in the post-second intifada era, along with the PA’s “security coordination” with Israel, and sentiment against the US-funded PA is widespread. While the PA typically collaborates to repress Palestinian demonstrations, as it did with brute force in the beginning of the latest protests, officials have opted to let them continue for fear the demonstrators may turn on it, finally eroding and collapsing the PA. Meanwhile, support for Hamas has steadily increased as its strategy of military confronta...

The Israeli military invaded various parts of the West Bank Wednesday night, abducting 26 Palestinians from their homes. Since the beginning of October, more than 650 Palestinians have been abducted and imprisoned, according to prisoner rights groups. The military invaded Nablus and surrounding villages after midnight Wednesday night, abducting eight. In addition, nine Palestinians were abducted in raids in the Hebron area. In Bethlehem, five young men were abducted, and four were snatched from their beds in Ramallah. None of those abducted have been identified at this point. The Palestinian Authority's Committee for Prisoner Affairs reported this week that a record 650 Palestinians have been abducted by Israeli troops in the past three weeks -- this is the highest number in a single month since June 2014, when protests filled the streets of Jerusalem following the burning to death of a young Palestinian boy by right-wing Israelis. Israeli police report that they have detain...

Israel’s security cabinet approved early Wednesday the revocation of residency status for Palestinians who carry out attacks and the police closure of occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli police are now entitled to "impose a closure on, or to surround, centers of friction and incitement in Jerusalem, in accordance with security considerations," according to reports by Israeli news site Haaretz. The cabinet also called in army reinforcements for police in cities and main roads, and 300 security guards are expected to be stationed on and around public transportation. The reinforcements will cost 80 million shekels ($20.6), the report said. Also according to the new measures, the permanent residency status of Palestinians who carry out attacks will be revoked and their property confiscated. more

BEIT FURIK (Ma'an) -- Hundreds of Israeli troops were searching for suspected Palestinian gunmen on Friday after the killing of a settler couple between the illegal Israeli settlements of Itamar and Elon Moreh near Nablus in the northern West Bank on Thursday evening. A Ma'an reporter said dozens of Israeli army vehicles were stationed near Huwwara and searching vehicles in the area. The Beit Furik military checkpoint was only open in one direction, with Palestinian residents prohibited from leaving. Residents told Ma'an that they had been waiting outside at the checkpoint all night to return to their homes. Israeli soldiers reportedly told residents that the checkpoint was closed to prevent clashes with settlers, who had gathered at the other side of checkpoint and were threatening Palestinians. Dozens of settlers protested at the Zatara checkpoint in southern Nablus chanting "Death to Arabs" and calling for a response to the killing of the two settlers, as I...

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel's security cabinet on Thursday broadened the rules under which stone-throwers can be targeted by live fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said. "The security cabinet has decided to authorize police to use live ammunition against people throwing stones and Molotov cocktails when the life of a third person is threatened and no longer only when the police officer is threatened," a statement said. Netanyahu publicly "declared war" on Sept. 16 against those who throw rocks and petrol bombs after an Israeli motorist died in a fatal car accident reportedly caused by Palestinian stone-throwing. The use of .22 caliber bullets -- long used as a crowd control method in the occupied West Bank -- will be allowed in occupied East Jerusalem in circumstances that Israeli forces determine are life-threatening. The security cabinet met to decide on measures to strengthen enforcement against demonstrators throwing stones and incendiar...

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces broke into Al-Aqsa mosque compound Sunday morning firing stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets at Muslim worshipers as they cleared way for right-wing Jews who were visiting the compound to mark a Jewish fast day, witnesses said. Dozens of Palestinian worshipers were reportedly hit with rubber-coated bullets and suffered excessive tear gas inhalation, while Israeli police officers were reported to have attacked worshipers with pepper spray, rods and rifle butts. At least three Palestinians were reportedly detained. The officers entered the compound through the Moroccan Gate, Chain Gate and Hutta Gate and clashed with worshipers, witnesses said, before Israeli soldiers then shut down the compound’s gates with chains. Israeli soldiers also reportedly stormed Al-Aqsa mosque itself and fired rubber-coated bullets inside the holy site. The compound's Palestinian security guards were assaulted and prevented from moving, witnesses said. ...

On the 21st of May, a 16-year old Palestinian, Baraa Kalaid Madhun, was banned from his own home in Al Khalil (Hebron). Armed Israeli soldiers came to his house at 8 pm and told him to step outside. Allegedly stones had been thrown at the military base, which is adjacent to Baraa’s home, and the soldiers were accusing him of this incident. For four hours the Israeli forces searched the house, whilst Baraa was held at gunpoint outside. They then told him that for the next 30 days, he was not allowed to be in his house between 6 in the evening and 11 in the morning. The logic behind this arrangement is based on the assumption that if during these 30 days no stones were thrown, then Baraa would be found guilty of the initial incident. The soldiers threatened to break his legs if he did not acknowledge these restrictions. Since then, armed Israeli soldiers have been searching his house each night, to see if he is there. This latest incident is one of many. The family is constantly being...

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli nationalists and police clashed with Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday as crowds of Jewish hardliners marched across the city to mark the 48th anniversary of its capture. Known as Jerusalem Day, the anniversary marks the seizure in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexation of East Jerusalem in a move never recognized by the international community. Police said two officers were wounded by Palestinian stone-throwers and at least five Palestinians were arrested near the walled Old City's Damascus Gate. A Palestinian prisoner's society identified Amir al-Bashiti, Amir al-Karaki, Sharif al-Rajabi, Ubada Najib and Muhammad Abu Sneina as those arrested. The demonstrators were dispersed by baton-wielding police, some on horseback. A police statement said that in one incident "several dozen Muslims scuffled with a group of Jews". The Palestinian Red Crescent told Ma'an that 29 Palestinians were injured and received medical a...

Israeli media reported Thursday that an Israeli soldier was stabbed by a Palestinian near the Oranit checkpoint in southern Qalqiliya. Sources added that the suspect was detained and that Israeli ambulances treated the injured soldier on the spot before taking him to a hospital. The injury was reported between light and medium. more

From Haaretz - The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Federica Mogherini, called on Israel on Tuesday to immediately renew the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, calling the recent freeze on the funds a violation of the Oslo Accords. Mogherini stressed in a statement that Israel's decision to freeze the transfer of tax revenue "runs counter to Israel's obligations under the Paris Protocol" – the economic part of the Oslo Accords. According to Mogherini, the EU provides extensive financial aid to the Palestinian Authority to build the institutions and infrastructure of the future Palestinian state. "These achievements should not be put at risk by not meeting obligations regarding the timely and transparent transfer of tax and custom revenues," she said. Mogherini's statement didn't mention the Palestinian move to sign the Rome Statute and their request to join the International Criminal Court at The Hague, saying only...

Israel on Wednesday revoked the residency rights of the widow of a Palestinian who carried out a deadly attack on a Jerusalem synagogue, drawing condemnation from human rights groups. The move came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would seek broad powers to rescind the residency and welfare rights of any Palestinian citizen of Israel or resident of annexed East Jerusalem if they or their relatives participated in unrest. "I have ordered the cancellation of Nadia Abu Jamal's permit to stay in Israel. Anyone who is involved in terror must take into account that there are likely to be implications for their family members too," Israeli Interior Minister Gilad Erdan said in a statement. Cousins Uday and Ghassan Abu Jamal, from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukabir, killed five people at a synagogue on November 18 before being shot dead by police, in the city's bloodiest attack in six years. more

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Human rights groups have accused Israel of encouraging a shoot-to-kill policy after a wave of incidents in which police shot dead Palestinians involved in, or accused of, attacking Israelis. The alleged practice of killing suspects without trying to arrest them has caused concern after a series of deadly Palestinian attacks also resulted in the perpetrators' deaths -- and not always at the scene. In a rare move, a Jerusalem court on Sunday indicted a border police officer after he shot and killed, unprovoked, a Palestinian teenager during a May demonstration in the occupied West Bank. For some, the charge of manslaughter in the case was not strong enough, and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch's comments that "a terrorist who strikes civilians should be killed" indicate no further such investigations will take place. "Aharonovitch's statement and its application on the ground show that the authorities simply want these inc...