UN OCHA Protection of Civilians Weekly: Aug. 2-8, 2016

by Middle East & Europe - Global Ministries | published on Aug 16, 2016

The United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs publishes the Protection of Civilians report each week. The current report covers the period between 2 – 8 August 2016. To view the complete version of the report, including a series of charts with the main indicators, please click here.

Latest developments

On 9 August, the Israeli authorities demolished eight Palestinian structures in three Area C communities, displacing 22 people and affecting more than 80; three of the targeted structures were emergency shelters provided in response to previous demolitions.

Weekly highlights

In 14 separate incidents in Area C and East Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities destroyed, forced owners to destroy, or confiscated 42 structures for lack of building permits, displacing 30 people and otherwise affecting over 1,200. Six of the incidents occurred in Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities at risk of forcible transfer, enhancing the coercive environment pushing the residents to leave. Twelve of the targeted structures had been previously provided as humanitarian assistance, including emergency shelters, animal sheds, latrines, a community centre, and a water connection; the confiscation of the latter means that nearly 1,000 Palestinians in five herding communities in the Jordan Valley will continue to suffer water scarcity. This brings the number of assistance items destroyed or confiscated since the start of 2016 to 200, almost double the figure for the entire 2015 (108).
In Yatta (Hebron), Israeli forces destroyed the family homes of the two perpetrators of a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on 8 June 2016 that killed four Israelis; 13 people, including six children, were displaced as a result. One of the targeted homes was blown up with explosives damaging two apartments in the same building and affecting their 20 residents.
Since the beginning of 2016 the Israeli authorities have demolished or sealed on punitive grounds 21 homes, displacing a total of 116 people, nearly the same as in the entire 2015.
Clashes with Israeli forces across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) resulted in the injury of 65 Palestinians, including 15 children. Eight of these injuries, including a 17-year-old boy, occurred during a protest next to the perimeter fence in the Gaza Strip. The other injuries were in the West Bank, the most serious of which were recorded in a protest held in Al ‘Eizariyeh town (Jerusalem), in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and in the weekly demonstrations in Kafr Qaddum (Qalqiliya) and Ni’lin (Ramallah). Additional clashes were recorded during search and arrest operations, including in Al Mughayyir village (Ramallah), Burin and Beita (both in Nablus), and in Beit Ummar (Hebron).
In the Gaza Strip, on at least six occasions, Israeli forces opened warning fire at Palestinian farmers and fishermen in the Access Restricted Areas (ARA) on land and at sea, resulting in no injuries or damage. On another occasion, Israeli forces entered Gaza and carried out land-levelling and excavation operations in the ARA on land.
A group of armed Israeli settlers killed eleven sheep belonging to Palestinians from the East Tayba Bedouin community (Ramallah), while a female herder was grazing a herd near the Rimonim settlement. Also this week, a ten-year-old disabled Palestinian boy was physically assaulted and injured by a group of settlers in the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Hebron city.
During the week, two Israeli-plated vehicles were damaged due to stone-throwing by Palestinians near Hizma (Jerusalem) and Halhul (Hebron), according to Israeli media reports.
The Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing remained closed in both directions. Since the beginning of 2016, the crossing has been partially opened for 14 days. Around 27,000 people are registered and waiting to cross, according to the Palestinian authorities in Gaza.