A three-month-old baby was among 24 children and 615 Palestinians injured by the Israeli army in the West Bank in the last two weeks of July, while another 69 were injured either while running away from Israeli forces or in circumstances that could not be verified, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory.
It said in its Protection of Civilians report covering the period between 13 and 26 July that two Palestinians, including a boy, died after being shot by Israeli forces during the reporting period.
On 23 July, Israeli forces entered Nabi Salih village near Ramallah to carry out an arrest operation, and when Palestinian residents threw stones at them, soldiers shot live ammunition and tear gas canisters killing a 17-year-old boy. On 26 July, a Palestinian died of wounds after being shot by Israeli forces on 14 May, in Sinjil, also near Ramallah, during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces.
In the days after the reporting period, and on 27 July, Israeli forces shot and killed in cold blood a 41-year-old Palestinian man at the entrance of Beita village, south of Nablus. No clashes were taking place at that time.
On 28 July, Israeli forces shot and killed an 11-year-old Palestinian boy who was in a car with his father at the entrance of Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron, and on the next day shot and killed another Palestinian, a 20-year-old youth, during clashes between Beit Ummar residents and soldiers following the funeral of the 11-year-old boy.
Overall, Israeli forces shot and killed a total of 51 Palestinians in the West Bank so far this year.
OCHA said of the 615 Palestinians injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank, 44 were shot with live ammunition, while 588 were involved in protests against settlements in Beita. In addition, 69 were injured in Beita and nearby Osarin either while running away from Israeli forces or in circumstances that could not be verified.
Overall, over 11,200 Palestinians were injured in the West Bank by the Israeli forces so far this year.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces carried out 91 search-and-arrest operations and arrested 158 Palestinians across the West Bank during the reporting period. Some 45 university students were arrested in Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, during a protest against punitive demolitions; 20 others were arrested in the Old City of Jerusalem, during clashes with Israeli forces, following the entry of over 1,600 Israelis to Al-Haram Al Sharif compound; and the rest were arrested in other circumstances across the West Bank.
Overall, Israel carried out 2430 search and arrest operation in the West Bank so far this year.
On demolition of homes, the Israeli authorities demolished, seized or forced people to demolish a total of 59 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 96 people and affecting 550 people, said OCHA. Most structures (49) and people displaced (84) were in the Area C Bedouin community of Ras al Tin (Ramallah); while the demolition of a donated agricultural water reservoir in Furush Beit Dajan (Nablus) undermined the access of over 500 people to water.
Overall, 456 Palestinian-owned structures were demolished or seized in the West Bank displacing 638 people, and 76 others in East Jerusalem displacing 99 people so far this year.
Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured three Palestinians in separate incidents in the Hebron governorate, and damaged at least 200 trees or saplings, and other Palestinian property, across the West Bank.
Since the beginning of this year, Israeli settlers injured 94 Palestinians in the West Bank and caused damage to property in 205 attacks.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency