Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 

19,667 Accounted for Palestinians Killed,  7,760+ Under Rubble, 52,586 Injured, in US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Starved Gaza Strip

December 19, 2023 

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Editor's Notes:  

Here are some initial (not final) statistics, which show the Israeli war crimes against humanity, during the current Israeli genocidal war on Gaza:  

By December 19, 2023, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strop is 27,427+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (19,667) and those who are still missing under the rubble (By December 11, 2023: 7,760+).   

The documented injuries exceeded 52,586.   

By December 19, 2023, there were 303 Palestinians who were killed, 3,449 who were injured, and 4,600 who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023. 

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By December 10, 2023, the death toll included 7,875+ children and 6,130+ women.   

By December 14, 2023,  there was a complete destruction of 56,000+ housing units, and 224,000+ damaged housing units (60% of Gaza housing units). This forced about 1.5 million people to become homeless, taking refuge in crowded UN schools and ultimately sleeping in the streets.  

The Israeli refusal to allow international aid caravans to enter Gaza freely led the Palestinian population to be on the verge of mass extermination for the lack of food, water, medicine, and fuel.  

By December 6, 2023, 290 health personnel were killed and hundreds were injured, 102 ambulances were destroyed while on duty, killing and injuring their crews, and destroyed 56 health institutions. As a result of the strikes and lack of fuel, 26 hospitals and 46 primary care centers are not functioning.  

 

Site of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli genocidal airstrike, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, December 19, 2023	A father saying goodbye to his child killed in the Israeli genocidal bombardment of Gaza, December 19, 2023
More than 71% of people in Gaza Strip suffer from severe levels of hunger, as a result of Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon to punish Palestinian civilians, December 19, 2023	Spokesman of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Dr Ashraf Al-Qidra, has been persistent in reporting deaths, injuries, and other consequences of the Israeli genocidal war  on Gaza Strip, December 19, 2023
13-year-old Palestinian Dina Abu Mo'hsin was killed by an Israeli genocidal tank projectile as she was recovering from a leg amputation at Nasir Hospital in Khan Younus, December 19, 2023	A Palestinian man wounded by the Israeli genocidal bombardment of Gaza Strip are brought to the hospital in Dair El-Bala'h, Gaza Strip, on December 19, 2023
An injured Palestinian man bids farewell to the body of his son, following an Israeli genocidal bombardment on Rafa'h, southern Gaza Strip, on December 19, 2023	An injured Palestinian man bids farewell to the body of his son, following an Israeli genocidal bombardment on Rafa'h, Gaza Strip, on December 19, 2023

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

"مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا"  (الْمَائِدَةُ ، 5: 32).

"وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا" (النِّسَاءُ ، 4: 93).

"Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption in the land, it is as if he had killed humankind entirely" (The Holy Quran, Al-Ma-ida, 5: 32).

"And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him, and has cursed him, and has prepared for him a great torment" (Al-Nisa, 4: 93).

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While brutal force has been used to create Zionist Israel and sustain it thus far, Zionist claims to Palestine are false. Actually, from the five thousand years of known written human history, there has been a continuous Palestinian-Canaanite presence in the Holy Land. Despite the Zionist false claims, the ancient Israelites ruled part of the land for only 85 years (during the reign of Prophets David and Solomon , peace be upon them, and Solomon's son).

 After that, the Egyptians conquered Palestine-Canaan in 925 BC, followed by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, before the Arab Muslim rule, starting from 636 AD.

By the Time Jesus, peace be upon him, started his mission, the three population groups of Canaanites, Palestinians, and Israelites were melted together in religion and language. Most of them became Christians when Constantine converted in 313 AD. Then, most of them became Muslims in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

So, Palestinian Muslims, Christians, and Jews are the ones who have the right to claim descent from ancient Israelites, Palestinians, and Canaanites, not Zionists from other continents.

No matter what the Zionists and their supporters do, they cannot change the will of God, Who promised the Holy Land to Abraham and his descendants, basically the Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

No matter how much persecution and aggression the Zionists and their supporters inflict upon the Palestinian people, they will never be able to force them out of the Holy Land, which Allah, praise to Him, promised for them, and kept His promise ever since.

The following news stories are just examples, not a systematic record, of the Israeli occupation government abuse, mistreatment, and violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis.

More detailed news stories can be found at the following sources:

http://english.wafa.ps/, https://english.palinfo.com/, https://imemc.org/, https://paltoday.ps/ar/


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Editorial Notes about terms & names of people and places:

1. Names of people and places have been standardized to match standard Arabic grammatical rules.

2. Underlined letters and letters preceded by an apostrophe are references to Arabic letter sounds, which does not exist in the English alphabet.

3. The English letter i is equivalent to the Arabic short vowel known as kasra, as in Ibraheem and Qasim as well as in the English words sit and bit. So, it is incorrect to use it as a long vowel for such Arabic names as Jameel and Jibreel.

4. The English letter e is equivalent to the Arabi short vowel known as fat'ha, as in A'hmed and Mu'hammed.

5. It is more accurate to refer to the land-grabbing Israelis, who establish illegal settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, as illegal Israeli settlers, than referring to them as colonists.

The term colony is a reference to a large entity or a country, such as American states before independence. It was also a reference to Egypt, and India, when they were British colonies.

In addition, the term "colony" represents a positive nostalgic theme, in the minds of native speakers of English, particularly in America and Britain.

6. It is more accurate to use the verb "abduct" than the verb "detain," in reference to taking Palestinian citizens by force to prisons and interrogation centers, by Israeli occupation regime soldiers. This is because the presence of the Israeli occupation regime forces is illegal in the Palestinian territories, and they have no jurisdiction over the Palestinian people.

Click here for more about using the apostrophe and the underlining of letters in the transliteration of Arabic names.


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Gaza, the world’s most dangerous place to be a child, says UNICEF spokesperson

GENEVA, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) -

“The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. And day after day, that brutal reality is reinforced,” today said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder during a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

“Over the past 48 hours, the largest remaining fully functioning hospital was shelled, twice. That hospital – Al Nasser in Khan Younus – not only shelters large numbers of children who had already been badly injured in attacks on their homes, but hundreds of women and children seeking safety,” he said.

Elder said that UNICEF had shared the story of 13-year-old Dina. “When her house in Khan Younus was completely destroyed, she was injured and later her right leg was amputated. She lost both of her parents and two brothers. But Dina hadn’t lost hope. She told us about her dreams of being a lawyer. She said, ‘I feel injustice; when I grow up, I will become a lawyer so that I can enjoy my rights and the rights of all children’.

“Dina was one of the people killed at Nasser Hospital on Sunday, the day after she shared her story of hope,” he said, wondering, “And so where do children and their families go? They are not safe in hospitals. They are not safe in shelters. And they are certainly not safe in the so-called ‘safe’ zones.”

Elder explained that the “safe zones” are tiny patches of barren land, or street corners, or half-built buildings, with no water, no facilities, no shelter from the cold and the rain, and no sanitation.

“And so without water and sanitation, nor shelter, these so-called safe zones have become zones of disease. Diarrhea cases in children are above 100,000. Acute respiratory illness cases in civilians are above 150,000. Both numbers will be gross undercounts of the woeful reality,” he said.

“Without sufficient safe water, food and sanitation that only a humanitarian ceasefire can bring - child deaths due to disease could surpass those killed in bombardments,” said the UNICEF spokesperson.

“Parents are painfully aware that hospitals are not an option for their sick child – both because hospitals are getting hit, and because hospitals are overwhelmed with children and citizens with the ghastly wounds of war,” he said.

“As we speak, the delivery of aid is a matter of life or death for children in Gaza and the conditions to provide that aid are not being met. An immediate and long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to end the killing and injuring of children, and child deaths from disease, and enable the urgent delivery of desperately needed lifesaving aid,” stressed the UNICEF spokesperson.

M.K.

Euro-Med: 71% of Gaza’s population suffers from severe levels of hunger

Tuesday 19-December-2023, GENEVA, (PIC)

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor revealed that more than 71% of the sample of a study it conducted in the Gaza Strip suffer from severe levels of hunger, as a result of Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon to punish Palestinian civilians.

The Euro-Med Monitor said in a statement on Tuesday that it has conducted an analytical study that included a sample of 1,200 people in Gaza to explore the effects of the humanitarian crisis on the residents of the Strip in the midst of the ongoing Israeli war of genocide.

The results of the study demonstrated that 98% of the respondents suffer from insufficient consumption of food. Around 64% of them eat grass, fruits, immature food, and expired materials to satisfy hunger.

The study found out that the rate of access to water, including drinking water, bathing and cleaning water, is 1.5 liters per person per day in the Gaza Strip; that is, 15 liters less than the basic water requirements for the level of survival, according to Sphere international criteria.

The report showed that 66% of the sample of the study said that they have been suffering during the current month from cases of intestinal diseases, diarrhea, and skin rashes.

The Euro-Med Monitor quoted testimonies of doctors as saying that there is an increase in the death rate as a result of heart attacks and fainting in Gaza City and northern Gaza, which have been witnessing more serious deterioration in the humanitarian crisis and hunger rates.

Euro-Med called for taking a decisive international action to enforce a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and prevent further deterioration of the situation that is threatening the lives of civilians by providing unrestricted entry of basic and relief materials, and the necessary supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel into the entire Gaza Strip to meet the needs of the population.

UN Special Coordinator at UNSC: 2023 ends as one of deadliest in history of Palestinian-Israeli conflict

NEW YORK, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) -

UN's Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said addressing the UN Security Council's continuing sessions on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, that 2023 ends as one of the deadliest in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, with the situation deteriorating on nearly all fronts.

He also drew attention to the dire humanitarian situation across the Gaza Strip. “The delivery of humanitarian aid in the Strip continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges.” Adding that amid displacement on an unimaginable scale and active hostilities, the humanitarian response system is on the brink.

He also condemned the killing of civilians in Gaza, including women and children, and expressed his sadness at the loss of every single civilian, including 131 UN personnel who were killed in the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Wennesland further voiced “deep concerns” over escalating tensions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

He also expressed alarm at the lethal attacks carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Israel.

“All perpetrators of violence must be held accountable and swiftly brought to justice,” he said.

The UN Special Coordinator said he was appalled at the numerous instances of officials glorifying violence and encouraging the killing of civilians.

Wennesland said the “relentless expansion” of Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, threatens the viability of a future independent Palestinian State.

He reiterated that Israeli settlements are a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions and international law, calling on the Israeli government to stop these activities immediately.

The United Nations remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis in ending the occupation and resolving the conflict in line with international law, relevant United Nations resolutions and bilateral agreements in pursuit of a two-State solution, he said.

T.R.

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Killing and Injuring of Palestinians in Ghazza (Gaza) by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces

Israeli army kills child recovering from amputation at Nasser Hospital

Tuesday 19-December-2023, GAZA, (PIC)

13-year-old Dina Abu Mo'hsin wished to realize her dream of becoming a doctor treating children, but an Israeli tank projectile claimed her life as she was recovering from a leg amputation at Nasir Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

A few weeks ago, Dina lost both her parents and two brothers in an Israeli airstrike on her home in Khan Younus.

Gaza: Death toll climbs to 19,667 martyrs

Tuesday 19-December-2023, GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Tuesday that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed 17 new horrific massacres in different areas of the Gaza Strip, killing at least 214 civilians and injuring over 300 others, while a large number of victims are still under the rubble of bombed buildings or on roads.

In a news conference, spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra, accused the Israeli army of carrying out field executions and genocidal crimes in northern Gaza after it worked for weeks on destroying its hospitals and putting them out of service.

Spokesman Qidra also reported that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli bombardments, which started on October 7, climbed to 19,667 martyrs and the number of the wounded surged to 52,586 people.

He slammed the world’s silence on the massacres that are committed daily by the Israeli army in Gaza and the US administration’s insistence on supporting the aggression against Gaza. 

At least 50 people killed in Israeli strikes on residential towers in Gaza city

GAZA, Tuesday, December 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

In a new Israeli massacre, at least 50 civilians were killed and others were injured today in Israeli genocidal airstrikes targeting two residential towers in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.

Local sources reported that ambulance and rescue crews and citizens recovered the bodies of at least 50 people and 12 injured from under the rubble of the two residential towers, adding attempts are continuing to recover 50 missing people.

The Israeli aircraft launched a series of raids on large areas east of the Al-Shuja'iya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Several citizens were also killed and others were injured in an Israeli bombing of a building on Al-Mughrabi Street in central Gaza.

Also, the occupation aircraft bombed the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA) in the Al-Sina'a area, north of Gaza.

In the town of Jabalya and its camp in the northern Gaza Strip, 27 bodies and 10 wounded were recovered from under the rubble, after the occupation jets and artillery bombed several homes and gatherings of citizens.

The occupation army also continued to intensively bomb the eastern areas of the town, at a time when the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced that the occupation aircraft targeted a building near its ambulance headquarters in Jabalya, which damaged the headquarters.

In Khan Younus, south of the Gaza Strip, several bodies and dozens of wounded arrived at Nasser Hospital, as a result of Israeli raids and live bullets shot by drones, on a house in Khan Younuscamp and Al-'Hinnawi School, which shelters displaced people.

The Israeli aircraft and artillery also shelled areas east of Khan Younus, especially the town of Bani Suhaila.

Also, a female citizen was killed and 4 others were injured in an Israeli genocidal strike on a residential apartment in the Nusayrat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Ambulance and rescue crews also recovered several bodies and wounded from under the rubble of the Al-Sali'hi Tower in the camp, after an Israeli raid targeted it.

The death toll since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7 has risen to more than 19,650, and about 52,600 wounded. Thousands were reported missing.

A.D./T.R.

Israeli airstrike kill dozens of Palestinian civilians in new massacre in Jabalya, Gaza Strip

GAZA, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) –

Dozens of Palestinian civilians Tuesday were killed in a new massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces in Jabalya Al-Balad, north of the Gaza Strip.

Local and medical sources reported that dozens were killed, and others were injured, after occupation aircraft bombed a residential square in Jabalya refugee camp.

Four wounded citizens were also killed inside Al-Ahly Al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza City, as a result of not receiving medicines and medical care due to the army’s storming of the hospital for the second day in a row.

The occupation army also detained 150 citizens from inside the hospital who were accompanying the patients, and took the wounded out to the hospital yard in the cold.

The forces also detained the medical staff, two doctors, and prevented the wounded and ambulances from arriving to the hospital. Tanks and military vehicles are also seen present in Palestine Square, which is close to the hospital.

Five citizens were also killed in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, including an elderly woman and a child, by bullets from Israeli forces.

During the past few days, 26 civilians were killed inside the hospital after the bombing of the third floor of the specialized surgical building inside the hospital, and the bombing of the bridge connecting the building and the emergency department, which led to the killing of six citizens inside the specialized building, four on the bridge, and nine were killed inside the hospital as a result of tank shelling.

Four citizens were killed at the main gate leading to Al-Wahda Street, one citizen was killed in front of the administration building, and two citizens were killed inside a vehicle in front of the main security gate of the hospital.

WAFA correspondent said that Israeli tanks, vehicles, and military personnel carriers are stationed in the Saraya Square area, roaming the southern area up to 33rd Street, and stationed at the Tayaran Junction from the southern side, and from the northern side at the intersection with the treatment building outside, separating the eastern and western neighborhoods of Gaza City, in the middle amidst artillery and missile shelling and shooting from drones.

In Rafa'h, health and local sources said that at least 25 civilians were killed, including journalist Adel Zo'rob, and a number of children and women, in a bombing that targeted three homes owned by families of Zo'rob, where 14 citizens were killed, the Atiya family, where eight citizens were killed, and the Abdul-Al family, where three were killed.

Later, a number of people were killed and injured in Israeli raids on various areas of Rafa'h.

Khan Younus and the Central Governorate are subjected to artillery shelling and raids by warplanes

The death toll in Gaza on the 74th day of the aggression rose, according to health sources, to more than 19,453, while the number of injured reached 52,286, most of whom were women and children.

K.T.

Gaza: Dozens of Palestinian civilians killed in Israeli airstrike on Day 74 of aggression

GAZA, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) –

On the 74th day of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation aircraft and artillery continued to bomb various areas in the Gaza Strip, after a bloody day in which more than 200 citizens were killed, most of them children.

The Israeli bombing operations were concentrated at dawn on Tuesday, in Rafa'h and Khan Younus, south and central of the Gaza Strip, where health and local sources in Rafa'h reported that at least 25 Palestinian civilians were killed, including journalist 'Aadil Zo'rob, and a number of children and women, in a bombing that targeted three homes owned by families of Zo'rob, where 14 citizens were killed, the 'Attiya family, where 8 citizens were killed, and the Abdul-'Aal family, where three citizens were killed. Later, a number of others were killed and injured in Israeli raids on various areas of Rafah.

With the killing of journalist 'Aadil Zo'rob, the number of journalist killed in the Gaza Strip rises to about 94, as journalist 'Haneen Al-Qashtan was killed yesterday, as the occupation deliberately targets them in its aggression as part of its policy of obliterating the facts and assassinating the Palestinian narrative.

Five children were also killed in a missile strike. Sources said that they are four brothers from the Abu Ghazal family and an unidentified fifth, in Al-'Hasayna area, west of the Nusayrat camp.

Medical sources at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital reported that the remains of a number of civilians, most of them children, were killed.

An unlimited number of citizens were also killed and injured in a series of violent raids east and north of Khan Younus, and in Dair El-Bala'h.

The occupation bombed a house belonging to the Shaheen family in the vicinity of Al-'Awda Roundabout in Al-Buraij Camp, south of Gaza City, and Al-Buraij Camp in the central Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing and injury of a number of citizens.

A number of civilians, most of them children, were killed, and others were injured, yesterday evening, Monday, in Israeli bombing in central and southern Gaza Strip.

Local sources reported that Israeli occupation aircraft bombed two homes in the Nusayrat and Dair El-Bala'h camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least nine citizens, including five children, and wounding others.

The death toll in Gaza has risen, according to health sources, since the start of this aggression to 19,453, while the number of injured has reached 52,286, most of whom are women and children.

K.T. 

Killing and Injuring of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces

Child, woman injured by Israeli gunfire during confrontations near Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) – 

A Palestinian child and a young woman were Tuesday injured by Israeli occupation soldiers' live bullets, during confrontations that broke out in the village of Dair Nidtham, northwest of Ramallah.

Security sources told WAFA that confrontations broke out with the occupation forces, who stormed the village and fired poison gas bombs and live bullets at the citizens, which resulted in a child and a young woman being injured by live bullets in the hand.

K.T.

Israeli occupation forces shoot Palestinians, detain two and seize a vehicle in Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) –

A Palestinian citizen was wounded by bullets from the Israeli occupation forces on Tuesday, while two others were detained from Ramallah and Al-Beerih governorates, as a vehicle was seized in Beer Zait, north of Ramallah.

Security sources told WAFA that a citizen was injured by a rubber-coated bullet in the foot during the occupation forces' storming of Al-Masayif neighborhood in the city of Ramallah.

The forces detained Palestinian youth Majd Al-Barghouthi after raiding his house. They also surrounded Al-Isra Mosque and prevented worshipers from leaving.

The same sources added that the occupation forces detained 'Aamir Elias Sayej, 27, from the town of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, and seized his vehicle.

K.T.

Abduction of Palestinians by Israeli Occupation Regime Soldiers

Israeli occupation forces detain a Palestinian, seize his tractor near Nablus

NABLUS, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) – 

Israeli occupation forces Tuesday detained a citizen and seized his agricultural tractor while he was plowing his land in the village of Qaryout, south of Nablus.

Settlement resistance activist Bashar Qaryouti told WAFA that the occupation forces detained Shinar Ma'hmoud Zaki 'Aamir from Khirbit Sarra and seized his agricultural tractor.

Qaryouti confirmed that this comes within the policy of preventing Palestinian from plowing their lands in Qaryut and Jaloud, at a time when the occupation is still preventing them from going to the lands to plow them and pick olives.

K.T.

Israeli occupation forces detain 23 Palestinians in the West Bank

RAMALLAH, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces Tuesday detained 23 Palestinians from several areas in the occupied West Bank, sources confirmed.

In Al-Khaleel (Hebron), eight people were detained, two from Ramallah and one from Al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Israeli occupation soldiers also detained four people from Qalqilya, five from Salfeet, two from Nablus and one from Jericho.

K.T.

Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

In an effort to steal it, Israeli colonists open a road through Palestinian lands west of Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) –

In their efforts to steal the land, illegal Israeli settlers today opened a road passing through Palestinian-owned lands in Jabal Al-Raysan, west of Ramallah, according to the head of nearby Kafr Ni'ma village council, Raafat Khalifa.

He told WAFA that the colonists began in the morning to open a road passing through lands owned by residents from the villages of Ras Karkar, Kharbatha Bani Harith, and Kufr Ni'ma.

He said the colonial road is located in lands classified as C, which is under Israeli military control, and is part of more than 600 dunums of land Israel seized by military order more than four years ago.

Khalifa said the armed colonialists are taking advantage of the political situation to create new facts on the ground.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation government decided in 2019 to turn the peak of Jabal Al-Raysan into a colonial outpost. Residents confronted this plan with confrontations against the Israeli occupation soldiers as illegal Israeli settlers not only stole the land, they also cut down trees, changed the landscape, and denied the residents access to it.

M.K.

Israeli troops force shop owners to close them near Qalqilya

QALQILYA, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) –

 Israeli occupation troops forced the owners of shops located at the entrance to the town of Azzoun, east of Qalqilya, to close them.

Local sources said that the occupation forces stormed the town, specifically the northern area, and forced the shop owners to close 15 shops, without citing any reasons.

Since October 7th, the occupation forces closed the main entrance to the town with the iron gate, and prevented citizens from entering or exiting it, forcing citizens to take alternative side roads to reach their intended places.

Last November, the occupation began bulldozing areas of town land in the same area, with the aim of expanding the Settler-only Road No. 55, linking the occupied West Bank cities of Qalqilya and Nablus.

K.T.

Illegal Israeli settlers seize Palestinian lands, soldiers assault teacher, near Al-Khaleel (Hebron)

HEBRON, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) –

Illegal Israeli settlers seized large areas of Palestinian citizens’ land in the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, in preparation for seizing them.

Fouad 'Ammour, coordinator of the Protection and Resilience Committees in Masafir Yatta, added that a number of colonists plowed more than 10 dunums of land belonging to the citizens of the Rabi family in the Al-Kharrouba area.

Israeli occupation forces attacked a teacher in the village of Carmel, south of Hebron, and seized dozens of vehicles.

Local sources said that the occupation forces that stormed the village of Carmel in the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, assaulted and beat teacher Mu'hammed al-Najjar, after raiding the school’s vicinity. They also raided a number of neighborhoods in the village and seized dozens of vehicles.

K.T.

The occupation authorities order stop work on three houses, demolish a well north of Al-Khaleel (Hebron)

HEBRON, Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (WAFA) -

The Israeli occupation regime today delivered notices to stop work on three houses in the town of Bait Ummar, north of Al-Khaleel (Hebron).

Activist Mu'hammed 'Awadh said that the occupation forces handed three families notices to stop construction in their houses under the pretext the area is classified as C, which is under full Israeli military control.

The Israeli occupation forces also destroyed a water well in the town.

M.K. 

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