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.

 

On Day 106 of the US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Strip, 14 Massacres, 165 Palestinians Killed, 280 Injured, with a Death Toll of  24,927 and 62,388 Injuries

January 20, 2024 

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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 Strip:  

By January 20, 2024, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 32,927+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (24,927) and those who are still missing under the rubble (Corrected on December 23, 2023: 8,000+).   

By January 20, 2024, the documented injuries exceeded 62,388, and more than 2,520 civilians have been abducted from Gaza Strip.

By January 17, 2024, about 661 detainees from Gaza are currently languishing in Israeli prisons as “illegitimate combatants” (the Israeli term for Palestinian fighters) in addition to more than 50 Gazan women detained in Damon prison, noting that 8 women of whom have been recently released.

By January 4, 2023, the death toll included 9,730+ children and 6,830+ women (more than 70% of the victims). 

By January 18, 2024, there were 356 Palestinians who were killed, 3,619 who were injured, and 6,025, who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023 (Some of the 5,903 detainees have been released).

About 12,091 Palestinians, from both the West Bank and Gaza, have been detained in 2023. About half of them were detained after October 7. This included 1,085 children and 300 women.

The total number of detainees in the occupation prisons until the end of December was 8,800, and the number of administrative detainees was 3,291.

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By January 9, 2023,  there was a complete destruction of 69,000+ housing units, and a partial destruction of 290,000+ 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 January 9, 2024, 326 health personnel and 97 journalists were killed and hundreds were injured, 121 ambulances were destroyed while on duty, killing and injuring their crews, and destroyed 150 health institutions. As a result of the strikes and lack of fuel, 30 hospitals and 53 primary care centers are not functioning. In addition, 99 health personnel have been abducted by the invading Israeli occupation forces.

Meanwhile, 134 government offices and 95 schools and universities were completely destroyed, while 295 schools and universities were partially damaged.

138 mosques were completely destroyed, while 240 others were partially damaged, in addition to three churches.

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165 Palestinian martyrs and 280 injured, in 14 Israeli massacres committed by Israeli occupation forces, on January 20, 2024	Palestinian rescuers trying to get one of the victims of an Israeli genocidal air strikes out of the rubble of his house in Dair El-Bala'h, file, January 20, 2024
Performing funeral prayer on some of the victims of the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Gaza Strip, January 20, 2024	Palestinian children crying as they bid farewell to a parent who was killed by Israeli genocidal shelling of Gaza Strip, January 20, 2024
Bidding farewell to the Palestinian child Tawfiq 'Ajaq, who was killed by the Israeli occupation soldiers in Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiyya, January 20, 2024	Palestinian civilians returning to their destroyed homes in Al-Maghazi, after the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces, January 20, 2024

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).

"إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ " (الإسْرَاءُ ، 17: 7). 

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

"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).

"If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, (you do it) to yourselves" (Al-Isra, 17: 7). 

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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.

This is a necessary brief background to understand the US-Backed Zionist Israeli continuous wars against the Arab nation generally, and the Palestinian people in particular, which included the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, 1978, 1982, the brutal crushing of the two Uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2004), 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, and the current genocidal war on Gaza, which has culminated a blockade of Gaza since 2007. In addition, the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime launched so many covert operations, raids, and air strikes on many Arab states since 1948.

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 Mayor: Gaza threatened by plague and deadly diseases as rubbish fills streets

Saturday 20-January-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

Ya'hya Al-Sarraj, the mayor of Gaza City, has warned that the continued Israeli aggression and the fuel shortage crisis pose challenges to providing basic services to citizens.

“We call on the international community to intervene urgently and provide fuel, electricity generators, and equipment to provide services,” al-Sarraj said in a press conference on Friday.

He added that more than 50,000 tons of waste have accumulated in the blockaded territory, threatening the spread of dangerous diseases and epidemics.

Earlier Thursday, spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qidra, said that the Ministry has recorded 8,000 cases of hepatitis A infection as a result of overcrowding and low levels of personal hygiene in places of displacement, expecting the number of infections to double across the besieged Gaza Strip.

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UNICEF: Almost 20,000 babies born in war “hell” in Gaza

Saturday 20-January-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The United Nations said Friday that thousands of babies are being born in unimaginable conditions in Gaza since the war began more than three months ago.

UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram, who recently visited the Gaza Strip, said nearly 20,000 babies were born in the war.

“Every 10 minutes, a baby is born in that horrible war. Being a mother should be a cause for celebration. In Gaza, that means another baby is born in hell. The suffering of newborns, while some mothers bleed to death, should keep us awake at night,” Ingram told reporters in Geneva via a video link from Oman.

She described mothers bleeding to death, while one nurse had to perform C-sections on six dead women.

Ingram described “very disturbing” meetings with women caught up in the chaos.

“Mothers face unimaginable challenges when it comes to access to adequate health care, nutrition, and protection before, during, and after childbirth. The situation in which pregnant women and newborns find themselves in the Gaza Strip is incredible and requires more intensive and urgent action,” she said.

The infant mortality rate in Gaza is unknown at this time, Ingram said, adding that it is safe to say “children are dying now because of the humanitarian crisis on the ground, as well as bombs and bullets.”

“Hospital staff, faced with a large number of patients and limited resources, are forced to release mothers from the hospital three hours after a caesarean section. Due to these conditions, mothers are at risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, death, and emotional trauma,” the UN official warned.

She also said that many pregnant women, nursing mothers, and babies live in “inhumane” conditions, including temporary shelters, with poor nutrition and unsafe water.

Because of this, as she warned, “about 135,000 children under the age of two are at risk of serious malnutrition.”

“Humanity can no longer allow this distorted version of normality. Mothers and newborns need a humanitarian truce,” concluded Ingram.

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UN Women: Two mothers killed each hour in Gaza

NEW YORK, Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) –

Two mothers are being killed in the Gaza Strip every hour since the Israeli war of genocide began on October 7, according to a UN Women report published yesterday.

"Since then, we have seen evidenced once more that women and children are the first victims of conflict and that our duty to seek peace is a duty to them," UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said.

Women and children account for roughly 70% of the victims of the war in Gaza, according to the report.

"These are people, not numbers, and we are failing them. That failure, and the generational trauma inflicted on the Palestinian people over these 100 days and counting, will haunt us all for generations to come," Bahous said.

The UN Women also voiced concern over the "shocking accounts of unconscionable" sexual violence, and called for accountability, justice, and support for those affected.

According to the report, at least 3,000 women may have become widows and heads of households, and at least 10,000 children may now be fatherless.

"We continue to call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. No effort must be spared to ensure that women and girls in Gaza receive the humanitarian assistance they need, including safety and protection, immediately and unimpeded," she added.

At least 24,762 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, mostly women and children, and 62,108 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

M.N.

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

On January 20, 2024, Dr. Ashraf Al-Qidra, the Spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Gaza Strip resulted in 14 massacres, in which  165 Palestinian civilians were killed, and 280 were injured, in the past 24 hours. This increased the death toll in Gaza Strip to 24,927 and the injuries to 62,388, since October 7, 2023.  

🔴Live: Deadly Israeli strike on Damascus targets Iran's Revolutionary Guards (france24.com)

Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 24,927   (alarabiya.net)

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Health Ministry: 165 martyrs and 280 injured in 14 Israeli massacres in the past 24 hours

Saturday 20-January-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that Israeli occupation forces have committed 14 new massacres against families in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, leaving 165 martyrs and 280 injured.

The Ministry added in a statement on Saturday that there are victims who are still under the debris and on the roads as ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them.

This brings the number of martyrs who have been killed in the Israeli aggression on Gaza, since October 7, to 24,927 and the injured to 62,388.

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US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza enters Day 106

Saturday 20-January-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

As the US-backed Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip entered day 106 on Saturday, massive aerial and artillery strikes continued to pound neighborhoods and homes and massacre more civilians, mostly children and women.

A reporter for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that the Israeli occupation army continued to attack different areas of Gaza last night and on Saturday morning, killing and injuring dozens of citizens.

The Israeli warplanes launched new air attacks on Bani Suhaila, Al-Zanna, and 'Abasan, east of Khan Younus.

Israeli artillery also bombarded the Al-Katiba, Al-Amal, and Batn Al-Sameen areas in Khan Younus.

Similar attacks were also reported in the northern areas of the Gaza Strip at dawn today.

Israeli artillery targeted the vicinity of Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younus.

At least one person was killed in an Israeli aircraft attack in Khan Younus, while another was killed in an Israeli bombing of a house in Jabalya, north of Gaza.

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Dozens of civilian casualties in Gaza as Israel's genocide marks 106 days

GAZA, Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Dozens of Palestinians, including children and women, were killed and others were wounded in a barrage of Israeli aerial and artillery shelling of multiple areas as the Israeli war of genocide on Gaza enters its 106 day.

A number of homes, buildings, residential apartments, and public and private property were massively destructed and damaged due to the ongoing shelling.

The occupation forces blew up multiple homes in the town of Al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younus, south of the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of several people and causing various injuries to several others.

Medical sources announced the killing of a citizen after being directly targeted by a reconnaissance plane in Khan Younus.

Israeli warplanes launched intense airstrikes targeting the areas of Bani Suhaila, Al-Zanna, 'Abasan, and Batn Al-Sameen, east and south of the governorate.

Simultaneously, Israeli fighter jets shelled, with many missiles, the town of Jabalia, located to the north of the Gaza Strip.

In a preliminary toll, Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 7 has claimed the lives of at least 24,760, in addition to more than 62.100 injured and thousands missing.

Y.S. 

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At least 13 civilians killed in continuing Israeli shelling on Gaza

GAZA, Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) –

At least 13 Palestinian civilians were killed and several others injured this afternoon as Israeli occupation forces intensified their artillery bombardment on the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City and Khan Yunis to the south of the enclave.

Local sources reported the killing of two Palestinians in an Israeli artillery shelling on the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City. Additionally, medical sources confirmed the martyrdom of 11 individuals and injuries sustained by others due to Israeli artillery shelling and airstrikes on Khan Younus.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society explained that Israeli occupation forces targeted the vicinity of the Al-Amal Hospital, affiliated with the society in Khan Younus, with a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling.

The Red Crescent pointed out that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza City and Northern Gaza province remains tragic due to the ongoing Israeli blockade, preventing the delivery of essential aid. Approximately 800,000 Palestinians in these areas are grappling with a severe shortage of basic supplies.

Israeli artillery also targeted locations in Bait Lahya, north of the Gaza Strip, while Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on the Tel Al-Za'tar area east of the Jabalya refugee camp.

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli military reinforcements, including armored personnel carries, tanks and bulldozers, broke into the eastern outskirts of the town Jabalya in northern Gaza. These forces reportedly initiated excavations in the region.

In a preliminary toll, approximately 24,927 individuals have been killed since the outbreak of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7, with 62,388 reported injuries, the majority of whom are women and children.

M.N.

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Ten Palestinians killed in Israel's ongoing airstrikes on Gaza

GAZA, Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) –

At least ten civilians were confirmed killed over the past hours in the ongoing airstrikes and shelling by Israeli occupation forces in various areas across the Gaza Strip, according to local and medical sources.

In central Gaza, medical sources reported that four individuals were killed as a result of the Israeli shelling targeting a residential apartment in the Nusseirat refugee camp.

Meantime, three other civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike which targeted the Al-Salatin area west of the town Bait Lahya in northern Gaza.

Meanwhile, Civil Defense teams recovered the bodies of three martyrs following an Israeli shelling that hit everal areas in the 'Abasan Al-Kabira town, east of Khan Yunis. The bodies were subsequently transported to the European Hospital in the city.

At the same time, Israeli aircraft are currently targeting the vicinity of the Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younus with a series of airstrikes and intense artillery bombardment.

In a preliminary toll, at least 24,927 individuals have been confirmed killed since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, with 62,388 individuals reported injured. in addition, nearly 2 million people have been displaced, accounting for 85% percent of Gaza's population.

M.N.

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1,000 Palestinians killed in one week in Gaza Strip

Saturday 20-January-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The Israeli army forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) adjourned its hearings a week ago to consider a lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a new report released on Friday.

Euro-Med verified that the facts on the ground demonstrate that Israel never ceased committing genocide, in contrast to the narrative put forth by the Israeli legal team in an attempt to refute the charge of genocide.

At the ICJ, Israel asserted that it does not target civilians or civilian-related objects in the Gaza Strip, that it has slowed down the military’s activity there, that it is eager to expand humanitarian aid to the fullest extent of its capacity, that it supports rather than interferes with medical personnel’s work, and that it has no intention of forcibly displacing Gaza’s population.

Nevertheless, the preliminary documentation provided by Euro-Med casts doubt on the coherence between Israel’s assertions made in court and the actual events that transpired in the Gaza Strip between January 12 and 18.

According to Euro-Med, the Israeli army has not stopped killing civilians in the Gaza Strip, killing 1,018 people in just seven days, including 208 women and at least 390 children, at a rate of 145 per day.

The statistics mentioned above only included the dead bodies who arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals; there are still reports and data of deaths of other people, at least 15 per day during the same reported period, whose bodies were not recovered or buried in makeshift graves.

Five civilians, two of whom were women, were buried on the 17th and 18th of January in a school sheltering displaced people in the southern Gaza Strip, east of Khan Yunis. 1,934 more people were injured during the Israeli attacks, at least 70% of whom were women and children.

According to Euro-Med, some of these attacks targeted homes, tents, and chalets that housed displaced people in the city of Rafa'h, south of the Gaza Strip, which is designated by the Israeli army as a safe area. 

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

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Injuries and detentions in IOF raids in the West Bank

Saturday 20-January-2024, WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched a raid campaign in various parts of the West Bank on Saturday morning, which resulted in detentions, confrontations, and clashes that left a number of citizens injured.

In Nablus, intense clashes broke out with the occupation forces, including gunfire and the detonation of locally made explosive devices, following the incursion into the Balata refugee camp.

A local source said that IOF soldiers raided the Balata camp with several military vehicles and bulldozers from the direction of the 'Awarta military checkpoint and began to remove the barriers and obstacles set up by the resistance at the camp’s entrances.

Several explosions were heard inside the Balata camp, which residents said were caused by the detonation of locally made explosive devices at the IOF vehicles, coinciding with heavy gunfire towards the occupation soldiers.

The IOF detained Iyad Kamal Al-Tirawi and demolished several houses within the camp.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that its medical teams treated one person injured by live bullet shrapnel inside the Balata camp and provided on-site treatment.

In Jineen, the IOF detained the ex-prisoner Omar Abu 'Uqla after raiding his house in the Khirbet neighborhood of Jenin city and tampering with its contents.

In the same context, the IOF stormed the village of 'Arraneh, northeast of Jenin, and launched an extensive search and inspection campaign, without any reported arrests.

In Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), the IOF raided the city, as well as the Duhaishah and 'Azzah refugee camps, and patrolled the streets and alleys of the two camps, without any reported detentions.

Local sources reported that the IOF soldiers stormed the city and stationed themselves in Al-Quds-Al-Khaleel Street and Bab Al-Zuqaq. They also raided the Manger Square in the city.

They added that the occupation forces invaded the town of Al-Khadir south of Bethlehem, raided a house, searched it, tampered with its contents, and detained the ex-prisoner A'hmed Al-Qaisi.

The IOF also raided the towns of 'Azzoun and Kafr Thuluth to the east of Qalqilya on Saturday morning.

Local sources reported that the IOF deployed its military vehicles in the streets of the two towns and conducted raid campaigns, without any reported detentions. 

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Abduction of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces

Israeli occupation forces detain former prisoner from Jineen

Jineen, Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Israeli occupation forces today detained a former Palestinian prisoner in the city of Jenin, according to local and medical sources.

Sources said a large unit of Israeli occupation forces detained Omar Abu Aql, an ex-detainee in Israeli jails, after breaking into his house in the Kharrouba neighborhood in the city, and tampering with its contents.

In a related context, the occupying military forces further raided the village of 'Arana, northeast of the city, where they carried out a massive search campaign, without any arrests being reported.

Y.S. 

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Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

Palestinian injured as illegal Israeli settlers attack park on outskirts of 'Huwara

NABLUS, Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) – 

A Palestinian man sustained injuries this evening in an attack by illegal Israeli settlers on a park on the outskirts of the town of 'Huwara, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, local sources reported.

According to the sources, settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar assaulted a park on the outskirts of the town under the protection of the Israeli military. During the attack, they physically assaulted a Palestinian man, moderately injuring him.

The man was subsequently transported to Rafeedya Governmental Hospital in Nablus for medical treatment.

M.N.

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Illegal Israeli settlers attack sheep herders in near Hebron

HEBRON, Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) –

Illegal Israeli terror settler militias launched an attack this afternoon on local Palestinian shepherds in the village of Al-Jawayah, located east of the town of Yatta in the southern West Bank province of Hebron, according to local sources.

WAFA correspondent reported that a group of the illegal Israeli settlers escorted by a military force attacked herders grazing their livestock in the area. The settlers opened fire in the direction of the herders and verbally abused them.

He added that the settlers pursued the herders out of the grazing lands, and they continue to be present in the vicinity of the latter's homes in the village of Al-Jawayah.

M.N. 

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Israeli occupation regime forces Palestinian citizen to demolish own home in Silwan

Al-Quds (Jerusalem), Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) –

The all-Israeli occupation regime municipality of Jerusalem today compelled a Palestinian resident of Silwan neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem to self-demolish his own house which is under construction.

The resident, Sameer Al-'Halawani, informed WAFA that Israeli occupation authorities forced him to self-demolish his 105-square-meter house in the Ras Al-'Amoud district in Silwan.

He said the occupation authorities had notified him of the demolition decision three months ago, pressuring him to undertake the demolition himself to avoid exorbitant costs if carried out by Israeli bulldozers.

Of note, the Israeli occupation regime frequently coerces Palestinian residents, particularly in occupied Jerusalem, into self-demolishing their homes, citing alleged lack of permits. Those who resist this measure often witness their homes being demolished by Israeli bulldozers, accompanied by hefty fines imposed on the homeowners.

The Israeli municipality in Jerusalem consistently denies building permits to Palestinians and either demolishes their homes or compels them to self-demolish. These actions contravene international laws and humanitarian principles that safeguard the right to housing.

These policies are part of Israel's systematic practices aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians while expanding colonial settlements in and around the city.

M.N.

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Illegal Israeli settlers assault shepherds, steal sheep near Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) –

Illegal Israeli settler militias attacked Palestinian villagers today and stole their livestock near the town of Rammon, to the east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

Ibrahim Suleiman, the mayor of Rammon municipality, reported that a group of settlers assaulted shepherds the vicinity of the town. The attackers viciously beat the shepherds with sticks, resulting in injuries to three individuals who were later transported to the hospital. The injuries included bruises and fractures.

Suleiman emphasized that the settlers not only assaulted the shepherds but also stole several sheep from the area before withdrawing from the scene.

Terror attacks by Israeli settler militias are a common feature of the daily life under colonial settler occupation, but have seen exponential growth in recent months with the rise of ultranationalist fascism in Israel's government coalition.

M.N.

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Israeli forces raid home of former prisoner in Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), seize vehicle

BETHLEHEM, Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Israeli occupation forces raided today the village of Al-Minya, near the town of Tuqu, southeast of Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), and seized a vehicle, according to a local activist.

Head of the Minya village council, Zayid Kawazbah, said Israeli forces raided the house of former prisoner Ibraheem Jabr Kawazbah, inflicted damages to its contents, and seized his vehicle.

Y.S.

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Israeli settlers attack Palestinian properties near Al-Khaleel (Hebron)

Al-Khaleel (Hebron), Saturday, January 20, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Israeli occupation forces today detained a Palestinian man while settlers attacked Palestinian properties in Masafir Yatta, located to the south of Hebron, according to local sources.j

The occupying Israeli forces detained the young man Ali Al-Najjada after breaking into and thoroughly searching his house in the Arab Al-Najjada area in Musafir Yatta.

Israeli forces also searched and inspected several houses in the said area and tampered with their contents.

Sources said that a group of Israeli settlers further sneaked into al- Ghazi community, where they damaged citizens’ property and trees, and cut down a fence belonging to local resident Muhammad Makhamra.

Settlers also broke into the houses of two Palestinians in the village of Susiya in Masafir Yatta of and threatened to kill them if they did not leave their homes.

In a related context, Israeli occupation forces also raided several neighborhoods in the city of Hebron, chased Palestinian youths and raided a commercial shop belonging to a local family.

Forces also raided the town of Al-Dthahiriya, south of the city, where they stationed and deployed their military forces in the allays and streets of several areas.

Y.S. 

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