Nostr notes by B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم

Immediately after occupying East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel ...

2026-06-02T11:39:15Z

Immediately after occupying East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel annexed about 70,000 dunam (1 dunam = 0.1 hectares) from the West Bank to its territory in violation of international law. Parts of this area were added to Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries.

One third of the annexed territory was used to build settlements expressly designed to secure a Jewish majority and create a contiguous territorial bloc, while pushing Palestinian communities out of the urban space.

The Silwan area, located near the Old City, is home to about 20,000 Palestinians who suffer from systemic, criminal neglect in terms of public infrastructure and services the Jerusalem Municipality is obligated to provide: Many streets are unpaved, waste is left to pile up in the streets, and street lighting is limited.

On top of this neglect, residents face daily harassment and violence by both Israeli security forces and settlers.

Right now, about 1,800 Silwan residents are being forced out of their homes, which Israel is granting to settler families. This follows the past two years in which hundreds have already been uprooted and left homeless, as their houses are being demolished to make way for a national park and a parking lot.

Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem through discriminatory legislation, planning procedures, funding allocations and service provision, all designed to advance the Judaization of the area.

Read the full article >> https://www.btselem.org/jerusalem/202603_judaizing_jerusalem_11_palestinian_families_to_be_evicted_this_month_from_baten_al_hawa_in_silwan

Israel has been working to oust Palestinians from the South ...

2026-05-21T07:47:17Z

Israel has been working to oust Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills for many years. Efforts intensified after October 2023, and since then, hundreds of organized attacks against local Palestinian residents and shepherds have been recorded.

In January 2026 alone, more than 200 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians were documented in villages in the area. Over the course of this time, settlers invaded Palestinian-owned farmland and killed two local residents.

Settler militias operate as an informal arm of the state: armed with military-issued weapons and riding ATVs and horses, they invade communities under the protection of military forces, who either turn a blind eye to the violence or take an active part in it.

The violence in the South Hebron Hills is part of the policy of ethnic cleansing that Israel is implementing throughout the West Bank.

To the full report >> https://www.btselem.org/video/20260518_increased_israeli_effort_to_complete_ethnic_cleansing_of_south_hebron_hills_during_january_2026

Immediately after occupying East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel ...

2026-05-05T14:34:05Z

Immediately after occupying East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel annexed about 70,000 dunam (1 dunam = 0.1 hectares) of the West Bank in violation of international law. Parts of this area were added to Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries.

Silwan’s Palestinian residents suffer from systemic neglect by the municipality: waste left to pile up, unpaved roads and poor street lighting. On top of that, residents also face daily violence at the hands of the police and Israeli settlers, designed to turn their lives into a never-ending nightmare

The ethnic cleansing in Silwan is a planned national project that has been pursued for years. The government, planning authorities, the judicial system and settler organizations all work together as a single apparatus to strip Palestinians of their land.

Israeli law is built on an organizing principle of advancing and entrenching Jewish supremacy in the area. It allows only Jews to claim property owned in East Jerusalem prior to 1948, while Palestinians are barred from doing so.

Israel uses national parks and archaeological sites as a pretext to take over land. These sites are operated in close cooperation with right-wing organizations such as Elad and Ateret Cohanim, whose sole purpose is to Judaize the area.

Establishing Jewish enclaves in the heart of the Palestinian community, such as in Sheikh Jarrah, in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City and in Silwan, is a strategy of displacement meant to shatter the Palestinian community’s contiguity.

While Palestinians suffer neglect and violence, settlers in Silwan, like those living in the City of David or Baten al-Hawa, enjoy modern services and infrastructure, paved access roads and proper street lighting.

The expulsion in Silwan is part of a policy of ethnic cleansing throughout the entire West Bank.

To the full article >> https://www.btselem.org/jerusalem/202603_judaizing_jerusalem_11_palestinian_families_to_be_evicted_this_month_from_baten_al_hawa_in_silwan

On Wednesday, 18 February, the second day of Ramadan, settlers ...

2026-05-01T01:35:02Z

On Wednesday, 18 February, the second day of Ramadan, settlers raided two sheep farms on the outskirts of the village of Mikhmas, in Ramallah District. They harassed and chased ‘Ayed Abu ‘Ali, a 52-year-old shepherd, as about 15 village residents rushed to his aid.

Armed settlers, some of them masked, who came to the scene began throwing stones and firing live rounds. Soon, soldiers arrived in four military jeeps and, instead of protecting the residents under attack, fired tear-gas canisters and live rounds at the Palestinians, effectively providing security for the attacking settlers.

During the incident, a masked settler knelt in a sniper position and fired at the residents. Nasrallah Abu Siyam, 19, was hit in the thigh and fell to the ground. His evacuation was delayed by more than two hours due to a military checkpoint. He arrived at the hospital in Ramallah in critical condition and without a pulse and was pronounced dead.

Since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 1,066 Palestinians in the West Bank. Under Israel’s apartheid regime, Palestinians’ lives continue to be treated as entirely expendable.

Link to read the full investigation >> https://www.btselem.org/settler_violence/20260401_a_settler_killed_a_local_teen_and_stole_hundreds_of_sheep_with_soldiers_providing_security_in_mikhmas_in_ramallah_district

Thousands of Israelis celebrated Independence Day on the ruins of ...

2026-04-27T14:20:08Z

Thousands of Israelis celebrated Independence Day on the ruins of Ras ‘Ein al-‘Auja, the largest Palestinian community in the Jordan Valley, which the military expelled just months ago with the help of settler militias.

The lives of the 125 families in the community – 625 people, 333 of them minors – were violently upended by the Israeli regime. Since October 2023, Israel has expelled 59 entire Palestinian communities and partially expelled 16 more: all in all, 4,510 people driven out of their homes to promote Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.

See the full list of expelled Palestinian communities >> https://www.btselem.org/settler_violence_updates_list?importance=1

Israel has granted a perpetrator of war crimes in Gaza the honor ...

2026-04-21T15:40:26Z

Israel has granted a perpetrator of war crimes in Gaza the honor of lighting a ceremonial torch on Independence Day. By choosing Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv to represent “the spirit of the nation,” Israel is making genocide part of its official national ethos.

“There’s nothing for them to go back to in Rafah and Jabalya… Tens of thousands of families have no documents, childhood photos, ID cards, homes. Nothing.” This boast was made by Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv, an Israeli Rabbi who perpetrated war crimes who has been chosen to light a torch at Israel’s Independence Day ceremony, today, April 21. This is one of the highest accolades in the country, granted to “exemplary citizens” who represent “the spirit of the nation.”

Rabbi Zarbiv served about 500 days as a military reservist in Gaza over the last two and a half years. As a bulldozer operator during the genocide, he carried out war crimes of which he has openly boasted in videos he filmed, media interviews and public talks.

Bestowing one of the highest civilian honors in Israel on a citizen who committed war crimes illustrates how deeply the dehumanization of Palestinians has taken root in the Israeli mainstream. It is yet another terrifying signal that genocide has officially become part of the national ethos. Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv is a regional rabbinical court judge for the settlement of Ariel, and head the pre-military academy in the settlement of Beit El that educates hundreds of Israeli youth. Choosing him as an “exemplary citizen” represents a state-level endorsement of the complete de-humanization of Palestinians, systematic destruction of Palestinian life and the governing logic of annihilation and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Zarbiv is not ashamed of his actions, neither, clearly is the State of Israel. We’vecompiled some documentation here to mark the occasion.

On Saturday, 11 April, Israeli settlers coming from the Oranim ...

2026-04-14T14:07:23Z

On Saturday, 11 April, Israeli settlers coming from the Oranim Farm outpost invaded Deir Jarir village land, as part of ongoing efforts to take it over. Residents who tried to fend them off with stones came under heavy fire from a settler on military reserve duty who joined his friends as reinforcement. One of the bullets fatally hit ‘Ali Hamadneh, 23, in the back while he was running away and posed no danger, as is evident in footage of the incident.

The IDF Spokesperson claimed that “upon the forces’ arrival at the scene, a disturbance developed that included stone-throwing at them. A reservist carried out a suspect-arrest procedure that included firing in the air and then firing at one of the stone-throwers.” Yet B’Tselem’s investigation found that there was no military force at the scene other than the settler on reserve duty who was collaborating with the invaders.

This is part of a recurring pattern in which settler militias, often including soldiers in regular and reserve service, invade Palestinian land and communities and fire at residents trying to defend their property.

Under cover of the Israeli-US attack on Iran and Lebanon launched on 28 February, settler militias have escalated their attacks, killing at least 7 Palestinians and injuring dozens.

This lethal violence is another tool used to promote the policy of ethnic cleansing Israel is carrying out in the West Bank.

“Close to 10,000 Palestinians are being held right now, when ...

2026-04-12T17:35:16Z

“Close to 10,000 Palestinians are being held right now, when we're talking, in these detention centers, each and every one of them are going through abuse.”

Watch our Executive Director, Yuli Novak spoke with @CNN's @amanpour about the Israeli new legislation for executing Palestinians.

Since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 72,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and at least 1,050 in the West Bank. During this time, more than 80 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody —facilities that have effectively become a network of torture camps.

The new legislation institutionalises the execution of Palestinians. This law adds another official killing mechanism to existing practices of systemic oppression and lethal force.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/10/tv/video/amanpour-novak-bishara

From the declaration of the “ceasefire” on 10 October 2025 ...

2026-04-10T15:58:03Z

From the declaration of the “ceasefire” on 10 October 2025 through 8 April 2026, Israel killed 736 people across the Gaza Strip. Around 150 of them were killed during the joint Israeli‑American attack on Iran.

“The yellow line,” drawn as part of the Trump plan and leaving more than half of Gaza’s territory under Israeli control on a “temporary” basis, has become an arena of killing and repeated displacement of Palestinians and is solidifying into a de facto border.

According to recent satellite‑image analysis, since the “ceasefire” began, the Israeli military has erected seven new posts along the yellow line, shifted its route to bite off more of Gaza’s land, and begun constructing a ground barrier stretching for kilometers.

Gaza’s roughly 2.1 million residents are forced to crowd into an area that amounts to less than half of the Strip’s territory.

More than one million displaced people urgently need basic shelter supplies. Most live in makeshift tents, vulnerable to flooding and inhuman sanitation conditions, or in damaged structures at immediate risk of collapse.

With the onset of the attack on Iran, Israel imposed draconian restrictions on the entry of humanitarian supplies into the Strip, causing a roughly 80% drop in the number of aid trucks entering.

With crossings closed, the number of patients allowed to leave the Strip for urgent medical treatment plummeted to 16 in March, while more than 18,500 patients who need treatment outside Gaza are unable to leave.

Gaza’s healthcare system, almost entirely destroyed in the Israeli assault, is now expected to cope with a massive patient load amid severe shortages of medicines, medical equipment and fuel.

The closure of the crossings has also exacerbated Gaza’s food crisis: basic commodities have disappeared from markets, and the prices of other goods have soared beyond the reach of most of the population. As a result, about 1.6 million people are expected to face hunger this month.

Six months into the so-called ceasefire, the killing, destruction, starvation and displacement persist, while the international community continues to turn its back on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to enable the genocide carried out by Israel.

The new law allows Israeli courts to officially impose death ...

2026-04-06T14:24:07Z

The new law allows Israeli courts to officially impose death sentences on Palestinians, but this reality has already been normalized: since October 2023, more than 80 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody amid documented abuse, and thousands more are held in detention facilities that have effectively become a network of torture camps.

Our Director of International Advocacy, Sarit Michaeli, spoke with @democracynow about how this legislation institutionalizes the execution of Palestinians, the near-total impunity enjoyed by any Israeliharming Palestinian, and a new low in the policy of using lethal force and systematic oppression.

To the full item on @democracynow >> https://www.democracynow.org/2026/4/2/israel_death_penalty

While many countries are abolishing or reducing the use of the ...

2026-03-29T19:31:03Z

While many countries are abolishing or reducing the use of the death penalty, Israel is doing the opposite, writing it into law. Israel’s Death Penalty Law institutionalizes and legalizes the state’s mechanism for executing Palestinians.

Since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 72,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and at least 1,050 Palestinians in the West Bank. During this time, more than 80 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli prisons, which have turned into a network of torture camps where prisoners are subjected to continuous abuse and violence.

The death penalty law adds another official killing mechanism to existing practices.

The mass incarceration of Palestinians is a feature of Israel’s apartheid regime. As of March 2026, about 9,500 Palestinians are held in inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons, roughly half of them under administrative detention or as “unlawful combatants,” without trial and with no ability to defend themselves.

Death penalty for Palestinians only:
The law is worded to apply to Palestinians only, and it is set to make the killing of Palestinians a normalized, common punitive tool through several mechanisms:

The law gives military courts no discretion. Military judges will be required to sentence Palestinians convicted of murder to death, except in “special circumstances.” There is no requirement for a unanimous decision. A simple majority will suffice, and avenues for appeal will be extremely limited.

Only Palestinians are tried in military courts. Their conviction rate is 96%, based largely on “confessions” extracted under duress and torture during interrogations.

The penalty, execution by hanging, must be carried out within 90 days of sentencing, with no possibility of pardon. A designated prison officer will execute the sentence.

The law, which enjoys broad public support in Israel, is expected to pass in the Knesset tomorrow, Monday, 30 March. The Israel Prison Service has already begun preparing designated execution facilities.

The death penalty is a total violation of the most basic human rights, primarily, the right to life. Israel enforces a comprehensive policy of killing and oppression against the Palestinian people in all the territories it controls. The Death Penalty Law gives Israel’s apartheid regime yet another tool for advancing that policy.

The ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem is happening now! Large ...

2026-03-25T16:06:49Z

The ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem is happening now! Large Israeli forces entered the Silwan neighborhood today, 25 March, to evict 11 Palestinian families from their homes.

Amidst the ongoing illegal and lethal Israeli-American offensive against Iran, Israel is expanding its ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem, throwing Palestinian families into the streets. The eviction of 11 families, marks the continuation of a massive displacement wave: approximately 2,200 people in Silwan are facing an imminent threat of forced displacement, 150 families (1,500 individuals) in al-Bustan and 90 families (700 individuals) in Baten al-Hawa.

This is the reality of systematic, institutionalized violence and a clear manifestation of an Israeli policy aimed at engineering the demographic balance and "Judaizing" the neighborhood by exploiting discriminatory laws. These measures are designed to expand Israeli presence and control over one of the most politically and religiously sensitive areas in the region, serving as a crucial component of the broader ethnic cleansing currently unfolding across the West Bank.

As of March 2026, some 9,446 Palestinians are held in Israeli ...

2026-03-23T18:17:05Z

As of March 2026, some 9,446 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons; 4,691 of them are under administrative detention, imprisoned without charge, trial, or the ability to defend themselves.

Even during the illegal and deadly Israeli-American attack on Iran, Israel continues to operate a network of torture camps for Palestinian prisoners from north to south, where they are subjected to systematic abuse, including physical and psychological violence, inhuman conditions, starvation and denial of medical treatment.

84 identified Palestinians, including one minor, have died in Israeli torture camps over the last two years, and there is grave concern that the real number is higher.

This policy persists with the full support of Israel’s political establishment, judicial system, prison authorities and media. The Israel Prison Service and the Minister for National Security have publicly bragged about the harsh conditions imposed on Palestinian prisoners.

These torture camps are part of the planned, extensive assault Israel is waging against Palestinian society, intended to break down and destroy Palestinians as a group.

Link to our report “Living Hell” >> https://www.btselem.org/publications/202601_living_hell

“I lost my health, I lost my children, I lost my dignity,” ...

2026-03-17T16:29:17Z

“I lost my health, I lost my children, I lost my dignity,” says Ikram Nasser, 39, from Rafah. Israel killed her 20-year-old son, ‘Udai, and her life has become a struggle for survival.

Ikram’s testimony is part of a new B’Tselem report, “Clinging to What’s Left of Life”, tracing the lives of Palestinian women under genocide in Gaza. Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 12,500 women, including 9,000 mothers.

Even after the so-called ceasefire was declared in October 2025, Israel continues to restrict the entry of essential aid into Gaza, forcing women and girls to live in inhumane conditions that rob them of dignity and health: complete lack of privacy in flimsy tents, with a severe shortage of basic hygiene products and a devastated healthcare system.

Link to the full report “Clinging to What’s Left of Life” >> https://www.btselem.org/video/20260308_palestinian_women_under_genocide_in_gaza_clinging_to_whats_left_of_life?132=

“Women of the world, stand with us. Do not abandon us.” This ...

2026-03-11T19:00:36Z

“Women of the world, stand with us. Do not abandon us.” This is the plea of Almaza al-Sultan, 46, a mother of five from Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip.

For the third year in a row, women in Gaza mark International Women’s Day under the shadow of the genocide Israel is committing in the Strip. Our new report Clinging to what’s left of life, published this week, brings new testimonies from women in Gaza, together with information and data that lay bare the struggle for survival in inhuman conditions.

Women from Gaza have shared with us, with remarkable courage, what it means to live in constant fear of losing yet another child; to care for a family without a home; to see their privacy erased and their health and most basic human dignity undermined; to feel that their children’s future has been stolen; and about the crushing new weight that the word “mother” has taken on.

Watch a video with excerpts from these testimonies and listen to voices from Gaza

Read the full report for more on the lives of Palestinian women under genocide in Gaza >> https://www.btselem.org/video/20260308_palestinian_women_under_genocide_in_gaza_clinging_to_whats_left_of_life?132=

What do women’s lives look like under genocide? A new ...

2026-03-08T17:10:20Z

What do women’s lives look like under genocide?
A new B’Tselem report presents data and testimonies from women in Gaza, revealing a brutal, ongoing struggle for survival.

Today, Sunday, 8 March, International Women’s Day, listen to the voices of women in Gaza, bearing witness from a continuous hell:

Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 12,500 women in Gaza, including over 9,000 mothers, leaving 21,193 widows.

Life in tents has morphed from a temporary solution into a permanent state – thin fabric walls that offer no protection or privacy. Without a room of their own, women sleep fully clothed and with their head coverings on, even in extreme heat. The simplest everyday tasks, such as washing, changing clothes, breastfeeding, or managing menstruation (now without hygiene products) have become degrading, near-impossible undertakings in exposed public spaces.

The burden on Gaza’s women is beyond comprehension. As Ikhlas al-Kafarneh told us in her testimony:

“I can’t even cry in front of my children, because then I’d fall apart. I so much want to be alone, even for one day, to be just with myself in a distant place where I can scream at the top of my lungs and cry over this terrible life that has been forced on me.”

Even after the so-called ceasefire of October 2025, the genocide still goes on. The killing continues, and the inhuman living conditions erase the privacy, health, and basic dignity of every woman and girl in Gaza.

Read the full report: “Clinging to what’s left of life” >> https://www.btselem.org/video/20260308_palestinian_women_under_genocide_in_gaza_clinging_to_whats_left_of_life?132

Amir Muhammad Shanaran (28) was killed today (Saturday) and his ...

2026-03-07T16:14:12Z

Amir Muhammad Shanaran (28) was killed today (Saturday) and his brother Khaled was critically wounded after armed Israeli settlers opened fire on them at point-blank range in Khirbet Wadi a-Rakhim in the South Hebron Hills.

Under the cover of the Israeli-American attack on Iran, the cooperation between the military and Israeli settler militias is expanding the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank.

On Monday, 2 March, a settler shot and killed two brothers in the village of Qaryut; other shootings across the West Bank left additional Palestinians injured.

Since Saturday, 28 February, under cover of the ongoing ...

2026-03-04T18:59:14Z

Since Saturday, 28 February, under cover of the ongoing Israeli-American attack on Iran, Israel has killed ten people in the Gaza Strip.

As the assault began, Israel sealed all crossings into Gaza, halting all entry of food, medical supplies, and humanitarian workers. On Tuesday, Israel reopened only one crossing, Kerem Shalom. Only 16 trucks entered that day, 14 carrying humanitarian aid and two with goods for local markets.

Israel continues to enforce the humanitarian crisis:

Since the so-called ceasefire was declared, it has kept most crossings closed while imposing draconian restrictions on the transfer of food, as well as equipment and personnel essential for residents’ survival. About 22,000 wounded and sick people in Gaza still need urgent medical evacuation.

According to the World Food Programme, at least 1.6 million people, 77% of Gaza’s population, are suffering from acute food insecurity, including more than 100,000 children and 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women who are expected to face acute malnutrition by next month.

The overwhelming majority of Gaza’s two million residents remain displaced, living for over two years now in unbearable conditions, in tents or damaged buildings.

Since 10 October 2025, when the so-called ceasefire was announced, the Israeli army have killed 631 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The international community is enabling Israel’s policies and the ongoing genocide.

The genocide in Gaza is not over.

Imagine not being able to close your window in a storm. That is ...

2026-02-23T20:39:34Z

Imagine not being able to close your window in a storm. That is reality for many of the 1.3 million displaced people in Gaza, huddling yet another winter in makeshift tents or partially destroyed buildings with no real protection against the rain and cold.

Last December, while Storm “Byron” hit the region, 8-month-old baby Rahaf died from severe cold exposure. Her father, Ahmad Abu Jazar, said in a testimony he gave B’Tselem:

“That night, it rained very heavily. We woke up at A.M. and found the tent flooded. We checked on our children. Rahaf was completely wet. When my wife changed her clothes, she noticed that her body was very cold and her face looked different. Her lips had gone blue. [..] My wife and I went with Rahaf to Nasser Hospital. She was already dying. The doctors tried to resuscitate her, but it didn’t help. My wife and I were in shock. We cried and hugged Rahaf’s cold body. We couldn’t believe our baby was dead because of the extreme cold and the flooding in our tent that night.”

This winter, at least 39 people in Gaza have died due to severe weather: 22 were minors, including young babies; 25 were killed when unsafe structures collapsed; and 14 died of hypothermia.

This is the result of a deliberate policy: since October 2023, Israel has destroyed most buildings and vital infrastructure in Gaza, creating a humanitarian catastrophe and forcibly displacing about 1.9 million people from their homes.

Even now, more than four months after the so-called “ceasefire,” over 1 million people in Gaza urgently need basic shelter and supplies. Yet Israel continues to impose draconian restrictions on the entry of essential aid.

The genocide in Gaza is not over.

Link to the full report >>
https://www.btselem.org/gaza_strip/20260223_39_including_children_died_in_gaza_due_to_destruction_of_infrastructure_by_israel_and_severe_weather#full

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Minister of Finance and Additional ...

2026-02-19T16:37:31Z

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Minister of Finance and Additional Minister in the Ministry of Defense responsible for the Settlement Directorate, plainly lays out everything you need to know about Israeli policy:

1. Israel is taking action to expel Palestinians from both Gaza and the West Bank.

2. The notion of re-occupying Gaza and forcibly transferring Palestinians, and plans for its implementation, have been sitting in a drawer for quite some time.

3. Israel seeks to continue the demographic “revolution,” — i.e. ethnic cleansing, dispossession of Palestinians, and Jewish domination — also against Palestinian citizens of Israel in the Negev and the Galilee.

Smotrich is simply saying the quiet part out loud, and it’s already taking shape on the ground: the Israeli apartheid regime is deepening Jewish supremacy in the entire area under its control, from the river to the sea, through killing, expulsion, and oppression of Palestinians.

The international community must do everything in its power to stop Israel’s crimes.

On Sunday evening, 7 December 2025, three young friends, Baraa ...

2026-02-12T17:10:21Z

On Sunday evening, 7 December 2025, three young friends, Baraa Qablan, 21, Muamen Abu Riyash, 19, and their friend M.H., went for a drive together to celebrate Baraa’s birthday. On the way, they stopped at a grocery store to buy snacks and drinks, and looked for a nice quiet spot by the road where they could sit together and picnic.

They stopped near the village of ‘Izbat a-Tabib, in Qalqiliyah District, in a spot they found suitable. Baraa and Muamen got out of the car to check the place, while M.H. stayed inside. Suddenly, heavy gunfire started. Through the window, M.H. saw his two friends running frantically toward the car, and then collapsing to the ground. Muamen was killed on the spot, while Baraa was critically injured. He died later, after being evacuated in a military ambulance.

Soldiers, who were in the area as part of an “initiated operation”, arrived at the scene immediately. They searched the car and found nothing but snacks and drinks.

The soldiers charged at M.H., slammed him to the ground and accused the three of coming to throw stones. The military later claimed the force had fired at “three terrorists” throwing stones at vehicles on the road, with no evidence to support this spurious account.

M.H. was released from custody after ten days with no charges laid. He stated that he was kept blindfolded for the entire duration of his detention, and that he was beaten, humiliated and denied adequate food. The military is still holding the bodies of Baraa and Muamen.
Israel’s open fire policy in the West Bank is permissive and lethal. The result is that since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 1,025 Palestinians in the West Bank, all with unquestioning support and near total impunity provided by the political leadership, the judicial system and the military establishment.
Under Israel’s apartheid regime, Palestinian lives are treated as disposable.

For the full investigation >> https://www.btselem.org/firearms/20260208_the_killing_of_baraa_qablan_and_muamen_abu_riyash_in_izbat_a_tabib_qalqiliyah_district