9 jan 2017
41 Israeli soldiers were killed in 2016, five more than the number of those killed in 2015, according to the Hebrew Walla website.
The soldiers were killed due to Palestinian anti-occupation attacks, traffic accidents, military training, or committed suicide, according to the website.
The Israeli report pointed out that 15 soldiers out of 41 committed suicide while mentioning that five Israeli soldiers were killed since the beginning of 2017, including one who died of his wounds sustained during the Israeli war on Gaza in summer 2014.
Four Israeli soldiers died on Sunday while 15 others were wounded in a truck-ramming attack in Occupied Jerusalem. The Palestinian driver was gunned down by Israeli soldiers.
The soldiers were killed due to Palestinian anti-occupation attacks, traffic accidents, military training, or committed suicide, according to the website.
The Israeli report pointed out that 15 soldiers out of 41 committed suicide while mentioning that five Israeli soldiers were killed since the beginning of 2017, including one who died of his wounds sustained during the Israeli war on Gaza in summer 2014.
Four Israeli soldiers died on Sunday while 15 others were wounded in a truck-ramming attack in Occupied Jerusalem. The Palestinian driver was gunned down by Israeli soldiers.
The Palestinians of Turkey Conference called for mobilizing support for the oppressed Palestinian people and for armed resistance in the face of the Israeli occupation.
A memorandum dispatched by the Palestinians of Turkey Conference to the official and popular Turkish parties stressed Palestinians’ right to self-defense by all means available.
The letter dubbed the anti-occupation vehicle-ramming attack carried out by 28-year-old Fadi Kunbur in Occupied Jerusalem a legitimate form of resistance and a justifiable reaction carried out by an oppressed people.
The letter added that the operation took place in Occupied Jerusalem, a city that has been grappling with Israeli terrorism and Judaization schemes for over 37 years.
The letter was released shortly after the Turkish PM Binali Yildirim extended his condolences to the families of the Israeli occupation soldiers who died in the attack.
“The most staggering kind of terrorism manifests itself in the colonization of a given people and the infringement of their rights to freedom and justice,” the memorandum read.
“Seen from this lens, resisting terrorism by all means emerges as the most dignified of all acts and one which should garner our support and pride,” it added.
The conference denied the remarks made by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attacker’s affiliation with ISIS.
The memorandum lauded the steadfast Palestinian people, saying: “There is no such thing as ISIS in Palestine. This is a mere Israeli propaganda to harm the reputation of the legitimate Palestinian resistance in the face of the Israeli occupation”
The letter spoke out against the “simmering Israeli terrorism” perpetrated against the Palestinians via land grab, misappropriation of sacred places of worship, and the violation of human rights.
A memorandum dispatched by the Palestinians of Turkey Conference to the official and popular Turkish parties stressed Palestinians’ right to self-defense by all means available.
The letter dubbed the anti-occupation vehicle-ramming attack carried out by 28-year-old Fadi Kunbur in Occupied Jerusalem a legitimate form of resistance and a justifiable reaction carried out by an oppressed people.
The letter added that the operation took place in Occupied Jerusalem, a city that has been grappling with Israeli terrorism and Judaization schemes for over 37 years.
The letter was released shortly after the Turkish PM Binali Yildirim extended his condolences to the families of the Israeli occupation soldiers who died in the attack.
“The most staggering kind of terrorism manifests itself in the colonization of a given people and the infringement of their rights to freedom and justice,” the memorandum read.
“Seen from this lens, resisting terrorism by all means emerges as the most dignified of all acts and one which should garner our support and pride,” it added.
The conference denied the remarks made by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attacker’s affiliation with ISIS.
The memorandum lauded the steadfast Palestinian people, saying: “There is no such thing as ISIS in Palestine. This is a mere Israeli propaganda to harm the reputation of the legitimate Palestinian resistance in the face of the Israeli occupation”
The letter spoke out against the “simmering Israeli terrorism” perpetrated against the Palestinians via land grab, misappropriation of sacred places of worship, and the violation of human rights.
The Israeli occupation police on Monday raided a mourning tent dedicated to the slain Palestinian youth Fadi Kunbur in Jerusalem’s town of Jabal al-Mukabir.
According to eyewitnesses Israeli occupation cops and soldiers showed up at the mourning scene and removed the tent on claims that it was illegally pitched in the area.
The Israeli policemen forced all Palestinian mourners out of the tent before they sealed off al-Madaris Street, in Jabal al-Mukbir, with concrete roadblocks.
A few hours earlier, youngster Barakat Kunbur was kidnapped by the occupation forces from the area.
The Israeli police spokeswoman said a preplanned military campaign is expected to be stepped up across East Occupied Jerusalem, particularly Jabal al-Mukabir area, on Monday.
On Sunday, nine Palestinian civilians, including five members of Kunbur’s family, along with his 12 sisters, parents, and wife, were arrested by the Israeli cops following an assault on the family home.
Kunbur’s sisters were released following exhaustive questioning al-Mascoubiya detention center, in Occupied Jerusalem.
Kunbur was killed on Sunday following an anti-occupation truck-ramming attack in Jabal al-Mukabir.
According to eyewitnesses Israeli occupation cops and soldiers showed up at the mourning scene and removed the tent on claims that it was illegally pitched in the area.
The Israeli policemen forced all Palestinian mourners out of the tent before they sealed off al-Madaris Street, in Jabal al-Mukbir, with concrete roadblocks.
A few hours earlier, youngster Barakat Kunbur was kidnapped by the occupation forces from the area.
The Israeli police spokeswoman said a preplanned military campaign is expected to be stepped up across East Occupied Jerusalem, particularly Jabal al-Mukabir area, on Monday.
On Sunday, nine Palestinian civilians, including five members of Kunbur’s family, along with his 12 sisters, parents, and wife, were arrested by the Israeli cops following an assault on the family home.
Kunbur’s sisters were released following exhaustive questioning al-Mascoubiya detention center, in Occupied Jerusalem.
Kunbur was killed on Sunday following an anti-occupation truck-ramming attack in Jabal al-Mukabir.
Hamas Movement organized Sunday night large rallies in Gaza Strip in support of resistance option following the anti-occupation attack in occupied Jerusalem which left four Israeli soldiers dead and 15 others injured.
Hundreds of Palestinians participated in the marches, chanting slogans in support of resistance fighters who sacrificed their lives in defense of Palestinian people and holy sites.
Member of Hamas’s political bureau Fathi Hamad said, in a speech delivered during a rally organized north of the Strip, that no power on earth could stop the Jerusalem Intifada.
He welcomed the truck-ramming resistance attack carried out earlier Sunday in occupied Jerusalem, saying that it came to put an end to security coordination and normalization with Israeli occupation.
He also hailed the steadfastness of Palestinian people in occupied Jerusalem, calling for supporting resistance operations.
A similar popular march was organized in Khan Younis to the south of Gaza Strip, where hundreds raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of Jerusalem Intifada.
During the rally, the leader in Hamas Movement Hamad Raqab said that Jerusalem truck-ramming attack came in response to Israeli escalated crimes against Palestinian people and holy sites.
He stressed that resistance is the sole option to restore Palestinian legitimate rights.
All attempts to stop Jerusalem Intifada would certainly fail, he added.
On Sunday afternoon, four Israeli soldiers were killed and 15 others were injured including 8 in serious conditions in an anti-occupation truck-ramming attack in Occupied Jerusalem. The Palestinian attacker was shot dead by Israeli soldiers.
Hundreds of Palestinians participated in the marches, chanting slogans in support of resistance fighters who sacrificed their lives in defense of Palestinian people and holy sites.
Member of Hamas’s political bureau Fathi Hamad said, in a speech delivered during a rally organized north of the Strip, that no power on earth could stop the Jerusalem Intifada.
He welcomed the truck-ramming resistance attack carried out earlier Sunday in occupied Jerusalem, saying that it came to put an end to security coordination and normalization with Israeli occupation.
He also hailed the steadfastness of Palestinian people in occupied Jerusalem, calling for supporting resistance operations.
A similar popular march was organized in Khan Younis to the south of Gaza Strip, where hundreds raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of Jerusalem Intifada.
During the rally, the leader in Hamas Movement Hamad Raqab said that Jerusalem truck-ramming attack came in response to Israeli escalated crimes against Palestinian people and holy sites.
He stressed that resistance is the sole option to restore Palestinian legitimate rights.
All attempts to stop Jerusalem Intifada would certainly fail, he added.
On Sunday afternoon, four Israeli soldiers were killed and 15 others were injured including 8 in serious conditions in an anti-occupation truck-ramming attack in Occupied Jerusalem. The Palestinian attacker was shot dead by Israeli soldiers.
7 jan 2017
The number of Palestinian martyrs, who have been killed since Jerusalem Intifada broke out in October, 2015 has reached 272 after fisherman Mohammad al-Hissi was considered dead.
Fisherman Hissi died after Israeli navy drowned his boat in Gaza sea Wednesday evening. Later on, his family declared his martyrdom even though his body was still missing.
A statistics report by Jerusalem Institute for Israeli and Palestinian affairs showed that the largest number of martyrs (78) is from al-Khalil. The number also included 78 minor boys and 24 females including 12 minors, the report underlined.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) still continue detaining seven of the martyrs’ bodies, the report added.
Fisherman Hissi died after Israeli navy drowned his boat in Gaza sea Wednesday evening. Later on, his family declared his martyrdom even though his body was still missing.
A statistics report by Jerusalem Institute for Israeli and Palestinian affairs showed that the largest number of martyrs (78) is from al-Khalil. The number also included 78 minor boys and 24 females including 12 minors, the report underlined.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) still continue detaining seven of the martyrs’ bodies, the report added.
6 jan 2017
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Friday condemned attempts by the Republican-dominated US government to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying that such a move would send the Middle East peace process and the entire world into a “crisis.”
During a meeting organized to celebrate Orthodox Christmas in Beit Sahour in the occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem, Abbas demanded that the American administration accept UN resolution 2334, passed last month after US President Obama abstained from voting, which condemned Israel’s illegal settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian territory.
Abbas reiterated that East Jerusalem was the Palestinian capital, and also a holy site for the three monotheistic religions -- Islam, Christianity, and Judaism -- and highlighted that each has the right to access and perform religious practices in Jerusalem.
Abbas’ statement came following the introduction of a bill to Congress on Wednesday, spearheaded by three US senators -- Republicans Ted Cruz (Texas), Dean Heller (Nevada), and Marco Rubio (Florida) -- that would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital and move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, defying international stances on the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict resting on a two-state solution.
If implemented, the bill would give legitimacy to Israel’s illegal occupation of East Jerusalem since 1967, disregard Palestinian claims to the city, and possibly terminate a longstanding White House policy to perpetually defer a 1995 Congressional decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move the embassy there.
Abbas invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit Palestine, particularly Bethlehem city, and urged the soon-to-be President not to make any changes to the status of East Jerusalem that rests on a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital, calling the potential legitimization of Israel’s illegal annexation of occupied East Jerusalem a “red line.”
President-Elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as the American President on Jan. 20. The soon-to-be president of the United States pledged during his campaign that, if elected, he would ensure that the US embassy in Israel was moved to Jerusalem, with Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway reiterating last month that the move would be a “very big priority” for the Trump administration.
Abbas added that the Palestinian president was against violence, but his administration would use “diplomatic and political methods” against the decision.
“I demand the American administration stop its duality in dealing with the political process, especially concerning talks of moving the American embassy to Jerusalem. We consider this aggressive speech that contradicts the political efforts underway on the Palestinian situation, which includes a solution where East Jerusalem remains as Palestine’s capital.”
He also underscored the ongoing peace efforts underway led by France, and the upcoming Peace Conference expected to be held in Paris on Jan. 15, marking the latest international effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian political impasse, and added that the continuation of Israeli occupation is a reality the Palestinians will “never accept.”
Abbas’ words came on the same day that the US House of Representatives approved a bipartisan resolution rejecting UN resolution 2334, and instead stated their unwavering commitment and support for the state of Israel.
Right-wing politicians in both the US and Israel have voiced their disdain for Obama’s decision to abstain from the vote at the UN, with Israeli Minister Yuval Steinitz saying at the time that the United States had “abandoned” Israel by abstaining from the vote, adding that “the heart aches that after eight years of friendship… and cooperation with Obama, this is his final chord" in the departing Obama administration.
The Israeli government has also openly expressed its anticipation for a Trump presidency when right-wing politicians believe they will more easily advance plans to expand Israeli settlements and consolidate Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank.
However, the condemnation of Obama’s move at the UN came despite the President signing a $38 billion military aid package back in September, promising Israel the hefty sum in the form of financial assistance and missile defense systems over the course of 10 years. The deal represents the largest foreign aid package given to a country in US history.
The fate of Jerusalem has been a focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades, with numerous tensions arising over Israeli threats regarding the status of non-Jewish religious sites in the city, and the "Judaization" of East Jerusalem through settlement construction and mass demolitions of Palestinian homes.
While members of the international community have rested the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the discontinuation of illegal Israeli settlements and the establishment of a two-state solution, Israeli leaders have instead shifted further to the right as many Knesset members have called for an escalation of settlement building in the occupied West Bank, and with some having advocated for its complete annexation.
During a meeting organized to celebrate Orthodox Christmas in Beit Sahour in the occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem, Abbas demanded that the American administration accept UN resolution 2334, passed last month after US President Obama abstained from voting, which condemned Israel’s illegal settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian territory.
Abbas reiterated that East Jerusalem was the Palestinian capital, and also a holy site for the three monotheistic religions -- Islam, Christianity, and Judaism -- and highlighted that each has the right to access and perform religious practices in Jerusalem.
Abbas’ statement came following the introduction of a bill to Congress on Wednesday, spearheaded by three US senators -- Republicans Ted Cruz (Texas), Dean Heller (Nevada), and Marco Rubio (Florida) -- that would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital and move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, defying international stances on the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict resting on a two-state solution.
If implemented, the bill would give legitimacy to Israel’s illegal occupation of East Jerusalem since 1967, disregard Palestinian claims to the city, and possibly terminate a longstanding White House policy to perpetually defer a 1995 Congressional decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move the embassy there.
Abbas invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit Palestine, particularly Bethlehem city, and urged the soon-to-be President not to make any changes to the status of East Jerusalem that rests on a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital, calling the potential legitimization of Israel’s illegal annexation of occupied East Jerusalem a “red line.”
President-Elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as the American President on Jan. 20. The soon-to-be president of the United States pledged during his campaign that, if elected, he would ensure that the US embassy in Israel was moved to Jerusalem, with Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway reiterating last month that the move would be a “very big priority” for the Trump administration.
Abbas added that the Palestinian president was against violence, but his administration would use “diplomatic and political methods” against the decision.
“I demand the American administration stop its duality in dealing with the political process, especially concerning talks of moving the American embassy to Jerusalem. We consider this aggressive speech that contradicts the political efforts underway on the Palestinian situation, which includes a solution where East Jerusalem remains as Palestine’s capital.”
He also underscored the ongoing peace efforts underway led by France, and the upcoming Peace Conference expected to be held in Paris on Jan. 15, marking the latest international effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian political impasse, and added that the continuation of Israeli occupation is a reality the Palestinians will “never accept.”
Abbas’ words came on the same day that the US House of Representatives approved a bipartisan resolution rejecting UN resolution 2334, and instead stated their unwavering commitment and support for the state of Israel.
Right-wing politicians in both the US and Israel have voiced their disdain for Obama’s decision to abstain from the vote at the UN, with Israeli Minister Yuval Steinitz saying at the time that the United States had “abandoned” Israel by abstaining from the vote, adding that “the heart aches that after eight years of friendship… and cooperation with Obama, this is his final chord" in the departing Obama administration.
The Israeli government has also openly expressed its anticipation for a Trump presidency when right-wing politicians believe they will more easily advance plans to expand Israeli settlements and consolidate Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank.
However, the condemnation of Obama’s move at the UN came despite the President signing a $38 billion military aid package back in September, promising Israel the hefty sum in the form of financial assistance and missile defense systems over the course of 10 years. The deal represents the largest foreign aid package given to a country in US history.
The fate of Jerusalem has been a focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades, with numerous tensions arising over Israeli threats regarding the status of non-Jewish religious sites in the city, and the "Judaization" of East Jerusalem through settlement construction and mass demolitions of Palestinian homes.
While members of the international community have rested the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the discontinuation of illegal Israeli settlements and the establishment of a two-state solution, Israeli leaders have instead shifted further to the right as many Knesset members have called for an escalation of settlement building in the occupied West Bank, and with some having advocated for its complete annexation.
1 jan 2017
The past year has been one of the deadliest and most violent in recent years for Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip. In 2016 alone, more than 100 Palestinians were killed, the majority shot dead by Israeli forces.
The wave of violence, termed by some as the “Jerusalem Intifada,” began in October 2015 and to date has seen 246 Palestinians killed by Israelis, with 135 Palestinians killed between the months of October and December 2015 alone.
Since the violence began, Ma’an has collected data regarding every person who has died as part of this latest chapter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In 2016, Ma’an recorded the deaths of a total of 129 individuals from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2016. Of these dead, 111 were Palestinian (86 percent of deaths), 15 were Israeli (11.6 percent of deaths), and three were foreign nationals (2.3 percent of deaths)-- one American, one Sudanese, and one Jordanian.
Of the Palestinians killed, 97.3 percent were killed by Israelis. One was killed while holding a pipe bomb that prematurely exploded, another while carrying out a deadly bomb attack, and another was killed by another Palestinian in a shooting attack.
Of the Israelis killed, 93.3 percent were killed by Palestinians, with one Israeli soldier killed by Israeli friendly fire. Nine Israelis (60 percent of the dead) were killed during shooting attacks.
The violence has largely been characterized by small scale attacks and attempted attacks on Israeli armed forces, with 55 (49.5 percent) of the Palestinians killed by Israelis killed during stabbing and alleged attempted stabbing attacks.
Drawing from statistics, a general portrait emerges of the average Palestinian to have died during this time: a young man in his late teens or early twenties from the West Bank district of Hebron, killed by Israeli security forces. Out of all Palestinians killed, 34 (30.6 percent) were from the Hebron district.
Geographically speaking, the majority of Palestinian deaths -- 82 to be exact -- took place in the West Bank, while 17 occurred in the city of Jerusalem, seven in the besieged Gaza Strip, and five in Israel. Among those killed in Gaza were two Palestinian children, aged nine and six-years-old, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike.
While 12 Palestinian women and girls were killed -- 10 of whom while allegedly or actually carrying out attacks -- the vast majority killed were Palestinian men and boys. Of the 111 Palestinians killed, 99 were male.
According to Ma’an’s records, the average age of slain Palestinians was 23. However, the most frequent age of death was 17 years old, with 14 Palestinian youth of that age losing their lives in the past year.
According to a report from Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP), 2016 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in a decade.
Ma'an documented that 33 Palestinian minors, aged 17 and younger, were killed since January.
DCIP also documented 81 Palestinian child injuries in 2016, “the vast majority of which were at the hands of Israeli forces,” adding that in several child injury and fatality cases, Israeli forces prevented paramedics from approaching and treating children suffering from gunshot wounds.
Out of the 15 Israelis killed in 2016, one minor was killed -- 13-year-old Hallel Yafa Ariel, who was stabbed to death in her home in the illegal Israeli Kiryat Arba settlement by 17-year-old Muhammad Nasser Tarayra, who was shot dead at the scene.
In instances when the official Israeli version of events of Israelis killing Palestinians was strongly contested -- such as when eyewitnesses maintained that the Palestinian did not constitute a threat at the time of their death, that Israeli forces planted knives or otherwise manipulated the scene of the crime, or when no injuries to Israelis were reported and no witnesses to contest the Israeli version of events -- Ma’an has classified these attacks as “alleged.”
There were 13 Palestinians ( 11.7 percent of deaths) killed by Israelis during shooting and alleged attempted shooting attacks, while six (5.4 percent of deaths) were killed while carrying out or allegedly attempting to carry out vehicular attacks.
Separately, 19 Palestinians were killed during clashes with Israeli forces, 18 of whom were shot and killed, while one Palestinian died from severe tear gas inhalation.
Israeli police and soldiers have come under heavy criticism over the past year for what rights groups have referred to as “extrajudicial executions” and excessive use of force against Palestinians -- especially youth and children -- who did not pose an immediate threat or who could have been disarmed through non-lethal means, particularly during clashes.
In at least three cases in 2016, Israeli authorities admitted to killing Palestinians “by mistake,” confirming that soldiers used excessive force against Palestinians who did not post immediate threats to Israeli forces at the time of their killings. In two of the cases, the victims were 15-year-old boys.
The Israeli government has continued to hold the bodies of many of the slain Palestinians who were killed over the past year, as part of a policy under which Israeli authorities have claimed that funerals of Palestinians had provided grounds for “incitement” against the Israeli state.
Israeli authorities have continued to hold at least nine Palestinian bodies for between eight and three months.
When Israeli authorities have decided to return slain bodies and allow funerals in the occupied Palestinian territory, the ceremonies have been typically restricted by a long list of conditions imposed by Israeli authorities, including limiting the number of attendees and the deployment of Israeli soldiers throughout the event.
A joint statement released by Addameer and Israeli minority rights group Adalah in March condemned Israel’s practice of withholding bodies as "a severe violation of international humanitarian law as well as international human rights law, including violations of the right to dignity, freedom of religion, and the right to practice culture."
The statement said it appeared "many" of the Palestinians whose bodies Israel was holding had been "extrajudicially executed by Israeli forces during alleged attacks against Israelis, despite posing no danger."
The wave of violence, termed by some as the “Jerusalem Intifada,” began in October 2015 and to date has seen 246 Palestinians killed by Israelis, with 135 Palestinians killed between the months of October and December 2015 alone.
Since the violence began, Ma’an has collected data regarding every person who has died as part of this latest chapter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In 2016, Ma’an recorded the deaths of a total of 129 individuals from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2016. Of these dead, 111 were Palestinian (86 percent of deaths), 15 were Israeli (11.6 percent of deaths), and three were foreign nationals (2.3 percent of deaths)-- one American, one Sudanese, and one Jordanian.
Of the Palestinians killed, 97.3 percent were killed by Israelis. One was killed while holding a pipe bomb that prematurely exploded, another while carrying out a deadly bomb attack, and another was killed by another Palestinian in a shooting attack.
Of the Israelis killed, 93.3 percent were killed by Palestinians, with one Israeli soldier killed by Israeli friendly fire. Nine Israelis (60 percent of the dead) were killed during shooting attacks.
The violence has largely been characterized by small scale attacks and attempted attacks on Israeli armed forces, with 55 (49.5 percent) of the Palestinians killed by Israelis killed during stabbing and alleged attempted stabbing attacks.
Drawing from statistics, a general portrait emerges of the average Palestinian to have died during this time: a young man in his late teens or early twenties from the West Bank district of Hebron, killed by Israeli security forces. Out of all Palestinians killed, 34 (30.6 percent) were from the Hebron district.
Geographically speaking, the majority of Palestinian deaths -- 82 to be exact -- took place in the West Bank, while 17 occurred in the city of Jerusalem, seven in the besieged Gaza Strip, and five in Israel. Among those killed in Gaza were two Palestinian children, aged nine and six-years-old, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike.
While 12 Palestinian women and girls were killed -- 10 of whom while allegedly or actually carrying out attacks -- the vast majority killed were Palestinian men and boys. Of the 111 Palestinians killed, 99 were male.
According to Ma’an’s records, the average age of slain Palestinians was 23. However, the most frequent age of death was 17 years old, with 14 Palestinian youth of that age losing their lives in the past year.
According to a report from Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP), 2016 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in a decade.
Ma'an documented that 33 Palestinian minors, aged 17 and younger, were killed since January.
DCIP also documented 81 Palestinian child injuries in 2016, “the vast majority of which were at the hands of Israeli forces,” adding that in several child injury and fatality cases, Israeli forces prevented paramedics from approaching and treating children suffering from gunshot wounds.
Out of the 15 Israelis killed in 2016, one minor was killed -- 13-year-old Hallel Yafa Ariel, who was stabbed to death in her home in the illegal Israeli Kiryat Arba settlement by 17-year-old Muhammad Nasser Tarayra, who was shot dead at the scene.
In instances when the official Israeli version of events of Israelis killing Palestinians was strongly contested -- such as when eyewitnesses maintained that the Palestinian did not constitute a threat at the time of their death, that Israeli forces planted knives or otherwise manipulated the scene of the crime, or when no injuries to Israelis were reported and no witnesses to contest the Israeli version of events -- Ma’an has classified these attacks as “alleged.”
There were 13 Palestinians ( 11.7 percent of deaths) killed by Israelis during shooting and alleged attempted shooting attacks, while six (5.4 percent of deaths) were killed while carrying out or allegedly attempting to carry out vehicular attacks.
Separately, 19 Palestinians were killed during clashes with Israeli forces, 18 of whom were shot and killed, while one Palestinian died from severe tear gas inhalation.
Israeli police and soldiers have come under heavy criticism over the past year for what rights groups have referred to as “extrajudicial executions” and excessive use of force against Palestinians -- especially youth and children -- who did not pose an immediate threat or who could have been disarmed through non-lethal means, particularly during clashes.
In at least three cases in 2016, Israeli authorities admitted to killing Palestinians “by mistake,” confirming that soldiers used excessive force against Palestinians who did not post immediate threats to Israeli forces at the time of their killings. In two of the cases, the victims were 15-year-old boys.
The Israeli government has continued to hold the bodies of many of the slain Palestinians who were killed over the past year, as part of a policy under which Israeli authorities have claimed that funerals of Palestinians had provided grounds for “incitement” against the Israeli state.
Israeli authorities have continued to hold at least nine Palestinian bodies for between eight and three months.
When Israeli authorities have decided to return slain bodies and allow funerals in the occupied Palestinian territory, the ceremonies have been typically restricted by a long list of conditions imposed by Israeli authorities, including limiting the number of attendees and the deployment of Israeli soldiers throughout the event.
A joint statement released by Addameer and Israeli minority rights group Adalah in March condemned Israel’s practice of withholding bodies as "a severe violation of international humanitarian law as well as international human rights law, including violations of the right to dignity, freedom of religion, and the right to practice culture."
The statement said it appeared "many" of the Palestinians whose bodies Israel was holding had been "extrajudicially executed by Israeli forces during alleged attacks against Israelis, despite posing no danger."
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