Yousef Ahmed Amira, age 18, was shot in the head at approximately 7:30pm this evening. He was pronounced brain dead in a Ramallah hospital hours later. We will post more information about this tragic incident as it becomes available.

In related news Mohammed Amira, who was detained at the demonstration yesterday in Ni’lin, has been released.

At approximately 5pm Tuesday, July 29, Ahmed Ussam Yousef Mousa was shot in the head by a member of the Israeli Occupation Forces. He was unarmed and retreating from a construction site after rubber-coated bullets had been shot at him and his friends. This all occurred two hours after the end of a demonstration against the construction of the Annexation Barrier on Ni’lin’s land.

During that demonstration, several soldiers were ordered to remove themselves from the demonstration by commanding officers for their violent and undisciplined behavior. A leader of the community, Mohammed Amira, was arrested during the demonstration and then taken behind a jeep and violently beaten. When … Continue reading

At approximately 3:30pm Saturday, July 26, dozens of soldiers entered Beit Ommar on foot, followed by several jeeps and large Armored Personnel Carriers (APC’s). They took up several positions around the main mosque and began shooting at residents and homes indiscriminately. They almost immediately began using live ammunition, though they also shot tear gas, percussion grenades, and rubber-coated steel bullets. They were also found using plastic-coated steel bullets which are round steel balls covered in plastic a millimeter thick and shot in a spray which have been outlawed internationally. At approximately 5pm a young man, age 20, was shot through both of his arms with live ammunition. He … Continue reading

Two men, Mohammed Awwad, 21, and Mahmoud Awwad, 18 were both treated in al-Ahli hospital in Al-Khalil (Hebron) after being shot during an invasion on Wednesday, July 23. Mohammed was originally reported as having been shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet at close range but after treatment in the hospital it was determined that in fact he had been shot with a dum dum bullet, the use of which against civilians has been outlawed internationally because of the severe damage they cause. Dum Dum bullets are designed to break apart after impact, pieces of which travel through the body, lodging themselves in various places … Continue reading

On Friday at approximately 6pm soldiers from the Israeli Occupation Forces began another of their “training” sessions in Beit Ommar, with units of soldiers coming from three sides and surrounding the village. Once again, there was no clear purpose to the exercise, apart from antagonizing the residents and terrifying children. An international volunteer, along with a Palestinian committee member of PSP both walked into the entrance to the village and began taking pictures of soldiers at the entrance, near the military watchtower. A soldier came out of the watchtower and began shouting at the international that it was forbidden for him to take pictures. The two activists continued walking … Continue reading

On Thursday, July 24, over a hundred Palestinians from Ni’lin were joined by dozens of international and Israeli activists in their struggle against the Annexation Barrier on their land. Participants gathered in the center of town and marched into the olive groves towards the bulldozers that were tearing up olive trees nearby. When demonstrators were still more than 200 yards away, soldiers began shooting tear gas at the crowd. A small group of Palestinians and internationals approached the line of soldiers hidden amongst the olive trees. These soldiers immediately charged at a leading member of the Popular Committee, attempting to arrest him. He escaped capture but two Israelis … Continue reading

Soldiers with the Israeli Occupation Forces first arrived in Beit Ommar on Wednesday, July 23, in the morning, creating a checkpoint at the entrance to the village and checking every Palestinian’s ID as they went in or out. They did not seem to be looking for anyone in particular, but rather continuing on their increasingly invasive campaign of harassment which took another turn earlier this week when a curfew was announced in the middle of the afternoon, only to be lifted a few hours later after homes were invaded and copious amounts of tear gas shot. On Wednesday, events turned even worse. After a few hours when the soldiers seemed … Continue reading

On Wednesday, July 23, over 200 women, Palestinian, International and Israeli, held an extremely successful demonstration in the village of Ni’lin, where an ongoing struggle against the Annexation Barrier has been waged for several months. Gathering on the edge of the village, the women of Ni’lin, who were joined by Palestinian women from Ramallah and Tulkarem, the women chanted “No, No to the Wall” in Arabic and English as they marched towards the site of the bulldozers. One member of the Popular Committee, and husband of one of the participants, ran alongside the demonstration, shouting encouragement. As the women neared the soldiers, who met them several hundred meters away from … Continue reading

In the last 3 weeks several prominent activists from Ni’lin and Al-Ma’asara, the sites of ongoing Anti-Wall demonstrations, have been arrested. On Sunday, July 20, After 2 weeks of imprisonment and 2 bail hearings the two members of the South Betlehem Popular Committee who were arrested on July 4 were released when supporters from the Betlehem community, Israeli anarchists, and PSP raised 12,000 shekels bail. Salah Khawaja, a medic and also member of the Popular Committee of Ni’lin, who was brutally assaulted and arrested on July 13, was released on bail after 9 days in prison. He intends to sue the Israeli military for his false arrest and abuse while in their custody.

Keren, an Israeli photographer who … Continue reading

For the original press release, click here

Today, B’Tselem is publishing a video clip documenting a soldier firing a rubber coated steel bullet, from extremely close range, at a cuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainee. The shooting took place in the presence of a lieutenant colonel, who was holing the Palestinian’s arm when the shot was fired.

The incident took place on 7 July, in Nil’in, a village in the West Bank. A Palestinian demonstrator, Ashraf Abu Rahma, 27, was stopped by soldiers, who cuffed and blindfolded him for about thirty minutes, during which time, according to Abu-Rahma, they beat him. Afterwards, a group of soldiers and border policemen … Continue reading