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Mentally disabled man and children killed; homes sealed and demolished in Jerusalem

Two youths from Tulkarem and a mentally disabled man from Qabatiyya were killed today. A home was demolished in Qabatiyya; another in Jerusalem and three others sealed in Silwan.
Tulkarem - Child killed while throwing a stone At around 3am today (Wednesday), Israeli forces besieged Tulkarem and its refugee camp from four sides, and took control of the area. Curfew was imposed, and Israeli troops fired at homes.

In the morning, a group of children and young men gathered at the entrance of the Tulkarem Refugee Camp, and began to throw stones at the APCs. Israeli forces, protected in their armored vehicles, began firing at the youths, shooting Mohy al-Deen Hamzeh (17) in the stomach. Mohy al- Deen was taken to hospital in a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance. Doctors immediately undertook emergency surgery on the boy. However, he died on the operating table. An eyewitness told LAW's field researcher that Mohy al-Deen was shot from a distance of around 150 meters.

Tulkarem - Child killed while walking to the bus stop At around 8:30am, school children were returning home from school after learning about the curfew imposed in Tulkarem. A group of them gathered in an alley leading to Jamal 'Abd al-Nasser square, and began to throw stones at the Israeli forces protected in their tanks and other armored vehicles. An Israeli military jeep came closer to the school children, and opened fire in their direction. Huza' Shadid (16) from Alar in the Tulkarem district was shot in the upper back and was killed instantly.

The principle of al-Fadiliyyeh school told LAW's field researcher that Shadid had attended school earlier in the day to pick up a book to take to Alar school. While walking back from the school to a bus stop in the middle of the city to return home, he passed the place where the children were throwing stones. He was passing by as the Israeli military jeep opened fire on the school children. An eyewitness confirmed that the protesters did not post any threat to the lives of the Israeli soldiers, and nor was the child participating in stone throwing.

Jenin - A home is demolished in collective punishment At around 4:45am, Special Forces, 'Musta'ribeen' (Israeli soldiers dressed as Arabs, usually forming death squads) from the Israeli border police using three taxis and a truck, all with Palestinian license plates headed for the town of Qabatiyya, east of Jenin city, assisted with Israeli forces in around twenty cars.

The Special Forces surrounded the home of Subhi Tazazi (50) and demanded he leave his home with all members of his family. He and his wife Nuhad Abu Waar (46) and his children Majid (30), Yassin (20), Jasmine (19), Jihan (17), Nasser (14), Dalia (13), Mohammad (3) were forced to stand at a distance of 50 meters from the house. Israeli forces then demanded that a relative, Kamal Abu Waar (26) surrender himself to them.

Yassin Tazazi was then used as a human shield while searching the house. After searching the home, the Israeli troops placed explosives inside the home and blew it up from a distance. The home was three floors. The Israeli forces arrested Kamal Abu Waar and Mohammad Abu al-Rabb (25) and took them to an unknown destination. A child, 'Uqba Abu Zeid (17) was also arrested while in the west of the city. He was also taken to an unknown destination.

Qabatiyya - Mentally disabled man dies lying in his own blood At around 6am, Israeli forces saw Ribhi Zakarneh (45), who is mentally disabled, standing around five meters from the mosque in the old city. They asked him to stop and Ribhi attempted to run away. Israeli forces opened fire on him and he fell into a pool of his own blood. Israeli troops surrounded him without assisting in any way to save his life. Nor did they allow other Palestinians to approach him. After around 10 minutes, Ribhi died.

Silwan - Homes sealed, one demolished Israeli forces, late on Tuesday (January 14) and during this morning (Wednesday, January 15), demolished the family home of a Palestinian prisoner, and sealed three family homes in Silwan, south of the Old City in Occupied East Jerusalem.

According to information gathered by LAW, at around 10pm on Tuesday, Israeli forces surrounded the home of a Palestinian prisoner, Wael Qasem (31) from Silwan. After forcing all six residents to evacuate, and threatening to use their weapons against them, they sealed the ground- floor home completely with cement.

After sealing the home, Israeli forces surrounded the family home of the Palestinian prisoner Mohammad Odeh (29), and forcibly expelled all four residents from the home. The home was also completely sealed with cement.

At around 11pm, Israeli forces reached the home of the Palestinian prisoner Alaa' al-Abbasi (30), who live n the fourth floor of a residential building in Silwan. Israeli forces forced twenty-five people, including children, to leave the residential building. They then sealed the building. Five families lived in the building: al-Abbasi (4 people), Jabr al-Abbasi (5 people), 'Ali al-Abbasi (five people), Mohammad al- Abbasi (7 people), Nidal al-Abbasi (5 people).

At around 5:30am today, Israeli forces demolished the family home of Palestinian prisoner Wisam al-Abbasi (25). Another home was also demolished at around 12:30pm today; more information shall be forthcoming.

The Israeli High Court 20 days ago, decided to allow these home demolitions. Israeli forces decided to seal three homes, as they could not be demolished. Around two months ago, the so-called "Silwan Gang" were given multiple life sentences.

LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT).

LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, PO Box 20873, Jerusalem, tel. +972-2-5833530, fax. +972-2- 5833317, law@lawsociety.org, www.lawsociety.org.