Protection of Civilians Weekly Report, 13 - 26 April 2011

West Bank

Military activities affecting civilians

During the two‐week reporting period, Israeli forces injured 46 Palestinians, including 14 children, in the West Bank, almost twice as many as those injured in the previous two‐week period (20). The total number of Palestinian injuries since the beginning of 2011 (378) is roughly 34 percent below the parallel figure in 2010.

Most of the injuries (29, including 12 children) occurred during weekly demonstrations or other clashes with Israeli forces: in Bil’in and Ni’lin in protests against the Barrier; in An Nabi Salih village against the expansion of the Hallamish settlement and the take‐over of Palestinian land; and in Silwan of East Jerusalem following Friday prayers. Also in Silwan, four people (three Palestinian males and one foreign woman) were injured during clashes that took place with Israeli forces during the 2011 Palestine Festival of Literature closing ceremony. Of the total number injured in demonstrations during the period, 17 were struck with rubber‐coated‐metal bullets (10 children), six (including an 11‐year‐old child) were directly hit with tear gas canisters, and two were hit with sound bombs.

Also of note, a 19‐year‐old Palestinian male was seriously injured when hit in the head by a tear gas canister fired by the Israeli border police towards Palestinian houses near the Barrier in Qatanna village. The man, who was present on his land near the Barrier at the time of the incident, was subsequently transferred to hospital. In recent weeks, three other Palestinians , all of them children, have been injured with live ammunition by Border Police in the village.

Eight of the remaining injuries were physical assaults by Israeli forces of Palestinians in the Old City of Hebron (two, including a nine‐year‐old‐child), in Battir village in Bethlehem (four), in Illar village in Tulkarm (one), and at Az Azzayim checkpoint in Jerusalem (one). In addition, one child was injured from tear gas inhalation used to disperse Palestinians during a confrontation with Israeli settlers in the Nablus district.