Israeli violations January 2023
In January 2023 Staat van Beleg documented 2,505 Israeli violations of human rights against the Palestinian people.
Deadliest month since 2015
In January, 41 Palestinians lost their lives due to Israeli violence, making it the deadliest month for Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 2015.
Six of the victims were minors, with the youngest being a 14-year-old boy named Omar Lotfi Khumour. An elderly woman named Majda Abdel Fattah Obaid, who was 60 years old, was also killed. She was reportedly shot while reading the Quran in her own home.
A significant number of the fatalities were caused by Israeli troops’ gunfire, while the remaining deaths were a result of settler violence. The majority of the victims were in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank, which has been a target of Israeli forces’ search-and-arrest operations.
The escalating violence and frequency of Israeli aggression in the West Bank has led to an increase in Palestinian armed resistance. According to data collected by Middle East Eye, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in 2022 surpassed any previous year since the Second Intifada.
Both civilians and armed fighters were among the casualties.
The Palestinians killed in January
Mohammed Samar Hoshiyeh, 22, was killed on January 2nd, when Israeli forces entered the village of Kafr Dan, located near Jenin, to demolish a Palestinian home. In the process, Mohammed and a Palestinian teenager were shot and killed.
The 17-year-old teen Fouad Mohammed Abed was also killed by the Israeli forces who invaded Kafr Dan. Although Palestinian groups mourned the loss of Hoshiyeh and Abed and referred to them as fighters, it is unclear whether they were carrying weapons at the time of their death.
On January 3rd, 15-year-old Adam Essam Ayyad was shot in the chest with a live bullet by Israeli forces during a raid in Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem. Ayyad, who came from a low-income family and worked at a camp bakery, was said to have been impacted by the killing of his friend and fellow baker, Omar Manah, which led him to confront the raiding soldiers.
Amer Abu Zeitoun, 16, was killed by Israeli troops during a raid on January 5th. Israeli troops entered the Balata refugee camp in order to detain Palestinians in the Hashashin area. This sparked a confrontation between armed Palestinians and the Israeli forces, resulting in the deployment of Israeli snipers in the camp’s alleys. Amer, who was unarmed, was present near the Palestinian gunmen who were engaging with the Israeli forces. As he leaned forward to observe the soldiers, an Israeli sniper fatally shot him in the head with live ammunition. Despite Amer collapsing to the ground, the Israeli soldiers continued to fire live ammunition at him, hitting him in his right wrist and left knee. He was then taken to Rafidia hospital in a private vehicle, where he was declared dead around 3:15 a.m.
Ahmad Abu Junaid, 21, was killed during a raid on Balata camp on January 11th, after being shot in the head.
Sanad Mohammad Samasra, 19, was shot dead by an Israeli settler after allegedly attempting to stab him on January 12th.
During a pre-dawn invasion by Israeli soldiers at the Qalandia refugee camp, Samir Awni Harbi Aslan, a 41-year-old father of eight, was tragically killed. Eyewitness accounts claim that the soldiers first attacked Samir’s son and when Samir stepped forward to defend his child, he was shot in the chest and killed.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Samir, who was a resident of the Qalandia refugee camp, was killed by live fire shots to the chest. The soldiers, after shooting Samir, prevented local residents and Palestinian medics from providing first aid or transporting him to a hospital, leading to his death.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, Habib Mohammed Abdul Rahman Kamil, 25, was shot in the head by the Israeli troops during a raid on Qabatiya.
The 18-year-old Abdel Hadi Nazal was shot in the neck and chest by Israeli forces during the raid on the town of Qabatiya.
Izz Eddin Basem Hamamreh, 24, and Amjad Adnan Khalilieh, 23, were shot in their vehicle near the village of Jabba on January 14th.
Yazan Samer al-Jaabari died in Jenin on January 14th from gunshot wounds sustained during a home demolition.
Ahmed Abdel-Jalil Kahla, 45, was killed by Israeli soldiers during a car search at the western entrance of Silwad town. According to eyewitnesses, soldiers forced Ahmad out of his car and a verbal argument led to the soldier shooting him from point-blank range. Palestinian medics were obstructed by the soldiers from providing first aid, but were eventually able to take Ahmad to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah where he died from his wounds. The man was on his way to work at a construction site with his son, Qussai, 18, when he was killed.
Omar Lotfi Khumour, 14, was fatally shot on January 16th by Israeli soldiers in the Deheishe refugee camp, located south of Bethlehem in the West Bank, which is under Israeli occupation. The young boy died as a result of a severe gunshot wound to the head.
The shooting occurred during a pre-dawn raid by Israeli army vehicles on the refugee camp, which involved the violent search of homes and the arrest of a young man.
Despite being transported to Beit Jala hospital, the severity of Amro’s injuries required him to be transferred to the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation, where he eventually succumbed to his wounds.
Hamdi Shaker Abu Dayyeh, 40, was shot dead after allegedly opening fire on Israeli troops in the north of Hebron on January 17th. Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers prevented Palestinian ambulances from reaching Abu Dayyeh, whose body was held by the army. Hamdi was a former political prisoner and a married father of three children from Halhoul.
On January 19th, Adham Mohammad Bassem Jabarin, 26, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers during a pre-dawn raid on Jenin refugee camp located in the northern West Bank. As Adham lay bleeding on the ground, an elderly man emerged from his home to offer assistance and provide first aid. However, 5the soldiers shot and killed that man as well.
Jawad Farid Hussein Bawaqna, a 58-year-old high school teacher, married father of six children, was shot in the head while trying to provide first aid to aforementioned slain Palestinian man, Adham Jabarin.
On January 21st, Tariq Odah Yoused Maali, a married father of three from Kafr Ni’ma village, was killed by an Israeli paramilitary settler in the Jabal Ar-Reesan area near Ramallah. Israeli sources claim he attempted to stab a colonizer, but there is no evidence to support this assertion, which is a common excuse used by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the killing of Palestinians. The incident took place in the illegal Sde Ephraim outpost near Neria colony, built on stolen Palestinian land.
On January 25th, Aref Abdel Nasser Lahlouh, a 20-year-old from the Jenin refugee camp, was fatally shot by Israeli forces in Qalqilya. The young man was killed in front of his mother and brother. According to the Israeli military, Lahlouh was shot after attempting to attack a soldier with a knife at a military checkpoint. The military reported no harm to any soldiers. The soldiers refused to allow Palestinian medics access to Lahlouh or to remove his body. Additionally, a few hours after the shooting, Lahlouh’s father, Abdul-Nasser, was arrested while crossing a military checkpoint on his way home.
Mohammad Ali, 17, was killed on January 25th by Israeli Border Police northeast of occupied Jerusalem. The shooting occurred after the army invaded the refugee camp to demolish a home. The youth was shot after reportedly aiming a toy gun at the officers. The Israeli police claim the toy gun “looked real” but video evidence shows Mohammad was shot while running away after dropping the toy gun. The Jerusalem Post stated that it is unclear whether the fatal shot was justified. The Israeli army declined to comment on the shooting and stated it is handled by the border police. Mohammad was taken to a medical center in occupied Jerusalem where he was pronounced dead. His family was denied the request to take his body for burial.
On January 26th, ten Palestinians lost their lives in Jenin refugee camp during a brutal Israeli attack in the West Bank. This raid was one of the most devastating in recent years. Soldiers, equipped with heavy weapons, entered the camp under the guise of a commercial truck and targeted a building utilized as a gathering spot for the camp’s inhabitants.
During this raid, Majda Abdel Fattah Obaid, a 61-year-old unarmed civilian, was shot in the head and neck while inside her home.
Mohamed Sami Ghonaim, 28, was killed during Israeli forces’ massacre of Jenin refugee camp on January 26th.
Saib Issam Mahmoud Izriqi, 25, was killed during Israeli forces’ massacre of Jenin refugee camp on January 26th.
Mohammad Mahmoud Sobh, 34, was killed during Israeli forces’ massacre of Jenin refugee camp on January 26th.
Nour el-Din Sami Ghonaim, 22, was killed during Israeli forces’ massacre of Jenin refugee camp on January 26th.
An Israeli military vehicle ran over the 16-year-old Wasim Amjad Aref Abu Jaes after Israeli forces fired live bullets at a group of Palestinian youth during the massacre in Jenin refugee camp. Due to crush injuries from the military vehicle and severe head lacerations, doctors could not confirm if Wasim also sustained a gunshot wound.
Motasem Mahmoud Abu al-Hasan, 40, was killed during Israeli forces’ massacre of Jenin refugee camp on January 26th.
After an Israeli sniper shot 17-year-old Abdullah Marwan Juma’a Mousa in the chest, Israeli forces prevented an ambulance from reaching him for about ten minutes. He was pronounced dead around 9:30 a.m. this morning at Jenin Government Hospital.
Izzedin Yassin Salahat, 22, was killed during Israeli forces’ massacre of Jenin refugee camp on January 26th.
Omar Tariq Ali Al-Saadi, 24, was shot during the Jenin refugee camp raid and succumbed to his wounds three days later. Following the Jenin raid, Israeli forces in the town of al-Ram fired at Palestinians who had come out to protest against the killings.
Youssef Yahya Abdul Karim Muhaisen, 22, who was unarmed, was fatally shot in the abdomen during demonstrations against the killing of Palestinians.
Israeli forces shot the unarmed Wadea Abdulaziz Meri Abu Ramouz, 17, in Silwan, East Jerusalem on January 25. He sustained a gunshot wound below his heart. He was under arrest and guarded in the hospital, even in the ICU. He passed away at Shaare Zedek Medical Center on January 27.
Khairy Alqam, a 21-year-old Palestinian, shot and took the lives of seven people outside a building utilized as a synagogue in the East Jerusalem settlement of Neve Yaakov. After the shooting, he fled the area but was later apprehended by Israeli police. During the confrontation, Khairy was killed in an exchange of gunfire. Khairy Alqam was named after his grandfather who was murdered by an Israeli settler in 1998. Haim Ferelman, the man who took the lives of 51-year-old Khairy Alqam and three other Palestinians, was acquitted of the crime and released on house arrest by an Israeli magistrates court in 2010.
On January 29th, an Israeli settler armed with a weapon took the life of 18-year-old Karam Ali Salman in the West Bank’s Qalqilya province. Palestinian security sources stated that the circumstances surrounding the shooting were unclear. Israel’s army claimed that a civilian security team shot a person who was armed with a handgun near the Kedumim settlement in the north of the West Bank.
On January 30th, Nassim Abou Fouda, 26, was killed by Israeli forces in Hebron. He was driving a vehicle near the Ibrahim Mosque in central Hebron when troops at a military checkpoint shot at him. The Israeli army claimed that Abou Fouda had hit a soldier with his vehicle and tried to escape, leading to the soldiers opening fire and hitting him.
For more information about Israeli violations on the Palestinian people, see our archive or see the monthly reports of the Negotiations Affairs Department.
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