In Occupied Palestine – 21 June 2024

In Occupied Palestine

Zionism in practice

Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Land

08:00, 21 June until 08:00, 22 June 2024

[Source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group]

Gaza Strip

Air strikes: Heavy aerial bombardment on buildings, homes and many facilities.

Attacks: All over Gaza, there are air strikes, heavy gunfire, tank and artillery shelling, as well as missiles fired from Israeli forces and military occupation, especially in Khan Yunis. The Israeli Navy continues to fire missiles, targeting facilities and buildings along the shoreline of the whole of Gaza.

Victims: 101 more people killed in Gaza now brings the total number of deaths, since 7 October, to at least 37,551. With another 169wounded, that figure has risen to more than 85,911.

Palestine today

Don’t say you didn’t know

(From Ali Kazak)

Armenia recognises State of Palestine

Armenia has formally recognised the State of Palestine, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The ministry cited the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza” among the reasons behind its decision, which was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas, and prompted a rebuke from Israel. “Based on the foregoing and reaffirming our commitment to international law and the principles of equality, sovereignty, and peaceful co–existence of peoples, the Republic of Armenia recognises the State of Palestine,” the statement read. “Many things link us with the people of Palestine. I do not want to delve deep into the history, but we have a very positive attitude towards them,” he said. Strong Armenian-Palestinian ties have a long history. The Armenian presence in Jerusalem dates back to the 4th century and is considered the oldest living diaspora community outside Armenia. 11 out of 27 EU member states have recognised the state of Palestine so far, and the vast majority of countries in Asia, Africa and South America recognise a Palestinian state.

Israel grants extremist Smotrich and settlers sweeping powers in West Bank

Israel’s extreme-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was quietly handed significant powers last month over the occupied West Bank, a step which could move Israel’s annexation of the Palestinian territory closer. Smotrich’s Settlements Administration will now oversee a range of laws and regulations governing civilian life in the West Bank, likely resulting in a deepening of the oppression against Palestinians and boosting the status of illegal Israeli settlers there. Details show how the Israeli military transferred a number of powers from its Civil Administration to Smotrich, who also has responsibilities within the defence ministry. Smotrich, who is a settler himself, has been looking to take over the powers of Civil Administration, which oversees some bureaucratic powers for the military in the occupied West Bank, in order to expand the Israeli settler presence in the territory and crush Palestinian resistance to Israeli control. Israel exercises direct control over 60% of the occupied West Bank, while President Mahmoud Abbas‘ Palestinian Authority has limited authority in Palestinian cities and towns.

Casualties in Israeli strikes on Gaza homes, gatherings: Witnesses

Several Palestinians were killed and injured, Thursday, in Israeli airstrikes that targeted two homes and two groups of residents in Gaza City, Anadolu Agency reports. Witnesses told Anadolu that multiple casualties were transported to the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the city following the strikes with warplanes and drones on two homes and the gatherings. Warplanes bombed a house in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in south-eastern Gaza City and another in the Al-Shejaiya neighbourhood in the east, said witnesses. They also reported that drones targeted residents in the western part of the city and in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood. Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since a 7 October, 2023 attack by Hamas. More than 37,400 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 85,600 others injured, according to local health authorities. Vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine. Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on 6 May.

Gaza Media Office: 36 prisoners tortured to death in Israel’s jails since 7 October

At least 36 prisoners from the Gaza Strip detained by the Israeli military since 7 October have died due to torture and harsh conditions in Israeli prisons, the Gaza Media Office confirmed on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reported. The Office said another: “54 detainees from various Palestinian regions have died in Israeli prisons due to torture and inhumane detention conditions, amid systematic assaults on prisoners since the beginning of the genocidal war.” It accused Israel of: “Committing ongoing crimes against humanity, including enforced disappearances.” The Gaza Media Office described Israeli prisons as: “Mass graves for thousands of Palestinian prisoners, ignored by international institutions.” Based on testimonies from recently released detainees, the statement detailed numerous forms of torture and inhumane treatment, including forced stripping, prolonged binding and blindfolding, electrocution, systematic starvation and cutting the body with sharp tools. Other reported abuses include deprivations of sleep, bathing and medical care, dog attacks and exposure to extreme cold. Since the beginning of the Israeli ground operations in Gaza on 27 October, Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians, including women, children and members of health and civil defence teams.

Israeli forces step up attacks across Gaza

The Israeli military pounded Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip even as it intensified its attacks in the north and centre of the besieged Palestinian territory. Residents said Israeli forces seemed to be trying to complete their capture of Rafah, the city on the enclave’s southern edge that has been the focus of a fierce assault since early May. Tanks were forcing their way into the western and northern parts of the city, having already captured the east, south and centre. Israeli forces fired from planes, tanks and ships off the coast, forcing a new wave of displacement from the city, which had been sheltering more than a million displaced people, most of whom have been forced to flee again. Palestinian health officials said at least 12 Palestinians had been killed in separate Israeli military strikes on Friday.

Intense heat in Gaza could worsen health crisis for Palestinians, WHO warns

The World Health Organisation warned on Friday that scorching heat in the Gaza Strip could exacerbate health problems for Palestinians displaced by Israeli bombardment and heavy fighting between its forces and Hamas, Reuters reports. The World Food Programme has warned that a massive public health crisis is looming in Gaza due to the lack of clean water, food and medical supplies. “We’ve seen massive displacement over the last weeks and months, and we know that combination and the heat can cause a rise in diseases,” said Richard Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative for Gaza and the West Bank. “We have water contamination because of hot water, and we will have much more food spoilage because of the high temperature. We will get insects – mosquitoes and flies, dehydration, heat stroke.” Extreme heat has killed hundreds worldwide, as the northern hemisphere summer begins.

The kibbutzniks blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza

Complicity in genocide is not confined to the Israeli right. Members of the liberal organisation that spearheaded the anti-Netanyahu protests last year are now blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The issue of Israelis physically blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza has been reported in the mainstream media over the past few months. In March, CNN’s Clarissa Ward reported on Israeli right-wing activists seeking to block the crossings into Gaza where humanitarian aid was being transported in with their bodies. Ward pushed back on the demonstrators’ claims that the rice bags were being filled with bullets by explaining that Gazans were dying of starvation, to no avail. On Friday, the Biden administration issued a selective sanctioning of the primary organisation blocking the aid “Tzav 9” — meaning “Order 9,” a name alluding to the Israel military reserve call-up order. But the idea implicitly promoted here that “Tzav 9” are the only bad actors to blame is highly misleading. The blocking of humanitarian aid is only aided by these activists — it is the Israeli government which is the main party using starvation as a weapon against the whole Gaza population. It’s a key part of its genocide. In her report, Clarissa Ward noted correctly that a recent Israeli Democracy Institute poll showed that 68% — over two-thirds — of Jewish Israelis, oppose humanitarian aid to Gaza. The poll actually showed 80% among right-wing voters (who constitute about 2/3 of the population). In fact, these right-wing activists have now been joined by another notable group: Kibbutzniks who are also blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza with their bodies. 

Senior US State Department official and expert on Israel-Palestine resigns amid Gaza war

A senior US State Department official who served as deputy assistant for Israeli–Palestinian affairs said on Friday that he was resigning from his post, citing family obligations, according to a report by the Washington Post. The newspaper reported that Andrew Miller told his colleagues he had seen his family “sparingly” amid the Israeli war on Gaza that has been going on for more than eight months. The Post further reported that Miller was one of the officials in the administration who recognised the risks of President Joe Biden’s administration’s “bear hug” strategy, referring to the full-fledged support Washington gave to Israel after it launched a war on Gaza following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Miller joins more than a dozen staffers and officials across the Biden administration who have left – the latter individuals have cited their opposition to the war as their reason for resigning. Earlier this week, the Intercept reported that a 16-year veteran of the US air force was resigning from his job because of the war. Last month, two officials of Jewish heritage, one in the White House and another in the Pentagon, also resigned, similarly citing Washington’s support for the war on Gaza. And in March, Annelle Sheline, a foreign affairs officer in the State Department, resigned from her position. Sheline said she tried raising concerns about US support for Israel through dissent cables and speaking up at staff meetings, but noted it was pointless “as long as the US continues to send a steady stream of weapons to Israel”.

West Bank

[Palestinian Monitoring Group]

Israeli Army attack – 2 people killed and 2 wounded: Qalqiliya – afternoon, Israeli Occupation forces stormed the city, opening fire on a motor vehicle and killing two occupants: Mahmoud Hassan Abdel Rahman Zaid and Ihab Abdel Karim Musa Abu Hamed. Two other people, standing nearby, were wounded in the attack.

Israeli Army attack – 1 child and 1 adult wounded: Nablus – evening, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, stormed Beita, wounding a child and an adult.

Israeli Army attack – home invasions in refugee camps – 1 person beaten-up: Nablus – dawn, the Israeli Army, firing live ammunition,stormed into Nablus as well as the Balata and Ein Beit al-Maa refugee camps, invading homes and severely beating-up a resident.

Home invasion and beating-up: Hebron – dawn, Israeli Occupation forces stormed the village of Deir Samit and invaded a house, severely beating-up and hospitalising the elderly owner.

Home invasion: Hebron – dawn, Israeli forces raided Surif and searched a home.

Israeli Army assault with stun grenades and tear gas canisters: Qalqiliya – Israeli Occupation forces, firing stun grenades and tear gascanisters towards protesters, near the closed eastern entrance to the village of Kafr Qaddum, caused a number of tear gas casualties.

Israeli Army assault with stun grenades and beatings-up: Hebron – evening, Israeli forces, firing stun grenades and tear gas canisters, beat-up and injured three people, causing them to suffer bruises.

Occupation settler terrorism and population–control: Ramallah – noon, Israeli settlers, raised Occupation flags and banners bearing racist insults, near the northern entrance to al-Bireh, and prevented the passage of vehicles.

Occupation settler agricultural sabotage: Salfit – Israeli Occupation settlers invaded Qarawat Bani Hassan farmland, cutting down and uprooting olive trees.

Raids: Jenin – evening, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled al-Zabadeh, Maythaloun, Jaba and Wasila al-Dahr as well as the villages of Jalboun, al-Fanduqumiya, al-Atarah and Marka.

Raids: Tulkarem – evening, Israeli forces raided and patrolled Tulkarem, Anabta and Kafr al-Labad.

Raid: Tulkarem – dawn, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the city, including the Shweika suburb.

Raids – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired: Nablus – evening, Israeli troops, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided and patrolled the village of Yatma.