Rights group: Israel killed 5 times more Palestinians in past months than same period of 2021

A human rights group has condemned the latest escalation of violence by Israeli forces against Palestinians across the occupied territories, saying the Tel Aviv regime has killed 5 times more Palestinians during the first four months of 2022 compared to the same period last year.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said in a statement on Sunday that it has documented the killing of 47 Palestinians, including eight children and two women, by Israeli forces in various incidents since the beginning of the year, Palestine's official Wafa news agency reported.

This number represents nearly five times the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli forces in the same period last year, which amounted to 10, it added.

Euro-Med Monitor also noted that Israeli forces have significantly escalated the killing of Palestinians in the West Bank and the occupied East al-Quds during the past several days, following a green light from Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett.

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The rights group noted that 18 Palestinians have been killed in the first half of the current month, adding that most of them died after Bennett granted full freedom of action to the army, the Shin Bet [domestic intelligence agency] and all security forces in order to defeat “the terror” in northern West Bank on April 8.  

The authorization of the Israeli politicians for the army and security to operate with "full freedom to defeat terrorism" seems to have paved the way for the unjustified excuse to kill and abuse Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints and in the cities, villages, and towns of the West Bank and East al-Quds, the rights group said.

Israeli forces launched large-scale attacks in the West Bank city of Jenin, following a shooting operation by a young Palestinian in a crowded entertainment area of Tel Aviv.

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Israeli occupation forces have launched a new wave of brutal raids and arrests against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

On April 7, a Palestinian youth, identified as Ra’ad Fathi Hazem, entered a pub on a crowded main street of Tel Aviv and began shooting, killing three Israelis and wounding more than a dozen others.

The 28-year-old, a resident of the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, was killed by Israeli forces in a pre-dawn firefight near a mosque on the first Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, called the attack a “heroic operation” and vowed that “resistance” against the Israeli regime “is continuing and escalating.”

Following the heroic operation, Bennett granted “all security forces full freedom” of operation in a bid to give a sense of security to local people.

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The top Israeli military official says the recent shooting attack in a crowded entertainment area of Tel Aviv has created fear among local people, who now dread walking the streets.

The regime in Tel Aviv has escalated its crackdown on Palestinians since the beginning of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, arresting a number of Palestinians in occupied East al-Quds, desecrating al-Aqsa mosque, imposing new restrictions on the Palestinian people’s entry into the mosque, and ordering the demolition of Palestinian homes and agricultural facilities.

The Israeli violence, repeated on a daily basis, has led to fierce clashes between Israelis and Palestinians across the occupied territories.

Euro-Med further held Israeli politicians responsible for the killings of Palestinians, especially unarmed women and children, who have been killed in cold blood without posing any threat to the lives of Israeli soldiers.

It also linked the increase in killing of Palestinians this year to the new instructions for the shooting policy approved by the Israeli army on 20 December 2021, which gave the green light to soldiers in the West Bank to open fire on Palestinian youths who threw stones and Molotov cocktails.

Israeli forces fatally shoot Palestinian woman near Bethlehem in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have fatally shot a Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank, as she was walking past a checkpoint.

According to Euro-Med, the new instructions have made pulling the trigger an easy matter for Israeli soldiers, as a result of which the killing of Palestinians has increased remarkably during the year.

The rights group said that among the Palestinians killed, 29 people, including seven children and two women, were killed in shootings without any justification or involvement in any incidents related to the killing, translating into the policy of excessive use of force that the Israeli forces have been practicing against the Palestinians.

Euro-Med Monitor stressed that Israel’s persistence in using lethal force against civilians is an inevitable result of a lack of accountability by the international community, which allows the occupying regime to get away with violations every time.

Euro-Med also denounced Israeli forces' decision to storm the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds during which over 150 Palestinians were injured and 400 others arrested, saying the unjustified attack on the worshipers inside the compound reflects the recklessness of decision-makers in Israel and an apparent desire for escalation.

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The rights group further called on the United Nations to take urgent action to protect civilians in the Palestinian territories and to ensure accountability for the horrific murders committed against them.

It also urged all concerned parties to immediately intervene to stop the Israeli attacks, especially in al-Aqsa Mosque, and not allow Tel Aviv to continue committing extremist acts that may lead to an escalation in other areas.

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