IDF troops assault, critically injure, and arrest a Palestinian during overnight raids in Bayt Rima village near Ramallah. The Palestinian succumbs to his injuries later in the day. Elsewhere in the West Bank, IDF troops injure 1 Palestinian during clashes sparked by raids in Qalandia refugee camp near Ramallah and Artas near Bethlehem. They also patrol near Hebron and Nablus. Thousands of right-wing Jewish activists visit Hebron to pray at al-Ibrahimi Mosque, commemorating Yom Kippur. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian in the Old City after he assaults a right-wing Jewish activist and allegedly attempts to stab an Israeli police officer. A Palestinian eyewitness says that the deceased was not trying to stab anyone and that he was only “defending himself” from the Jewish activist. Errant Israeli fire from the incident damages the windows of a nearby shop and a number of vehicles in the area. Meanwhile, approximately 326 right-wing Jewish activists tour Haram al-Sharif throughout the day to commemorate Yom Kippur. Israeli police assault and injure 7 Palestinians and arrest at least 5 others amid the ensuing confrontations at the sanctuary. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops violently disperse hundreds of Palestinians gathering near Bayt Hanun to continue the Great March of Return for a 5th day in a row; 2 Palestinians are killed and at least 45 are injured. This brings the death toll stemming from the Great March of Return to 155. (AFP, EI, HA, HA, MNA, MNA, MNA, MNA, MNA, TOI, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, YA 9/18; EI, MNA, MNA 9/19; PCHR 9/20)
Unidentified sources in Gaza tell the Israeli press that Hamas is working to escalate the weekly Great March of Return protests in order to pressure Israel and Egypt into resuming the backchannel talks on a long-term cease-fire, which have reportedly been suspended for the past few weeks. (YA 9/20)