Friday, October 28, 2022

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives in Jibiya, injuring 1 and vandalizing nearby vehicles. Israeli forces shot and killed 2 Palestinians and injured 1 other, saying it had fired at 2 vehicles that looked suspicious near the Huwwara checkpoint. The 2 killed were members of the Palestinian civil defense. The PA condemned the killings. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protests in Kafr Qaddum, injuring 1 with a baton round and others with tear gas. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Bayt Dajan, injuring 1 with a baton round and others with tear gas. 7 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Ma‘in, Umm Safa, and al-Ubeidiya. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian family demolished parts of their own home in al-Tur. (AJ, AP, AN, MEE, HA, JP, REU, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/28; MEE, MEMO, MEMO 10/29; UNOCHA 11/1; PCHR 11/3; UNOCHA 11/13)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree to form a supreme judicial council with himself as the head. The decree received criticism from rights organizations and Hamas, who said the move further erases the separation of the executive and judicial branches. (MEMO 10/29; AN 10/30; PCHR 10/31; HA 11/10)

The UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland told the UN security council that 2022 will likely be the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank, since the UN started tracking fatalities in 2005. Envoy Wennesland called on an immediate calm and warned that the situation would continue to get worse unless the core political issues were addressed. (NA, WAFA, WAFA 10/28; ABC, HA 10/29)