Wednesday, February 1, 2017

In the West Bank, Israeli forces raze agricultural lands and shut down a Palestinian car wash nr. Bethlehem. IDF troops arrest 3 Palestinians and confiscate 2 laptops during late-night raids nr. Nablus and in Tubas, and patrol nr. Qalqilya and Jenin during the day. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 1 Palestinian during late-night raids in al-‘Izzariya. (MNA, WAFA 2/1; PCHR 2/2; PCHR 2/9)

The Israeli authorities return the corpse of a Palestinian youth held since he was killed in an 11/25 confrontation with Israeli forces. (MNA 2/2)

The IDF begins evacuating the illegal Amona settlement outpost overnight, sparking clashes with residents and hundreds of protesters gathering in solidarity; 13 settlers are arrested, and 2 protesters and 24 soldiers are injured. Meanwhile, PM Netanyahu announces that he has taken preliminary steps to establish a new settlement to house the Amona settlers by the end of 3/2017. He has reportedly formed a comm. comprising DM Lieberman and reps. from Amona and the PM’s office to advance the plan. Amona’s residents reportedly accept the plan, although some are still defying the Israeli forces attempting to evacuate them from their homes. Separately, Israel’s High Court of Justice rejects the Israeli govt.’s plan to relocate the settlers from Amona to nearby plots of land, citing Palestinian ownership claims. (HA, JP, MNA, NYT, TOI, YA 2/1)