Monday, November 2, 2015

Small-scale violence and the corresponding Israeli crackdown continue in the oPt and Israel. IDF troops open fire on 2 Palestinian youths at a checkpoint nr. Jenin, killing 1 and injuring the other, after they allegedly attempt to stab Israeli soldiers. Israeli police shoot and injure a Palestinian man after he stabs and injures an Israeli in Netanya, Israel. Israeli forces detain a Palestinian youth in c. Hebron after she allegedly attacks an Israeli police officer with a foul-smelling liquid. IDF troops clash with and violently disperse Palestinian protesters at a checkpoint in c. Hebron, outside a settlement nr. Ramallah, and along Gaza’s border nr. al-Bureij r.c.; 2 Palestinians are injured (1 seriously). They also violently disperse hundreds of Palestinians throwing stones in a village nr. Jerusalem after the mass funeral for the 2 Palestinians whose bodies the IDF returned on 11/1; 8 Palestinians are injured. Late at night, IDF troops raid the offices of a Palestinian radio station in Hebron, destroying equipment and ordering the station to stop broadcasting for 6 mos. on the grounds of incitement. The IDF conducts further raids and house searches in Hebron and 4 nearby villages, Nablus, Jenin and 2 nearby villages, and 1 village nr. Tulkarm, arresting 10 Palestinians and taking measurements and photos of 8 homes in preparation for possible punitive demolitions. Tensions remain high in East Jerusalem as Israeli forces demolish a Palestinian home in Jabal Mukabir and a 3-story residential building in Bayt Hanina; violently disperse Palestinian students protesting in Abu Dis (21 are injured). (HA, JP, MNA, NYT, TOI, WAFA, YA 11/2; MNA 11/3; PCHR 11/5)

The Israeli Knesset passes into law a bill increasing penalties for stone-throwing and related crimes. The main provisions passed a 1st reading on 10/12. The Knesset also passes the 1st reading of a bill that would lower the threshold for what constitutes incitement to violence or terror, allowing the govt. to prosecute more people for related crimes. (JP 11/2; HA, JP, KNE 11/3)