Tuesday, November 17, 2015

In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers shoot and kill a Palestinian and injure 2 others n. of Ramallah, claiming that the Palestinians opened fire on their patrol. Protests continue across the region as IDF troops clash with protesters in Bethlehem and outside Beit El settlement (where a similar protest was held on 11/16), injuring 6 Palestinians. Also nr. Bethlehem, Israeli forces indefinitely shut down 2 Palestinian factories, due to youth protests in the area and for “security reasons,” leaving around 150 Palestinians jobless. The IDF conducts raids and house searches in the Nablus, Hebron, al-Bireh, and Ramallah areas, including in al-‘Arub r.c., arresting 11 Palestinians total and confiscating property; patrols in and around Tulkarm and Hebron. In the Gaza Strip, unknown persons fire a rocket toward Israel, and it falls short of the border fence. Later that night, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launches air strikes at a military site nr. al-Bureij r.c. belonging to Palestinian armed groups. Off Gaza’s coast nr. Bayt Lahiya, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats, causing damage but no injuries. During the ongoing protests in Gaza, Israeli forces open fire on Palestinians e. of al-Bureij r.c., injuring 1 youth, and fire at Palestinian homes and agricultural land e. of Khan Yunis, causing damage. In East Jerusalem, undercover Israeli forces open fire in Ras al-Amud and arrest 10 Palestinian schoolchildren. (HA, JP, MNA, WAFA, YA 11/17; TOI 11/18; PCHR 11/19)

Israeli PM Netanyahu approves the construction of 454 new units in the Ramot Shlomo and Ramot settlements in East Jerusalem after a 2-year freeze on the project. (AS, JP, MNA, TOI 11/17)