This is an appeal from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to the Israeli authorities to free Palestinian Christian Layan Nasser from Israeli administrative detention. She has been detained since 6 April.
“I lament yesterday’s decision by an Israeli military court to renew Layan Nasir’s administrative detention for a further four months. This young Palestinian Christian from Birzeit in the West Bank has been held in detention since 6 April on classified evidence that leaves her facing unknown allegations with no way to disapprove them – not knowing when she will be released, all the time without being charged, tried or convicted…”
I lament yesterday's decision by an Israeli military court to renew Layan Nasir’s administrative detention for a further four months.
This young Palestinian Christian from Birzeit in the West Bank has been held in detention since 6 April on classified evidence that leaves her… pic.twitter.com/DtQ85WedSu
— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) July 30, 2024
He continues to say: “This is an egregious state of affairs, as is the fact that her transfer outside the West Bank to Damon Prison is in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. I ask the Israeli Government to look again at her case and that she be released. The widespread and routine manner in which Israel uses administrative detention of Palestinians as an instrument of Occupation is deeply discriminatory. It cannot be legally or morally justified. May God watch over Layan during her detention and comfort her family at this testing time.” #FreeLayan
At least 91 journalists have been detained by the Israeli army since the outbreak of the conflict in the Gaza Strip last Oct. 7, according to a local nongovernmental organization on Thursday.
Fifty-three journalists remain in detention, including six women journalists, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.
The detained journalists include 16 from the Gaza Strip and 17 held without trial or charge under Israel’s policy of administrative detention, it added.
According to the NGO, at least 9,800 Palestinians have been rounded up by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023 according to Anadolu.
Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a deadly Israeli offensive that killed nearly 39,200 people in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023.
Media genocide in Gaza. Photos of journalists detained in occupation prisons dominate the scene in Al Jazeera studio to remind us of their just cause and message https://t.co/H2e3hU4H6E
At least 590 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.
In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and called for the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Military expert Major-General Fayez Al-Duwairi said the military operations in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, are still in the first phase of the war. He noted also the West Bank now also needs a ‘joint operations room’ for the resistance according to Jo24.net.
Al-Duwairi confirmed – in a military analysis on Al-Jazeera – the videos shown by the resistance from Rafah reflect the ferocity of the confrontations. They confirm that all of of the Palestinian factions are quickly adapting to the reality on the ground.
He said this adaptation is reflected in the nature of the military operations, using “economy of force and effort” because the time span of the battles are unknown.
But Al-Duwairi added the greatest possible losses inflicted are the ranks of the Israeli occupation soldiers.
BREAKING : Israel is dropping bombs on tents full of civilians in Rafah right now.
Entire Palestinian families are being massacred, but Western media wants us to be concerned about students peacefully protesting against this genocide on US campuses. pic.twitter.com/J6NQK3ItSw
The Major-General stressed the militarily, the field performance “confirm the resistance is still active while the occupation army continues to commit crimes against civilians.”
Regarding the current displacement in Khan Yunis, Al-Duwairi said that the Israel occupation army attached its 7th Armored Brigade to the 98th Division operating in the city, pointing out what is happening in the city is not a limited operation.
Commenting on the ambush carried out by the Palestinian resistance in the village of Al-Matula near Jenin in the West Bank, he said the operation “was a complex one, reflecting an accurate reading of what the occupation will do.”
🚨 Five Palestinians ascended to martyrdom as a result of the cowardly IOF drone strike in #Tulkarem Camp earlier today.
An Israeli bulldozer carries and steals the bodies of at least two slain Palestinians and takes them away from their families in Tulkarm. pic.twitter.com/tWTa4GovII
He stressed these specific operations require the setting up of a joint operations room to develop plans centrally and implement them in a proper manner, taking into account they are incremental but under control, consistent with the possibility of a prolonged confrontation.
A total of 143 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October last year, a spike of nearly 250 per cent compared to the preceding nine months, during which 41 Palestinian children were killed. Two Israeli children have been killed in the West Bank in conflict-related violence during the same period.
🇺🇳 UNICEF: Since the beginning of 2024, 143 children have been killed in the West Bank… pic.twitter.com/RszZHxnBE2
— ✎﹏﹏🇲🇨 ديجافو 🇵🇸✐☡﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏ (@_deedejavu_) July 22, 2024
Additionally, more than 440 Palestinian children have been injured with live ammunition.
The figures raise serious alarm around unnecessary and excessive use of force against the most vulnerable.
“For years now, children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been exposed to horrific violence,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “The situation has deteriorated significantly, coinciding with the escalation of hostilities inside Gaza. We are seeing frequent allegations of Palestinian children being detained on their way home from school, or shot while walking on the streets. The violence needs to stop now.”
The casualties have been reported in 10 out of 11 governorates in the West Bank, with more than half of the killings taking place in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nablus. These areas have seen an increase in large and militarized law enforcement operations over the past two years, indicating a shift in intensity and scope.
The increasing tensions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are also impacting the physical and mental well-being of thousands of children and families, who are now living in daily fear for their lives. Children report being scared to walk around their neighbourhoods, or to travel to school.
Prior to 7 October 2023, children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were already exposed to the highest levels of violence in 20 years, with 41 Palestinian children and 6 Israeli children killed in the first 9 months of last year. They have also been heavily affected by movement and access restrictions that disrupted their daily lives.
UNICEF says a total of 143 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023. https://t.co/BSBquVAodB
UNICEF renews its call for parties to immediately end and prevent further grave violations against children, including the killing and maiming of children. Parties must adhere to their obligations under international law to protect children. Children’s right to life must be upheld and children should never be the target of violence, no matter who or where they are.
“The true cost of the violence in the State of Palestine and Israel will be measured in children’s lives—those lost and those forever changed by it,” said Russell. “What the children desperately need is an end to violence and a lasting political solution to the crisis, so that they can reach their fullest potential in peace and safety.”
In the first half of 2024, there has been a severe escalation of violence and human rights violations in the West Bank reports the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers, with over 1,000 displaced and nearly 160,000 adversely affected by demolitions.
The West Bank has experienced a significant surge in violence, resulting in 228 Palestinian fatalities, including 51 children, marking a 65 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2023. In five instances, it could not be determined whether the killings were committed by Israeli forces or by settlers.
“The data indicates that Israeli forces are deploying unwarranted use of lethal force against Palestinian civilians,” said Ana Povrzenic, NRC’s country director in Palestine. “We cannot separate the worsening conditions in the West Bank from the actions of senior Israeli officials aimed to establish sovereignty over the West Bank, in violation of international law.”
In the West Bank, 2024 has seen a severe escalation of violence and human rights violations. 100s of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers and over 1,000 displaced. States must do more to hold those responsible to account.https://t.co/2W83FgT0Y4
— Norwegian Refugee Council (@NRC_Norway) July 19, 2024
The number of search and arrest operations conducted by Israeli forces in the West Bank nearly doubled, rising to 3,384 in the first half of 2024 from 1,873 in the same period in 2023. Israeli authorities have intensified raids, particularly in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps, utilising military tactics and heavy weaponry against civilians, including airstrikes. These operations have led to the destruction of 81 structures and the displacement of 499 Palestinians in these areas alone.
“The Israeli army did not differentiate between a stone, a tree, or a human being,” said Nihaya al-Jundi, a resident of Nur Shams camp, where 242 Palestinians were displaced, and a youth centre, a kindergarten, and a multi-purpose hall were destroyed. “No person and no home are safe, not even those with the elderly, people with disabilities, or children.”
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), a major global rights group operating in Palestine, said that civilian deaths in Gaza are a stain on Israel and its allies. pic.twitter.com/xzTJf1wbSi
Israel’s unlawful demolition of Palestinian property has reached unprecedented levels. By 30 June 2024, 643 Palestinian structures had been destroyed, marking a 42 per cent increase from the same period in 2023. In most of these cases, Israel reports the structures lack Israeli-issued building permits, which are virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain.
Israeli settlers/terrorists attacked a village in the West Bank and are trying to burn it down
This is how they treat the good Palestinians that don't fight back
If they did this to you would you be a goyim and take the abuse or would you fight back pic.twitter.com/d0KxTDyA2J
Settler attacks have also climbed, with 649 incidents recorded in the first half of 2024, compared to 598 in 2023. In Duma, a multi-hour settler attack on 13 April resulted in the destruction of homes and livelihood structures, Izzat Dawabshe, a Duma resident, described the event: “Anyone who defended himself in any way was shot or detained.”
Settlers destroyed four homes and damaged or burned 31 others during the attack on Duma. Settlers completely burned a dozen livelihood structures and damaged or burned three others.
“While some states have imposed sanctions against individual violent settlers, this has had limited impact in reducing rates of violence,” said Povrzenic. “States must do more to hold the state of Israel, its central and local governments, and security forces – not just individual offenders – accountable for grave breaches of international law.”
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