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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element" dir="ltr"> <font
size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/israeli-rampage-destruction-jerusalem-village">https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/israeli-rampage-destruction-jerusalem-village</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Israeli rampage of destruction in
Jerusalem village</h1>
<p class="node__submitted">
<span class="field field-author"><a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/people/tamara-nassar">Tamara
Nassar</a></span> <span class="field field-blog">-</span>
<span class="field field-publication-date"><span
class="date-display-single"
content="2019-07-22T22:07:18+00:00">22 July 2019</span></span>
</p>
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<hr>
<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content line-height4 reader-show-element"
dir="ltr">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div>
<article>
<figure id="file-81586"><source media="(min-width:
72rem)"><figcaption><small><span></span></small></figcaption></figure>
<p>Israeli forces began the demolition of some 100
apartments on the outskirts of occupied East Jerusalem
early Monday.</p>
<p>The 13 buildings targeted for demolition, many still
under construction, are located in the Wadi Hummus
neighborhood on the outskirts of Sur Bahir, a village
southeast of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank.</p>
<p>“Families were taken out of their beds, expelled from
their homes and forced to helplessly watch the army
destroying them,” according to <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/ir-amim">Ir
Amim</a>, an Israeli group that documents settlement
activity in Jerusalem.</p>
<div id="file-81471">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="rtl" lang="iw">היום, ב-4 לפנות בוקר, הגיעו
הבולדוזרים מלווים כוחות צבא גדולים והחלו בהריסות
הבתים בוואדי חומוס. המשפחות הושכמו מהמיטות, פונו
מבתיהן ונאלצו לצפות בחוסר אונים בצבא הורס את
אותם. <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D7%94%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%90%D7%AA_%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#הורסים_את_ירושלים</a>
<a href="https://t.co/8Yz6H1zS6B">pic.twitter.com/8Yz6H1zS6B</a></p>
— עיר עמים (@IrAmim) <a
href="https://twitter.com/IrAmim/status/1153186137999101952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>“Among those forcibly displaced or otherwise impacted
are Palestine refugees, some of whom today are facing
the reality of a second displacement in living
memory,”
UN monitoring group OCHA <a
href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/un-officials-statement-demolitions-sur-bahir">stated</a>.</p>
<p>Some 17 Palestinians already inhabited the buildings,
according to UN officials, and many more would have
been waiting to move into their homes.</p>
<p>OCHA added that while it was trying to provide
emergency aid to displaced families, “no amount of
humanitarian assistance can replace a home or cover
the massive financial losses sustained today by the
owners.”</p>
<p>“Several of the affected people report having
invested their life savings into the properties, after
securing the required building permits from the
Palestinian Authority.”</p>
<p>Wadi Hummus lies in Area A of the occupied West Bank,
which is nominally under the full control of the
Palestinian Authority, according to the Oslo accords
of the early 1990s.</p>
<p>But as Monday’s demolition rampage shows, PA control
is illusory and Israeli occupation forces act as they
wish.</p>
<h2>“Demographic war”</h2>
<p>Israel refuses to permit virtually any Palestinian
construction in occupied East Jerusalem or in Area C –
the 60 percent of the West Bank that remains under
full Israeli military control.</p>
<p>This forces Palestinians to build without permits on
their own land and live in constant fear of <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/home-demolitions">demolitions</a>.</p>
<p>Construction in Area A and Area B, however, does not
require Israeli approval and is done with the
permission of the PA.</p>
<p>Palestinian residents of Sur Bahir resort to building
in Wadi Hummus to circumvent demolition threats, <a
href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-begins-demolition-of-homes-in-palestinian-controlled-east-j-lem-neighborhood-1.7547258">saying</a>,
according to Israel’s <em>Haaretz</em> newspaper,
that it is “the only area that remains for future
expansion of the village” as the rest is surrounded by
the separation wall and Jewish-only settlements.</p>
<p>That did not stop Israel from finding a way to
forcibly transfer the residents.</p>
<figure id="file-81581"><source media="(min-width:
72rem)"><figcaption><small><span></span></small></figcaption></figure>
<p>“Although the demolition of Palestinian homes is
routine in East Jerusalem, the Wadi Hummus case is
particularly notable, since Israel demolished houses
there when the entire issue of construction and its
approval in the area is not within Israel’s
jurisdiction,” Ir Amim <a
href="https://twitter.com/IrAmim/status/1153187075308576768">stated</a>.</p>
<p>According to OCHA, targeted buildings lie in areas A,
B and C.</p>
<p>Israel’s defense ministry ordered Palestinians to
evacuate the apartments under the pretext of being too
close to Israel’s separation wall and therefore a
“security threat.”</p>
<p>Years ago, Israel banned construction within 250
meters of the wall, which runs <a
href="https://www.ochaopt.org/theme/west-bank-barrier">mostly
through the occupied West Bank</a>.</p>
<p>But Ir Amim rejected the “security” pretext, blasting
Israel’s policy as a “demographic war waged against
East Jerusalem residents.”</p>
<p>Palestinians have challenged the defense ministry in
Israel’s high court, but to no avail.</p>
<p>The court, which habitually gives legal cover to
Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights, <a
href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-high-court-green-lights-demolition-of-13-east-jerusalem-buildings-under-pa-control-1.7376616">ruled</a>
in favor of the defense ministry in June and rejected
a petition to postpone the demolitions on Sunday,
giving occupation forces the green light to begin the
campaign of destruction.</p>
<h2>Bulldozers at dawn</h2>
<p>Israeli forces arrived before dawn on Monday and
placed explosives in a multi-story building in Wadi
Hummus, activists <a
href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-begins-demolition-of-homes-in-palestinian-controlled-east-j-lem-neighborhood-1.7547258">told</a>
<em>Haaretz</em>:</p>
<div id="file-81461">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="rtl" lang="ar">قوات الاحتلال تُفخخ بناية
سكنية تمهيداً لهدمها بصور باهر في <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B3?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#القدس</a>
المحتلة.<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%85?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#مجزرة_الهدم</a>
<a href="https://t.co/4Diw4FXkNi">pic.twitter.com/4Diw4FXkNi</a></p>
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) <a
href="https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1153194662183747585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>Occupation forces then forcibly expelled families
from their homes:</p>
<div id="file-81516">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
<p>WATCH: This is what it looks like when
occupation military raids a house in the early
morning to demolish it, because Palestinians
call it home. </p>
<p>When trying to make him leave, the resident
refuses to move. "This is our life", he says <a
href="https://t.co/62MSw6iVZk">pic.twitter.com/62MSw6iVZk</a></p>
</div>
— All That's Left: Anti-Occupation Collective
(@ATLCol) <a
href="https://twitter.com/ATLCol/status/1153152010277072896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div id="file-81521">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">These kids are watching
their home be demolished from next door. <a
href="https://t.co/upNNSI8lmh">pic.twitter.com/upNNSI8lmh</a></p>
— All That's Left: Anti-Occupation Collective
(@ATLCol) <a
href="https://twitter.com/ATLCol/status/1153154752689127425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>Local media circulated images and videos of the
demolition on social media:</p>
<div id="file-81526">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="rtl" lang="ar">الاحتلال يواصل <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%85?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#مجزرة_الهدم</a>
لعشرات الوحدات السكنية للفلسطينيين بواد الحمص في
<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B3?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#القدس</a>
المحتلة. <a href="https://t.co/AGgHejEfyK">pic.twitter.com/AGgHejEfyK</a></p>
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) <a
href="https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1153183422136950785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div id="file-81531">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="rtl" lang="ar">الاحتلال يواصل تشريد عشرات
الفلسطينيين من منازلهم بالهدم في <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B3?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#القدس</a>
المحتلة.<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%85?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#مجزرة_الهدم</a>
<a href="https://t.co/8z6MqKiCDR">pic.twitter.com/8z6MqKiCDR</a></p>
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) <a
href="https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1153182857583583232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div id="file-81536">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="rtl" lang="ar"><a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%AF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#شاهد</a>:
جيش الاحتلال يبدأ أكبر عملية هدم بواد الحمص في <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B3?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#القدس</a>
المحتلة.<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%85?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#مجزرة_الهدم</a>
<a href="https://t.co/zhyjhrhh0e">pic.twitter.com/zhyjhrhh0e</a></p>
— بوابة الهدف (@hadafps) <a
href="https://twitter.com/hadafps/status/1153182221903286272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div id="file-81541">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Israeli forces place
explosive devices in a 9 story building in Wadi
Homs in preparation for bombing it. <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jerusalem?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jerusalem</a>
<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Palestine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Palestine</a>
<a href="https://t.co/uNv043eUtY">pic.twitter.com/uNv043eUtY</a></p>
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) <a
href="https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1153194006765088768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>Dozens of international activists gathered in Wadi
Hummus to protest the impending demolitions early
Monday, according to anti-occupation group All That’s
Left:</p>
<div id="file-81546">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Around fifty activists from
around the world here in <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/surbaher?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#surbaher</a>
<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wadihummus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wadihummus</a>
in occupied East Jerusalem standing with the
Palestinian families here facing home
demolitions in the middle of the night here.
Tell the world: EVERYBODY has the right to a
home.<a href="https://t.co/CFlD5OKXQu">https://t.co/CFlD5OKXQu</a></p>
— All That's Left: Anti-Occupation Collective
(@ATLCol) <a
href="https://twitter.com/ATLCol/status/1153107918541266947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>Some were beaten and tear-gassed, according to the
International Solidarity Movement:</p>
<div id="file-81551">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Update: multiple
Palestinian citizens and ISM activists beaten,
pepper sprayed and tear gassed whilst peacefully
resisting demolitions in Wadi al-Hummus. They
were dragged by their hair, had their heads and
necks stamped on, and were bashed in the face
with guns by border police.</p>
— ISM Palestine (@ISMPalestine) <a
href="https://twitter.com/ISMPalestine/status/1153173969333301248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>Israel is trying to force an end to any kind of
resistance to its military occupation of Jerusalem.</p>
<p>Israel <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/israel-demands-loyalty-palestinians-jerusalem">passed
a law</a> last year so that occupation authorities
can revoke Palestinian Jerusalemites’ residency status
if they should be found in “breach of allegiance” to
Israel.</p>
<p>Media photos show that Israeli forces used equipment
from manufacturers Scania AB, Caterpillar and Hyundai
in carrying out the demolition.</p>
<div id="file-81476">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Right now! Israeli
occupation forces demolishing 100 homes in Wadi
Al Humus affecting ~1000 Palestinians in
occupied E. Jerusalem.<a
href="https://twitter.com/CaterpillarInc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CaterpillarInc</a>
& <a
href="https://twitter.com/Hyundai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Hyundai</a>
Heavy Industries machinery used.<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BDS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BDS</a>
is our most powerful tool for accountability and
justice. <a href="https://t.co/Nd8BOS9BKt">https://t.co/Nd8BOS9BKt</a>
<a href="https://t.co/BtuAzX3T9H">pic.twitter.com/BtuAzX3T9H</a></p>
— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) <a
href="https://twitter.com/BDSmovement/status/1153230971757649920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>Palestinians <a
href="https://bdsmovement.net/tags/caterpillar">call</a>
for boycotting and divesting from these corporations
as they supply much of the equipment Israel regularly
uses to demolish Palestinian homes and even to <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israel-uses-caterpillar-equipment-apparent-extrajudicial-killing">carry
out</a> <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/adri-nieuwhof/how-israel-uses-caterpillar-machinery-carry-out-extrajudicial-executions">extrajudicial
executions by bulldozer</a>.</p>
<figure id="file-81456"><source media="(min-width:
72rem)"><figcaption><small><span></span></small></figcaption></figure>
<h2>Toothless condemnation</h2>
<p>Earlier this month, the European Union’s offices in
the occupied West Bank issued a toothless <a
href="https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/palestine-occupied-palestinian-territory-west-bank-and-gaza-strip/65488/local-eu-statement-demolition-orders-wadi-hummus-and-eviction-siam-family-silwan_en">statement</a>
to “note with concern” Israel’s intention to demolish
the buildings in Wadi Hummus.</p>
<p>“The continuation of this policy undermines the
viability of the two-state solution and the prospect
for a lasting peace,” the EU added, underscoring that
its core “concern” is a fear of jeopardizing the
already moribund two-state solution.</p>
<p>On Monday, <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/maja-kocijancic">Maja
Kocijancic</a>, spokesperson for EU foreign policy
chief <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/federica-mogherini">Federica
Mogherini</a>, <a
href="https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/65699/statement-spokesperson-demolition-palestinian-buildings-east-jerusalem_en">stated</a>
that the EU “expect[s] the Israeli authorities to
immediately halt the ongoing demolitions.”</p>
<div id="file-81571">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">On the demolition of 10
Palestinian buildings in East Jerusalem 👉 <a
href="https://t.co/b7A9jRdGDU">https://t.co/b7A9jRdGDU</a></p>
— Maja Kocijančič (@MajaEUspox) <a
href="https://twitter.com/MajaEUspox/status/1153256809827917825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>But the EU announced no change in its policy of <a
href="https://bdsmovement.net/news/talk-israel-tried-censor-european-parliament">virtually
unconditional political support and financial
assistance</a> to Israel – a policy that amounts to
rewarding and incentivizing its crimes against
Palestinians.</p>
<p>Just last month, EU diplomats posed for photos with
officials from Israel’s defense ministry, which
ordered Monday’s demolitions:</p>
<div id="file-79596">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Director of the Policy
& Political-Military Bureau, Zohar Palti was
invited by <a
href="https://twitter.com/EUinIsrael?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EUinIsrael</a>
and <a
href="https://twitter.com/EGiaufretEU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EGiaufretEU</a>
to discuss strategic security issues concerning
the Middle East, together with European
ambassadors to Israel. <a
href="https://t.co/TzW4l7jX2A">pic.twitter.com/TzW4l7jX2A</a></p>
— Ministry of Defense (@Israel_MOD) <a
href="https://twitter.com/Israel_MOD/status/1135922483981193217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June
4, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Middle East envoy,
condemned Israel’s demolitions:</p>
<div id="file-81576">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Despite calls not to go
ahead with the demolition, the destruction of
residential buildings in <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SurBahir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SurBahir</a>
will displace many <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Palestinian?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Palestinian</a>
families. No amount of humanitarian aid can
compensate their suffering! <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Israel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Israel</a>
must stop this policy. <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UN</a>
statement <a href="https://t.co/FXjc5qs3if">https://t.co/FXjc5qs3if</a></p>
— Nickolay E. MLADENOV (@nmladenov) <a
href="https://twitter.com/nmladenov/status/1153300080394407936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>Saleh Higazi, deputy director of Amnesty
International’s Middle East program, <a
href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/07/israel-continues-policy-of-systematic-forced-displacement-with-wave-of-home-demolitions-in-sur-baher/">stated</a>
that Israel’s demolition policy under the guise of
“security threats” doesn’t “stand up to scrutiny.”</p>
<p>“The truth is that for decades Israel’s authorities
have taken arbitrary and disproportionate measures in
the name of security to expand their control over
Palestinian land and push Palestinians out of areas
they consider strategic.”</p>
<p>Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation
Organization’s executive committee, also condemned the
demolition on Monday.</p>
<p>“First Israel militarily occupies the land, then it
builds a repulsive apartheid wall, then it decides to
demolish Palestinian homes built on Palestinian land
with legal Palestinian permits because of their
proximity to the wall!” Ashrawi said.</p>
<p>“Criminality beyond words.”</p>
<p>Ashrawi <a
href="http://www.dci.plo.ps/en/article/13115/Dr-Ashrawi-Prosecutor-of-the-International-Criminal-Court-must-launch-an-investigation-into-Israeli-war-crime-of-ethnic-cleansing-immediately">called</a>
on the International Criminal Court and Fatou
Bensouda, the chief prosecutor, to “immediately launch
an investigation into this and other ongoing Israeli
war crimes against the Palestinian people and consider
any further delay completely inexcusable. Delaying
justice any further is tantamount to its denial.”</p>
<p>At least one commentator, however, pointed to the
complicity of the Palestinian Authority, which
routinely cooperates with maintaining the Israeli
military occupation through so-called <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/security-coordination">security
coordination</a>:</p>
<div id="file-81556">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="ca">You conveniently forgot the
part when local collaborators cover for the
occupation and “التنسيق الامني" becomes “خط
احمر" <a href="https://t.co/yJRysgoSUl">https://t.co/yJRysgoSUl</a></p>
— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) <a
href="https://twitter.com/Lowkey0nline/status/1153226058390523906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Israeli government-backed Act.IL app is directing
its users to “like” a comment blaming the Palestinian
Authority for permitting contruction close to the wall
and shedding “crocodile tears” after Israel demolishes
their homes:</p>
<div id="file-81561">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">As Israel demolishes 70
Palestinian homes today, leaving 100 families
homeless, Israel's propaganda app is on Facebook
promoting this act of forced displacement.
App-endorsed comments accuse Palestinians of
"crocodile tears" and supporting terrorism. <a
href="https://t.co/EkkuyIobbo">pic.twitter.com/EkkuyIobbo</a></p>
— Behind Israel's Troll Army (@AntiBDSApp) <a
href="https://twitter.com/AntiBDSApp/status/1153311745546604544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July
22, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>Israeli settlers have constructed 16 <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/settlement-outposts">settlement
outposts</a> without Israeli permission in the
occupied West Bank since 2017, <a
href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-at-least-16-israeli-unauthorized-west-bank-outposts-established-since-2017-1.7546752">according</a>
to the Israeli group Peace Now.</p>
<p>That’s in addition to rapid expansion of settlements
on Palestinian land authorized by the Israeli
government – a <a
href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/lets-be-clear-israels-long-running-settlement-policy-constitutes-a-war-crime/">war
crime</a>.</p>
<h2>Harassing witness of crimes</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, Israel is harassing the volunteer who
filmed the point-blank <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/netanyahus-hypocritical-condemnation-videotaped-hebron-execution">execution</a>
of an injured Palestinian in the occupied West Bank
city of Hebron in March 2016.</p>
<p><a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/imad-abu-shamsiyeh">Imad
Abu Shamsiyeh</a> <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8WK2TgruMo">filmed</a>
the moment Israeli army medic <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/elor-azarya">Elor
Azarya</a> shot and killed <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/abd-al-fattah-yusri-al-sharif">Abd
al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif</a>, who was already
incapacitated.</p>
<p>Last month, Abu Shamsiyeh suffered a sunstroke and
his wife called an ambulance.</p>
<p>Israeli forces prevented the Red Crescent ambulance
from crossing a checkpoint into the Hebron
neighborhood where Abu Shamsiyeh lives.</p>
<p>Paramedics were forced to go by foot to transfer Abu
Shamsiyeh to the ambulance, <a
href="https://www.btselem.org/video/20190715_military_denies_ambulance_access_to_palestinian_neighborhood_in_hebron">according</a>
to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.</p>
<p>Since the March 2016 killing, Abu Shamsiyeh and his
family have experienced harassment, assault and death
threats from Israeli settlers backed by Israeli
forces.</p>
<p>Israelis living in the nearby settlement of Admot
Yishai “turned the lives of the local Palestinian
residents into a living hell of draconian travel
restrictions and constant harassment and violence,”
B’Tselem <a
href="https://www.btselem.org/hebron/20190625_security_forces_and_settlers_harass_palestinian_family">has
stated</a>.</p>
<p>Some members of the Abu Shamsiyeh family moved to
live with relatives in occupied East Jerusalem to
escape such dangers.</p>
<p>The graphic footage published by B’Tselem at the time
shows Azarya approaching al-Sharif as he lay
immobilized, pointing his weapon at his head and
shooting him.</p>
<p>Azarya was <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/israel-seeks-muzzle-witnesses-its-crimes">released</a>
from prison in May 2018 after serving just nine months
for killing al-Sharif.</p>
<p>The gunman returned to the site of the shooting to a
hero’s welcome from settlers.</p>
<br>
</article>
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