Israeli occupation forces and settlers damaged 900 olive trees in the occupied West Bank and demolished 57 structures during the first half of December, according to a report issued yesterday by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian Territories (OCHA).
OCHA said Israeli forces injured a total of 171 Palestinians, including at least 44 children, throughout the West Bank – 68 per cent or 116 were recorded in the Nablus governorate in the northern occupied West Bank.
In total, 26 Palestinians were treated for tear gas inhalation, 12 were injured by rubber-coated Steve bullets, 23 were shot with live ammunition, four were physically assaulted, two were injured with shrapnel and pepper spray and four were hit by tear gas canisters. Among the injured, 22 were in incidents involving Israeli settlers, another 101 injuries were reported in military operations, including search-and-arrest operations, and the remaining 48 Palestinian injuries were during demonstrations against settlement expansion and settlement-related access restrictions near Kafr Qaddum (Qalqilya), Beit Dajan (Nablus), and An Nabi Salih (Ramallah).
In two incidents on 9 and 16 December, Israeli forces injured 74 Palestinians, including three with live ammunition, near a military tower at the entrance of Osarin village in Nablus.
Israeli settlers injured six Palestinians, including one child, in six incidents, and people known or believed to be Israeli settlers caused damage to Palestinian property in 20 instances.
According to sources in these communities, settlers have damaged around 900 olive trees on Palestinian land near illegal Israeli settlement.
The sources explained that the Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 57 structures in occupied East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, including 17 homes, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are impossible to obtain.
Thirteen of the structures were provided by donors as humanitarian assistance.
As a result, 44 Palestinians, including 22 children, were displaced, and the livelihoods of almost 2,000 others were affected.
The report noted that 46 of the structures were in Area C, including two structures demolished based on Military Order 1797, which provides only a 96-hour notice and very limited grounds for legally challenging a demolition.
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