Weekly OIC Report on Israel’s Crimes against Palestinians

OIC secretary general Hissein Brahim Taha

Israel Intensifies its Aggression against West Bank Cities and Prepares to Invade Rafah; 34,582 Martyrs since 7 October 

Jeddah, 24 April - The Israeli occupation forces have been increasing their attacks on West Bank cities while at the same time continuing their aggression on the Gaza Strip. According to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC’s) Media Observatory for Israel's Crimes against the Palestinians, between April 16-22, 2024, a total of 378 people met martyrdom, including 24 in Tulkarm, Nablus, Hebron, and Jericho. Furthermore, around 675 Palestinians were injured, most of them in the Gaza Strip. From October 07, 2023, to April 21, 2024, about 34,582 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces.

It is essential to highlight that the Israeli occupation forces have intensified their military attacks on the Gaza Strip in recent days, with the purpose of preparing for a large-scale military operation that is expected to take place in Rafah. This is causing great concern, as Rafah is already crowded with displaced people, and Israel seems to be disregarding all international warnings about the potential for a significant humanitarian disaster if it invades the city.

Reports documented the discovery of mass graves in the courtyard of the Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, indicating that hundreds of displaced, wounded, sick, and medical staff were subjected to types of torture and abuse before they were executed and buried en masse.

According to a series of gender bulletins on women in the Gaza Strip released by the United Nations, more than 10,000 women, including 6,000 mothers, were killed in the six months that followed the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. As a result, around 19,000 children were left orphaned.

In Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, specifically in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jewish extremists have been conducting almost daily raids under the protection of the occupation forces. Recently, a Palestinian journalist was attacked while on assignment in the city, and a house was demolished.

In recent days, the Nour Shams camp in Tulkarm, located in the West Bank, has been repeatedly invaded by Israeli forces. This has resulted in the loss of 18 lives. In response to this aggression, Palestinians have declared a comprehensive strike throughout the cities, towns, and villages of the West Bank. As part of this strike, schools were closed for a day. The strike is a form of protest against the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the Nour Shams camp.

The total number of Israeli violations over the period monitored by the Observatory amounted to (1,931) violations, the most notable of which included the confiscation of many agricultural areas in the villages of Hebron, including (64) dunums in the village of Al-Buwayra, the establishment of settlement outposts in the northern Jordan Valley, and the construction of a settlement road in Tulkarm, and expanding the entrance to the Rafafa settlement near Salfit. The occupation forces confiscated two agricultural tractors and two bulldozers and destroyed a car in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Al-Bireh. They also demolished a house in Hebron, bulldozed agricultural land in Qalqilya, Tubas, and Deir Istiya, in addition to uprooting many perennial olive trees, destroyed and confiscated property in the Nour Shams camp, and beat up citizens and medical staff in Bethlehem, in addition to raiding a mosque in Tulkarm.

Within a week, settlers attacked towns and villages 31 times in the West Bank, including a shooting in the village of Burqa in Ramallah that resulted in 6 Palestinian injuries. – OIC News