Executive summary

In 2022, the world saw a dramatic surge in killings of Palestinians, with fatalities in the West Bank climbing 82% from the previous year and nearly quintupling (491%) from 2020.

This report, entitled “Pulling the trigger is the first resort: Palestinians killed by Israeli army and settlers in 2022”, presents a detailed account of the killings of Palestinians perpetrated by Israeli forces, along with the associated contexts, gathered from both field and office research. It contains testimonies indicating that Israel has frequently acted with a systematic will to disregard the most essential right found in all human rights charters, i.e. the right to life.

Members of the Euro-Med Monitor team have documented in this report the killing of 204 Palestinians by Israeli army forces in 2022, 142 of whom were from the West Bank (69.6%), 37 from the Gaza Strip (18.1%), 20 from Jerusalem (9.8%), and five from the Arab localities within Israel (2.4%). It is important to note that this statistic, however, excludes the 18 Palestinians killed inadvertently during Israeli attacks—16 in the Gaza Strip, and two in the West Bank.

With 55 Palestinians killed, Jenin Governorate had the highest number of Palestinian deaths in 2022 compared to other Palestinian cities and governorates, accounting for 26.9% of all deaths. Nablus Governorate followed with 35 deaths, accounting for 17.1% of all deaths; this is due to the higher frequency of Israeli raids and the execution of other special operations in the two governorates.

August 2022 saw the most Palestinians killed in one month, with 42 deaths accounting for 20.5% of the total number of deaths, not including 16 others killed the same month as a result of local rockets falling in the Gaza Strip. The August death toll was high due to the Israeli army’s “Operation Breaking Dawn”, which lasted three days and targeted activists and sites associated with the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip. October saw the next highest number of Palestinians killed (28), followed by 23 in April, 20 in November, 18 in September, and 17 in March, all in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Analysis of the victim groups and contexts of the killings revealed that 125 of those killed were civilians who were uninvolved in any clashes, accounting for 61.2% of the total death toll. Seventeen additional people were killed while attempting to carry out individual attacks (such as stabbings or vehicular assaults), while 62 Palestinian militants—acting either on their own or in groups—were killed in confrontations or when attempting to launch attacks against Israeli targets.

According to Euro-Med Monitor’s documentation, 81 Palestinians were killed in 2022 during Israeli army confrontations or raids in Palestinian cities or near military checkpoints, accounting for 38.6% of the total death toll. Furthermore, 30 Palestinians were killed in targeted killing operations, in addition to four people who were killed in similar operations but were not the intended targets.

Among the most notable events of the year was Israel’s return to its targeted killing policy after years of pause, particularly in the West Bank, where it carried out the first operation on 8 February 2022. On this date, a special Israeli force ambushed a vehicle in the city of Nablus carrying three young men who were among the most prominent armed activists: Adham Mabrouka, Mohammad Dakhil, and Ashraf Mubaslat were fatally shot with over 90 bullets.

Information documented in this report shows that 158 of the dead were killed as a result of being targeted and struck with live bullets or shrapnel. In most cases, injuries were concentrated in the upper part of the victim’s body. Thirty-seven people were killed by air or artillery shelling, four by deliberate vehicular assault, one by being stabbed by a settler, one by tear gas, one by an explosive device placed to kill him, and two during acts of abuse and intimidation.

Israeli forces carried out 32 summary executions, with 18 of them occurring alongside allegations that the victims had either completed or attempted a stabbing or vehicular assault against Israelis near Israeli checkpoints or hotspots; the remaining executions were generally lacking any rationale or carried out solely based on suspicion.

Data show that children were also targeted by Israeli army forces in 2022; this report documents the deaths of 41 Palestinian children in Israeli army attacks or assaults. Eight Palestinian women were killed by Israeli forces in 2022, as well, five in the West Bank (three were field-executed and two killed during raids on Palestinian neighbourhoods) and three in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli attack in August.

In addition to the aforementioned killings, six Palestinian detainees, one of whom was a woman, died in Israeli prisons (not included in the statistics)—a relatively high number of detainee deaths for a single year. With their deaths, the total number of detainees who have died in Israeli prisons since the occupation of the Palestinian territories in 1967 has risen to 233.

Introduction

The Israeli army employs an open-fire policy of excessive force during its repeated incursions into Palestinian cities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with the goal of killing and causing injuries, while it uses indiscriminate air and artillery bombardment during attacks on the Gaza Strip.

In the absence of criminal accountability, Israeli forces fail to adhere even to their own instructions. Israeli authorities repeatedly amend relevant laws and instructions in order to facilitate the targeting of Palestinians by Israeli army personnel, without consideration for legal and international concerns pertinent to the special protection of civilians and protected groups.

Despite the existence of official restrictions on shooting when carrying out missions related to dispersing protesters and stone-throwers, these restrictions are routinely ignored, and killings are carried out with support from Israel’s political and military echelons.

This report documents the killing of Palestinians in 2022 by Israeli army personnel and settlers. It contains information collected through comprehensive survey, documentation of events in the field, and interviews conducted by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor with the friends and family members of victims and eyewitnesses. It also includes the examination of Israeli shooting policies in a legal context, information about the killings in terms of numbers, indicators, patterns, and targets, and analysis of the killings, as well as a summarisation of the most significant findings and recommendations.

Methodology

Euro-Med Monitor conducted a comprehensive survey and an enumeration of Palestinian killings as a result of Israeli army attacks, operations, or acts of violence committed by Israeli settlers between January and December 2022. The survey was based on field work by Euro-Med Monitor research teams in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, Euro-Med Monitor examined all information and data released by official Palestinian and Israeli authorities concerning the cases and numbers of Palestinian deaths in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt).

Euro-Med Monitor conducted 36 interviews—either with eyewitnesses of attacks, or with the family members or friends of several victims—with regard to Israeli killings of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. All interviewees were informed of each interview’s purpose, and how the information they provided would be used. Each interviewee verbally consented to the Euro-Med Monitor team using, storing, and publishing the contents of their interview in this report. All interviews were conducted in Arabic.

Euro-Med Monitor also conducted a legal analysis, using international humanitarian law and international human rights law, of the documented cases of killing, based on information gathered regarding circumstances, motives, methods, and tools used.

Glossary

Killed: A person who died as a result of direct attacks by Israeli army forces or settlers, using any one of a variety of ammunition and weapons; this term includes those who died while being pursued, detained, or abused.

Child: Any person, regardless of sex, who has not reached the age of 18. The definition of a child and its distinction from other people is based on the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Woman: Any female over the age of 18, regardless of marital status.

Civilian: Anyone who is not involved in armed hostilities, excluding those who have carried out or attempted to carry out armed operations against Israelis.

Armed person: Anyone involved in hostilities, whether individually or as part of an organised group; this term includes those involved in hostilities who were killed in direct confrontations, clashes, or in any another context.

Attacker(s): Anyone killed while carrying out or attempting to carry out a vehicular assault or an attack on Israelis with weapons and/or sharp tools.

Targeted killing: Unlawful, wilful killings committed by Israeli forces using various weapons against specific individuals based on prior intelligence.

Summary execution: Wilful killings committed in the field by Israeli forces against individuals who could have been arrested; this term refers to situations that could have been controlled without the use of lethal force. These individuals are frequently targeted for carrying out, attempting, or being suspected of carrying out attacks against Israelis.

Killed during a shooting incident: Armed individuals killed while carrying out intentional armed operations against Israelis.

Killed in confrontations during an incursion: Unarmed individuals killed during Israeli incursions into Palestinian neighbourhoods or during shooting operations, i.e. whether by Israelis sent to disperse Palestinian protesters or stone-throwers, or by Israelis shooting indiscriminately to cover themselves during raids or withdrawals, with the exception of the other categories mentioned previously in this glossary.

Part I: Shooting policies within the legal context

Israeli open-fire policy

The Israeli army’s shooting operations in the oPt are based on a set of laws, decisions, and instructions that have facilitated the killing of thousands of Palestinians over years of occupation.

In the absence of criminal accountability, Israeli forces have failed to adhere even to their own instructions. Israeli authorities repeatedly amend relevant laws and instructions in order to facilitate the targeting of Palestinians by Israeli army personnel, without consideration for legal and international concerns pertinent to the special protection of civilians and protected groups.

Despite the existence of official restrictions on shooting when carrying out missions related to dispersing protesters and stone-throwers, these restrictions are commonly ignored, and killings are carried out with support from Israel’s political and military echelons.

Open-fire regulations for Israeli forces detail the various rules that govern when members of the military can open fire, such as the types of weapons they can use, the distance from which they can shoot, and the targets they can shoot at. According to these regulations, live ammunition is permitted in two situations only. Firstly, shooting with the intent to kill is permitted when there is a threat to the lives of members of the security forces or other individuals. Even then, however, shooting is only permitted if no other means of avoiding the danger exist, and only against the individuals causing the danger (the attackers themselves). Secondly, shooting at legs is permitted as a last resort to apprehend a fleeing wanted person, but only after security forces have warned the person in question and fired in the air, and as long as the shooting does not endanger others.

Regardless of these regulations, it is evident that on the ground, they are routinely disregarded—by direct orders and with the authorisation of senior military officers, and even political officials. The regulations are often interpreted broadly, so as to include a greater number of situations in which soldiers are permitted to shoot. The term “life-threatening”, for instance, has been expanded at times to include situations that do not pose a real or imminent danger to soldiers’ lives, such as the throwing of stones and burning of tires by protesters, and has even included fear of damage to Israel’s Separation Barrier.

Furthermore, shooting at a person’s upper body rather than solely at their legs is permitted as part of a “suspect apprehension procedure” and has broadened, along with the definition of “suspected of a serious offence”, to include practically every Palestinian.

An additional violation is the use of lethal measures when less injurious ones could be used to neutralise an imminent threat, as well as the illegal use of allegedly “non-lethal” measures including rubber-coated metal bullets, sponge rounds, and tear gas, in ways that in fact renders them lethal. The open-fire regulations, which allow for the wilful killing of Palestinians, reflect Israel’s profound disregard for Palestinians’ right to life, which is the most essential right found in all human rights conventions.

The Israeli army approved new open-fire policy instructions on 20 December 2021, allowing soldiers in the West Bank to open fire on Palestinians who throw stones and Molotov cocktails, resulting in an increase in Palestinian deaths. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett applauded the amendments at the time, claiming that they would “allow soldiers to defend themselves”; Bennett’s statement was repeated by the political and military echelons following every killing of Palestinians.

The new amendments require Israeli soldiers to open fire in the confrontation area even after stone-throwing ceases, and while boys and young men are still fleeing the scene. These orders authorise soldiers to fire live bullets at boys who are running away from them—furthermore, the orders permit “shooting at individuals attempting to steal a soldier’s weapon” or at those “entering military bases or firing zones with the intent of stealing weapons or ammunition”.

The amendments also permit opening fire when “a soldier feels there is a threat to his/her life”, a broadly-worded term that is a loosening of the rules of engagement for targeting individuals, especially Palestinian youths in the West Bank. In many cases, the Israeli army employs the open-fire policy with the support of the military echelon and the retroactive approval of the military prosecution; this ensures that none of those responsible for the killing of civilians will be held accountable, in what appears to be a basic approach in protecting and consolidating Israel’s policy of using excessive violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli army’s open-fire policy was previously somewhat ambiguous, leading to extrajudicial killings without probable cause and without regard for the principles of necessity and proportionality. The new instructions, however, are even more concerning, as they have made it much easier for soldiers to pull the trigger, due to official support and protection that ensures they cannot be held responsible for their actions. The policy of impunity and degree of protection afforded to Israeli soldiers essentially encourages them to deliberately shoot to kill, even when there is no imminent danger or threat to their lives, as is common in the West Bank during Israeli incursions. The use of lethal force against civilians stems from Israel’s lack of internal accountability, on the one hand, and the international community’s continued acceptance of Israel’s impunity policy for past violations, on the other.

On 29 December 2022, the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) voted in favour of a new right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, raising fears that further amendments will be introduced that could allow for more killings of Palestinians, given some of the extreme views expressed by certain ministers in past statements.

In mid-November 2022, for example, far-right Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir had urged prospective government coalition leaders to form a right-wing government as soon as possible. Ben-Gvir stated that the new government must restore security and deterrence, claiming that there was an “urgent need to change open-fire rules” as Israeli settlers would be hesitant to confront Palestinian perpetrators of operations. The danger in these statements lies in the fact that they were made by Ben-Gvir, who is now Israel’s newly appointed Minister of National Security; members of his Otzma Yehudit party previously sought to form an armed militia in areas where Arabs work in Israel, likely opening the door to more killings and targeting of Palestinians.

Weapons used

Previous documentation by Euro-Med Monitor revealed that Israeli forces employ a range of tools and weapons to target and kill Palestinians, the most prominent of which are listed below.

Assault rifles and machine guns: Israeli army soldiers are equipped with a variety of light weapons, most notably the M16 rifle, which comes in several sizes. Heavy machine guns are also mounted on military vehicles.

Sniper rifles:  These rifles are typically used by Israeli special forces and snipers who occupy high-rise buildings during incursions into Palestinian neighbourhoods.

Pistols: In addition to assault rifles, soldiers in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) carry pistols, with which they use to shoot from zero distance when carrying out killing missions.

AI-powered robot guns: Israeli outposts and checkpoints are equipped with automatic weapons that can be loaded with a variety of ammunition, and are capable of firing independently in response to orders given by soldiers. The Twin Turrets weapon can fire live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets, or sound and gas grenades.

Sound and gas grenade launchers: Available in a variety of forms, some of which soldiers can carry; others are automatic devices that fire a burst of projectiles on a soldier’s command.

Fighter jets: Israeli forces employ a variety of aircraft, most notably the F-16, which is commonly used in military attacks on the Gaza Strip and has often bombed civilian homes and facilities, killing hundreds of people.

Helicopters: The Israeli army employs helicopters to target stationary or moving targets, particularly along the Gaza Strip’s border.

Drones: Available in a variety of types, the Israeli army employs drones to conduct reconnaissance missions as well as attack targets both stationary and mobile. Several drones have been used in targeted killings in the Gaza Strip in recent years, while another type has been used by the Israeli army to carry out suicide missions.

Tanks: Used by Israeli forces to target buildings and people during ground invasions of the Gaza Strip, or along Israel’s border with Gaza, whether by machine gun shooting or shelling.

Rocket artillery: Multiple types of launchers are used to fire munitions of varying destructive power, as well as smoke and sound grenades.

Gunboats: Used by the Israeli Navy, gunboats are frequently involved in both random and specific bombing missions off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces employ a variety of projectiles against Palestinian people and property, the most notable of which are listed below.

Gunshots: Available in various calibres, Israeli soldiers frequently use guns to inflict damage without regard for the principles of proportionality and necessity.

Rubber-coated metal bullets: Typically used to disperse protesters, they have also been misused in several cases, with demonstrators being shot at point-blank range, resulting in fatalities.

Sound and gas grenades: Used to disperse protests, Israeli forces typically fire them directly at Palestinian protesters. In some cases, these grenades have killed or seriously injured Palestinians.

Small explosive grenades: Typically fired from automatic weapons, these are frequently used in Israeli attacks on houses in the West Bank where Palestinian gunmen are barricaded.

Artillery shells: Fired from tanks or boats, and used frequently by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

Missiles: Launched from Israeli aircraft, missiles come in a variety of sizes with varying levels of destruction and penetration.

Killings as violations of international humanitarian and human rights law

International humanitarian law and international human rights law apply to the oPt. A legal analysis of Israeli forces’ practises reveals the state’s clear disregard for international obligations under the Geneva Conventions, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, which requires parties to a conflict to protect and not endanger civilians.

International humanitarian law imposes obligations on Israel, as the occupying power, regarding Palestinian rights, the foremost of which is the right to life. Accordingly, Israel is obligated to respect, protect, and fulfil the right to life, as well as to follow the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The Basic Principles forbid the use of firearms unless absolutely necessary and in limited circumstances, primarily for self-defence or the prevention of imminent death or serious injury to others: “In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.”

Shoot-to-kill operations may amount to extrajudicial executions and wilful killing, and are a grave violation of the right to life under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Geneva Conventions define grave breaches to be those involving wilful killing, torture, or inhuman treatment, if committed against protected persons or property, in accordance with Article 50 of the First Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, as well as Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

The two Protocols Additional to the 1949 Geneva Conventions are related to international humanitarian law and are binding on Israel as provisions of customary international law, despite the fact that Israel has not ratified them. The Protocols provide a detailed explanation and interpretation of the provisions of the four Geneva Conventions, including the Fourth Convention. These rules and provisions, which are closely related to the application of international humanitarian law, specifically include rules on the principle of distinction, combat launches, and a definition of the scope of civilian protection.

Israeli practises during incursions into Palestinian cities in the West Bank, as well as military operations in the Gaza Strip, involve serious violations of international humanitarian law, whether contractual or customary, as these practises violate the provisions of the Hague Convention of 1907 respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex. The high number of deaths and injuries caused by the Israeli army forces’ use of live ammunition demonstrates Israel’s breach of international law.

“Excessive incidental death, injury, or damage” is a war crime, as stipulated in Article 8 (2) (b) (iv) of the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court; its three main elements are:

1. The perpetrator launched an attack.
2. The attack was such that it would cause incidental death or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment and that such death, injury or damage would be of such an extent as to be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.
3. The perpetrator knew that the attack would cause incidental death or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment and that such death, injury or damage would be of such an extent as to be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.

Part II: Killings (figures)

This section presents the overall findings of Euro-Med Monitor’s survey on the number of Palestinians killed, and their distribution according to criteria that illustrate trends in Israeli forces’ killing policies, as well as the contexts in which the killings occurred.

Death toll based on area of residence

Table (1): Death toll based on area of residence

In 2022, Israeli forces killed 204 Palestinians, 142 of whom were from the West Bank (69.6%), 37 from Gaza (18.1%), 20 from Jerusalem (9.8%), and five from the Arab localities within Israel (2.4%).

These figures reflect an expansion of the killing policy pursued by Israeli forces in recent years, particularly in the West Bank. According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the oPt, 341 Palestinians were killed in 2021, with 263 killings in the Gaza Strip and 78 in the West Bank. This means that the number of deaths in the West Bank increased by 82% in 2022 compared to 2021, and nearly fivefold (491%) compared to 2020, when 30 Palestinians were killed—six in the Gaza Strip and 24 in the West Bank.

Death toll based on killing area

Table (2): Death toll based on killing area

Jenin was the Palestinian governorate with the highest number of fatalities, with 55 deaths making up 26.9% of the overall Palestinian death toll. Nablus was next with 35 deaths (17.1%), followed by 13 in Israeli cities, 12 in each Bethlehem and Gaza, 10 in Jerusalem, nine in North Gaza, seven in each Hebron and Rafah, seven in Khan Yunis, three each in Salfit and Qalqilya, two each in Tubas and Jericho, and one each in Tulkarm and Central Gaza.

Death toll based on month

Table (3): Death toll based on month

The month of August saw the highest number of Palestinians killed in 2022, with 42 Palestinians killed, accounting for 20.5% of the total. The number increased in August as a result of the three-day Israeli attack on Islamic Jihad activists and sites in the Gaza Strip, dubbed Operation Breaking Dawn. October saw the next highest number of Palestinians killed (28), followed by 23 in April, 20 in November, 18 in September, and 17 in March, all in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Death toll based on gender

Table (4): Death toll based on gender

According to the findings, 75.9% of those killed were men and young men, 20% were children, and 3.9% were women. This indicates that the targets include all gender groups in society, particularly women and children, and is further evidence that Israeli forces do not abide by the relevant international legal rules when carrying out attacks and military campaigns in Palestinian cities and governorates.

Jamil Najm al-Deen Naijm (less than four years) and Alaa Abdullah Qaddoum (five years) were the two youngest children killed by Israeli airstrikes in North Gaza and Gaza on August 7 and 5, respectively, in 2022.

Death toll based on person killed

Table (5): Death toll based on person killed

According to research conducted by the Euro-Med Monitor team, 125 Palestinian civilians who were not involved in any acts of violence were killed, accounting for 61.2% of all killings in 2022. In addition to these people, seventeen others were killed while attempting to carry out stabbing attacks and vehicular assaults against Israelis, and 62 armed activists (both organised and unorganised) who worked with armed groups were killed.

The data indicate that Palestinian civilians were the main target of the Israeli army in 2022; most of those targets did not pose an imminent threat to the Israeli army, and were killed in unjustified operations and within contexts that lacked probable cause.

Death toll based on context of killing

Table (6): Death toll based on context of killing

Euro-Med Monitor documented the killing of 81 Palestinians during clashes or incursions carried out by the Israeli army in Palestinian cities or near military checkpoints, accounting for 39.7% of the total number of killings. Thirty people were specifically targeted and killed, four (not targeted) as a result of Israel’s targeted killing policy, and 25 due to air or artillery shelling in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, 11 people were killed in clashes with Israeli forces during their incursions into Palestinian cities, 30 while attempting to attack Israelis through shooting, running over, or stabbing them, and five during attacks by Israeli settlers. Four additional Palestinians were killed under various circumstances; two were chased and run over, one died due to abuse and detention, and a child who was attempting to sneak into a settlement was killed.

Death toll based on weapon used

Table (7): Death toll based on weapon used

Euro-Med Monitor documented the killing of 158 Palestinians as a result of live ammunition or shrapnel, with the majority of shots concentrated in the upper body of victims. Thirty-seven people were killed by air or artillery shelling, four by vehicular assault, one by being stabbed by a settler, one by tear gas, two by abuse and intimidation, and one by an explosive device placed to kill.

The numbers reflect the use of various forms of violence by Israel’s army, its security forces, and its settlers against Palestinians, which in many cases results in the denial of Palestinians’ sacred right to life and discourages their participation in any protest against illegal Israeli policies and practises.

Death toll based on party responsible for the killing

Table (8): Death toll based on party responsible for the killing

The report reveals that 198 Palestinians (97%) were killed in operations carried out by members of the Israeli military forces, i.e. the army, police, border control, and special units, while six were killed in attacks carried out by Israeli settlers.

Part III: Killings of Palestinians (patterns and testimonies)

Targeted killing

The Euro-Med Monitor team documented the targeted killings of 30 Palestinian activists in 2022, 23 of whom were killed in the West Bank and seven in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has a stated policy of carrying out extrajudicial killings against people it deems to be a threat to its security. Dozens of Palestinian political figures—not just military or security personnel—have been victims of targeted killings over the last few decades. These killings are typically carried out based on intelligence information, and involve the monitoring and tracking of the target. A political and military decision is then issued to carry out the killing operation, which is assigned to one of Israel’s army or security units. Israeli special forces carry out killing operations in the West Bank, while airstrikes are utilised in the Gaza Strip.

After years of pause in the West Bank, Israel carried out a targeted killing operation on 8 February 2022. On this date, a special Israeli army force used over 90 bullets to kill three young men who were among the most prominent armed activists in the Nablus Governorate: Adham Mabrouka, Mohammad Dakhil, and Ashraf Mubaslat. According to eyewitnesses and families of the deceased, the special force infiltrated Nablus at around 1:00pm using two vehicles, one private and the other public. The path of the vehicle carrying the three young men was blocked by the public vehicle, inside of which were uniformed soldiers who stepped out and fired a volley of bullets. After they stopped shooting, the soldiers opened the doors of the private vehicle to ensure that the men were dead, and retreated, leaving behind three corpses drenched in blood; body parts and blown-up heads were left scattered as a result of heavy fire.

In all cases but one, targeted killings by Israeli special forces in the West Bank were carried out against victims in vehicles or houses where trapped targets had barricaded themselves. The sole exception was activist Tamer Zeid al-Kilani (33), who was killed on 22 October 2022 by an improvised explosive device planted on a motorcycle he was passing by in the old city of Nablus. Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for this operation.

Targeted killings in Gaza were carried out by Israeli aircraft, as was the case in the most recent Israeli military attack on the Gaza Strip on 5 August 2022. An airstrike targeted an apartment building in which resided Tayseer Mahmoud al-Jabari (50), a prominent leader in the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and his assistant, Salama Mohareb Abed (30).

During targeted killings, Israel typically employs disproportionate force and rarely takes into account the presence of civilians in targeted areas. On 6 August 2022, for instance, Israeli aircraft dropped no less than six bombs on a three-story building containing rented apartments in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. The bombing resulted in the complete destruction of seven houses, including the targeted building, and caused rubble to fall on the heads of occupants. Seven people were killed, two of whom were a woman and a child, and 35 others were injured, including 12 women and 18 children.

The Israeli army announced at the time that the bombing had targeted another leader of the Al-Quds Brigades, Khaled Saeed Mansour (48). Mansour was killed along with two of his companions and four other civilians, all of whom were pulled from the rubble after searches that took several hours due to the massive destruction befalling the densely populated area.

The aforementioned cases and other disproportionate attacks violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes seeing as they violate the principle of proportionality, which is one of the fundamental pillars of international humanitarian law. The proportionality principle forbids attacks—even those against legitimate military targets—that would cause excessive harm to civilians or civilian property in relation to the expected military advantage. Violating this principle is considered to be a war crime, and all those involved in it must face criminal charges.

Summary execution

IDF soldiers frequently shoot to kill, at zero distance or from point-blank range, and often without probable cause or an imminent danger or threat that warrants the use of excessive or lethal force. This type of incident occurs at checkpoints and near concentrations of Israeli soldiers, where suspicion of individuals is often deemed sufficient to justify killing them. In some cases, executions occur even after an individual has been subdued by soldiers’ inflicting an injury or otherwise neutralising a threat.

Euro-Med Monitor’s review of killing contexts during the last year showed that Israeli forces carried out 32 summary executions, 18 of which followed allegations of carrying out or attempting to carry out a stabbing attack or vehicular assault against Israelis near Israeli checkpoints or hotspots, while the rest often occurred without probable cause or just due to suspicion.

The protection provided to soldiers by Israel’s political and military echelons, and thus the lack of accountability, is what contributes to the recurrence of these types of violations. If an investigation is opened, it is treated as a formality, resulting in the closure of the case file and a lack of accountability.

The killing of Ammar Hamdi Muflih (23) in the town of Hawara, south of Nablus, is an example of this type of crime. In a testimony to the Euro-Med Monitor team, Thaer Abu Salhia, an eyewitness to the killing of Muflih, said: “I went with a group of my friends for lunch at around 4:00pm on Friday, 2 December 2022, at a restaurant in Hawara. Meanwhile, I noticed a young man approaching a car with a settler couple inside, and as soon as the young man tapped on the car’s window, the settler guy fired three bullets at him from inside the car, hitting him along with my vehicle, which was parked nearby.”

Added Abu Salhia: “The young man was apparently injured by shrapnel from the settler’s gunfire. I spotted some blood on his face but no gun, sharp tool, or anything else was in his possession. A soldier from the Israeli Border Police arrived a few moments later and dragged the young man on the ground, attempting to arrest him, but the young man stood up and fought arrest.

“Two passers-by intervened and attempted to free the young man from the soldier who was determined on arresting him. When the young man managed to elude the soldier’s grasp, the latter drew his pistol from his right side and fired four shots from zero distance towards the upper parts of the young man’s body, particularly the abdomen area. The young man appeared to have died instantly.

“I was in shock, as was everyone else, and we didn’t know what to do. According to what I saw, the Israeli soldier had many options for subduing the young Palestinian man, especially since he was unarmed, but he chose to end the young man’s life in this manner.

“The army then sent large reinforcements to the area, preventing us from approaching the young man, and he was transported out of the town by an Israeli ambulance more than 20 minutes after the incident had occurred.”

In another testimony to Euro-Med Monitor by Muhammad Abu Haniyeh (18), a friend of the young man Ammar Shafiq Abu Afifa (19) who was shot dead by the Israeli army on 1 March 2022, said: “I was with Ammar the moment he was killed by the Israeli army, but I did not realise at the time that he had been killed. We were bored that day, so we contacted each other and decided to go for a walk in a mountainous area near the town of Beit Fajjar, north of Hebron, which is also close to our Arroub camp residence. Everything was normal that afternoon; we went to that area with nothing but two cups of coffee and some roasted watermelon seeds. We only saw a shepherd and the atmosphere was serene.”

He added: “We were hundreds of metres away from any Israeli military checkpoint or site when we heard heavy gunfire, only to be surprised that there was an Israeli force in the area, unlike usual. I could not accurately estimate the distance between us and the force, but it was within 200 metres at most.

“As soon as we heard the gunfire and noticed the presence of the force, we promptly started running away from the place. While we were running, I heard Ammar screaming and realised he was injured, but the heavy and continuous shooting forced me to keep running to avoid injury.

“I was able to safely leave the area and return to my house, where I discovered that Ammar had been killed in the incident. I couldn’t keep it together at the time. Ammar was more than a friend to me; he was like a brother. To this day, I don’t know why we were shot, why my friend was killed, or why they tried to kill me. We posed no threat to the Israeli army or the local settlers.”

Following his injury, the Israeli army detained Abu Afifa, announcing his death hours later. His body was not released until dawn the next day, about 12 hours after he was shot.

In an official statement about the incident, the IDF said that the two suspects approached a military observation post near the settlement of Migdal Oz in Hebron. The military force pursued them and “started a suspect arrest procedure, which included shooting at the suspects. Later, the death of one of them was determined. The incident is under investigation.” In contrast to previous statements made in similar incidents, the IDF did not indicate that Abu Afifa and his friend were throwing stones or attacking settlers; the statement did not mention the presence of any stones or the confiscation of any tools they might have had.

Killing during raids and clashes

The most common and frequent form of killing occurs during Israeli incursions into Palestinian neighbourhoods in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Some killings also occur due to excessive use of force during operations to suppress Palestinian protestors who confront Israeli army forces with stones, glass bottles, or Molotov cocktails, which are all common tools that pose no serious or imminent threat to soldiers’ lives. Furthermore, Israeli forces commit killings during these incursions in contexts devoid of confrontations, and thus without probable cause.

According to information collected by the Euro-Med Monitor team when following up, Israeli army forces conduct 20-25 daily raids and incursions on Palestinian cities and camps, often accompanied by gunfire and using a variety of ammunition. Some incursions begin with infiltration by Israeli special forces units that specialise in preparing ambushes and stationing snipers on high-rise residential buildings prior to the arrival of army reinforcements. This type of incursion frequently occurs when arrests or targeted killings of Palestinians are carried out. During this time, Israeli forces fire indiscriminately and deliberately at any moving object in the area they have stormed, and also use excessive force if protestors or stone-throwers are present.

Members of the Euro-Med Monitor team documented the deaths of 81 Palestinian civilians in Israeli shootings during incursions and confrontations in 2022, including 25 children and two women. All of these incidents occurred in scenarios without clear justification, and in which Israeli forces used excessive force.

The killings of a young man, Yazan al-Saadi, and a child, Sanad Abu al-Saber, in the Jenin refugee camp, are evidence of this pattern of crimes. According to testimonies gathered by Euro-Med Monitor, the Israeli army stormed the Jenin camp early on Thursday morning, 31 March 2022, and surrounded a house. Soldiers climbed the roofs of residential buildings and turned them into barracks for snipers.

Meanwhile, a group of young men and boys gathered and hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli army forces. The clashes spread to several streets in the camp, and the forces opened heavy fire on the demonstrators, killing two of them. Sanad Muhammad Khalil Abu al-Saber, 17, was fatally shot in the chest with live ammunition, while Yazan Nidal al-Saadi, aged 24, was killed after being shot multiple times with three bullets to the head, abdomen, and chest; both victims were from Jenin.

Killing of children

In 2022, children were a primary target for the Israeli army, as 41 children were killed in attacks and assaults carried out by Israeli forces in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Salah Zakarneh, a relative and neighbour of 16-year-old Jana Majdi Zakarneh, who was shot dead by the Israeli army during an incursion in the eastern neighbourhood of Jenin on the evening of 11 December 2022, spoke with the Euro-Med Monitor team about Jana. “Jana went up to her house’s roof that day to look for her cat, to whom she was very attached,” he said. “Meanwhile, the Israeli army stormed the area, and we heard gunshots. While all alone, Jana took advantage of her position on the roof to film the Israeli army storming her neighbourhood.”

He added: “Jana’s family home is close to mine, and after the Israeli army raid, which lasted about an hour and a half, the family realised Jana was missing. They went up to the roof to find her soaked in blood. She was then transferred to Jenin Governmental Hospital, but she had definitely died before the transfer because it had been a long time between her last documented activity and the time she was found…according to what we saw, Jana took one final photo of the Israeli army raid with her mobile phone at around 10:20 that evening, and we found her at around midnight. It was a huge shock.”

Regarding the nature of the injury, Zakarneh said, “Jana sustained four bullet wounds: one in her right shoulder, one in her left shoulder, one in her face, and one in her head. An autopsy conducted at the hospital revealed that the bullets that had struck her body were of the armour-piercing variety.” (Armour-piercing bullets are a type of ammunition commonly used by the Israeli military.)

The Israeli army issued an official statement about the incident on 12 December 2022, stating that after a preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the girl who was killed was hit by unintentional gunfire targeting armed men on a rooftop in the area.

Rafiq Yamin, the father of Ghaith Yamin, also 16, who was shot dead by the Israeli army in Nablus on 25 May 2022, told the Euro-Med Monitor team: “The Israeli army and settlers stormed the so-called Joseph’s Tomb area in Nablus around 11:00pm on Tuesday, 24 May. Ghaith, as usual, went out with the neighbourhood children to throw stones at Israeli army forces. I called him, and he said he was on Amman Street, east of Nablus, and was relatively far away from the clashes with the Israeli army. I asked him to come home, and he said he’d be there in ten minutes.”

Added Yamin, “It was 1:00am and he hadn’t returned home, so I called him again, but he didn’t answer, which was usual. His brother went to check on him and called me shortly afterwards to tell me that Ghaith had been shot in the head and was taken to Rafidia Surgical Hospital.

“We went there and discovered that the bullet entered his head from below his left ear and exited through his right, causing his brain to splatter and skull to almost completely shatter. Doctors declared him dead nearly two hours later.

“Those who were present at the time Ghaith was shot told me that the Israeli army did not fire indiscriminately, but rather intended to kill Ghaith,” said his father. “Two soldiers were inside an unfinished building, and one was directing the other to shoot Ghaith. The building from which the soldier fired was only about 20 metres away from Ghaith.”

Killing of women

The Israeli forces killed eight Palestinian women in 2022, including five from the West Bank (three were field-executed, and two were killed during raids on Palestinian neighbourhoods). The victims are Ghada Ibrahim Sabateen, 45, who was killed on 10 April after being shot directly by Israeli army forces in the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, claiming she approached the soldiers even though she suffered from diplopia; Maha Kazem Zaatari, 25, killed the same day by Israeli forces for allegedly attempting to carry out a stabbing attack; Hanan Khaddour, 19, who died as a result of injury after being shot by Israeli army forces in Jenin on 18 April; Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, a prominent journalist who was killed after being exposed to direct fire from Israeli forces while working in the Jenin camp, on 11 May; and a younger journalist, Ghufran Haroun Warasneh, 30, who was field-executed by Israeli forces on 1 June.

During the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip in August, three women were killed, the first of whom was Duniana Attia al-Amour, 22, who was killed on 5 August by artillery shelling that targeted her house east of Khan Yunis at the start of the attack. Hana Ismail al-Khalidi, 30, and Alaa al-Malahi, 30, were killed in their homes on 6 August during an Israeli bombing targeting the leader of the Al-Quds Brigades, Khaled Saeed Mansour.

Ali, the brother of Ghada Ibrahim Sabateen (45), who was executed by the Israeli army in the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, told the Euro-Med Monitor team: “On 10 April 2022, while walking in Husan’s al-Shorfa neighbourhood, my sister came across an Israeli army checkpoint and approached it without realising, because she had double vision (diplopia) which prevented her from seeing objects normally. The soldiers yelled at her, but she had no idea what was going on. After a few seconds, one of the soldiers shot her in the thigh from zero distance.”

He added, “I quickly arrived at the scene with a group of people, but soldiers raised weapons at us and did not allow us to come closer or transfer her to receive medical assistance. They left her lying on the ground while she bled out, as the bullet struck a major artery in her thigh, causing severe bleeding.

“I saw one of the soldiers wrap what appeared to be a rope around the wound, but the intervention was too late, and the method was primitive and ineffective. After about 15 minutes, they allowed us to approach, and I rushed her to Bethlehem’s Beit Jala Governmental Hospital (Al-Hussein), where doctors announced her death. My sister posed no threat to the soldiers and was not carrying any sharp objects. She was executed in cold blood.

“My sister was a widow raising six orphans who now have no one since their mother was killed,” Ghada Sabateen’s brother said. “It is a devastating loss for everyone. The army claimed that an investigation was launched, but no official party has contacted us, and no perpetrators have been punished thus far.”

Following the execution of Sabateen, the Israeli army admitted in an official statement that she was not carrying a weapon and that the incident is under investigation.

Killing of journalists

The killing of journalists in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been recurring at an alarming rate in the last two decades. Since 2000, the Israeli army has killed 40 journalists during attacks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In 2022, Israeli army forces killed two Palestinian journalists: Shireen Abu Akleh, an Al-Jazeera correspondent, and Ghufran Haroun Warasneh, a presenter for the local Dream radio station.

A prominent Palestinian journalist, Abu Akleh held American citizenship and worked as a correspondent for the Al-Jazeera channel in the West Bank. Abu Akleh was killed while covering the Israeli army’s storming of the Jenin camp. Israel attempted to avoid responsibility for her killing by presenting the public with several false narratives, but a series of investigations by both Palestinian and international bodies confirmed that she was killed by an Israeli sniper.

According to testimonies gathered by Euro-Med Monitor at the time of Abu Akleh’s death, a vehicle carrying a group of journalists arrived at the first roundabout in Jenin camp at around 6:30am on Wednesday, 11 May 2022, to cover the Israeli army’s incursion into the camp, as army forces were deployed in the area and snipers stationed on rooftops. According to an eyewitness, “One of the Israeli snipers shot her with a bullet below the ear, specifically in the only area that is not covered by the helmet” as Abu Akleh exited the vehicle wearing a protective vest marked “PRESS”.

The nature of Abu Akleh’s injury suggests that the Israeli army intentionally shot her in a fatal area, as army soldiers continued to shoot anyone who tried to approach her, hindering her rescue for several minutes. In the same incident, journalist Ali Sammoudi was shot in the back and taken to the hospital in moderate condition. In a video recorded at the hospital where he was receiving treatment, Sammoudi stated that “Soldiers opened fire on us without warning while we were covering the Israeli army operation in Jenin camp. Shireen was shot in the head and I was shot in the back. There were no armed Palestinians in the area when the Israeli army opened fire on us.”

Euro-Med Monitor followed a statement from journalist Mujahid al-Saadi, who had witnessed the event, saying: “I gathered with my fellow journalists near the Israeli army’s whereabouts, and we were dressed in distinctive clothing because of our journalistic work. I advanced with a female colleague for a short distance until we were exposed to the Israeli army gathering area.

“We waited for our two colleagues, Shireen Abu Akleh and Ali Sammoudi, to arrive at our location. When we [four journalists] arrived in front of a factory, there was shooting, so I took cover behind a wall. The shooting continued, and I noticed Shireen had been shot below the ear, and anyone who tried to reach her was shot at. I was behind the fence, she was below it, and our colleague, Ali, was injured but managed to flee the Israeli sniper’s aim quickly”, al-Saadi added.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed that it conducted an independent investigation into the incident, stating that all of the information it gathered—including official information from the Israeli army and the Palestinian public prosecutor—is consistent with the conclusion that the bullets that killed Abu Akleh and injured Sammoudi were fired by Israeli security forces and not by Palestinian gunmen shooting indiscriminately, as Israeli authorities initially claimed.

OHCHR’s findings indicate that shortly after 6:00am on 11 May 2022, seven journalists, including Abu Akleh, arrived at the western entrance to the Jenin refugee camp, in the northern occupied West Bank, to cover an arrest operation carried out by the Israeli forces and the clashes that followed. The journalists confirmed that they chose a side street to avoid the Palestinian armed men inside the camp, and walked very slowly so that the Israeli forces stationed in the street could see them and recognise their presence. According to the findings of the OHCHR, no warning was issued by Israeli forces, and there was no shooting at that time in that particular location.

According to OHCHR’s press briefing: “At around 06h30, as four of the journalists turned into the street leading to the camp, wearing bulletproof helmets and flak jackets with “PRESS” markings, several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them from the direction of the Israeli Security Forces.

“One single bullet injured Ali Sammoudi in the shoulder, another single bullet hit [Shireen] Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly. Several further single bullets were fired as an unarmed man attempted to approach Abu Akleh’s body and another uninjured journalist sheltering behind a tree. Shots continued to be fired as this individual eventually managed to carry away Abu Akleh’s body.”

Journalist Ghufran Haroun Warasneh, killed on 1 June 2022 when Israeli soldiers opened fire at her near the entrance to the Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, was shot in the upper body with live ammunition and taken to the Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron, where she was later pronounced dead.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported at the time that the Israeli army blocked its crews from reaching the location for about half an hour before allowing them to transfer Warasneh to a hospital in Hebron; the army claimed in a statement that Warasneh approached several soldiers at the camp’s entrance with a knife, so they shot her directly.

Settler attacks

Euro-Med Monitor documented the killing of six Palestinians, including a child, in assaults and attacks carried out by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

After reviewing the specifics of their deaths, the Euro-Med Monitor team discovered that three of the victims were killed in vehicular assaults carried out by settlers; Mustafa Falana was killed on 6 January 2022, and two brothers—Mohammad and Muhannad Youssef Mutair—were killed on 17 December 2022. Estimates indicate that the attacks were intentional, yet Israeli authorities have not pursued any accountability steps, as is generally the case in vehicular assaults carried out by Palestinians against Israelis.

Amjad Abu Alia, 16, was killed on 29 July 2022, after being shot by a settler in the presence of Israeli forces during the suppression of an anti-settlement demonstration in the Ramallah village of al-Mughayyir. Ali Harb was killed on 21 June 2022, after being stabbed by a settler in the town of Iskaka in Salfit, and Nidal Jaafra was killed by a settler’s gunfire; the settler claimed that Jaafra was responsible for a stabbing attack in Bethlehem on 31 March 2022.

According to information gathered by the Euro-Med Monitor team, a settler intentionally ran over the 19-year-old Mutair brothers, Mohammad and Muhannad, near the Zatara military checkpoint south of Nablus. The brothers were standing on the side of the road repairing a tire on the vehicle they had been driving in with family members when a settler purposefully rammed them with his own vehicle and fled the scene. Mohammad was killed instantly, while Muhannad was critically injured and taken to the hospital; he was later declared dead due to injury.

In his testimony about the incident, Ahmed Youssef Mutair, the brother of the two victims, recounts: “Around 5:30pm, on our way back from Nablus, the car we were riding in broke down, and we were unable to proceed.  We pulled over to the side of the road, which was very wide, and we were visible to everyone; even if huge trucks passed in front of us, they could pass without trouble.”

He added, “In addition to turning on the lights, we had put a sign on the side of the road indicating that we were repairing the car. We were a little taken aback by a settler driving his car on the way to Nablus and we paid no attention to the matter. Suddenly, we saw the same vehicle returning to us at high speed. We only heard a loud explosion [the crash], and then the settler quickly drove away.

“We looked for our car but couldn’t find it. We yelled at the top of our lungs, ‘Mohammad! Muhannad!’ several times, but no one answered, so we looked down the street, and their bodies were cut open and the car smashed. We collapsed to the ground, shocked and horrified.”

“What happened to us was an intentional and premeditated killing and run-over attack,” Mutair asserted.

Conclusion

Based on extensive field documentation and data gathered through interviews conducted by members of Euro-Med Monitor’s team, in addition to information acquired via official bodies regarding the killings of Palestinians by Israeli army forces and Israeli settlers in 2022, the report concluded several results, most notably the following:

• The number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank has risen compared to previous years, due to loose open-fire regulations that give the Israeli army immunity and protection when using lethal and excessive force despite the lack of an imminent threat. The authorisation from the Israeli political echelon for the army and security forces to act with “complete freedom” under the pretext of “countering terrorism” appears to have paved the way for the unjustified killing and abuse of Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints and in cities, villages, and towns throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
• The practises of Israeli forces during their incursions into Palestinian cities in the West Bank, and during their military operations in the Gaza Strip, involve serious violations of international humanitarian law, both contractual and customary. These violations breach the provisions of the Hague Regulations of 1947 on the Laws and Customs of War on Land. The high number of deaths and injuries caused by Israeli army forces’ use of live ammunition demonstrates Israel’s non-compliance with international law.
• Israel’s resumption of targeted killings in the West Bank contributed to an increase in confrontations with Palestinians.
• Jenin, followed by Nablus, were the hardest hit in terms of killings in the West Bank in 2022, due to the ongoing Israeli campaign against these two governorates, which has resulted in the formation of armed Palestinian groups such as the Jenin Battalion and the Lions’ Den Group. According to data gathered by Euro-Med Monitor, several killings involved the harming of unarmed individuals.
• Israeli army forces expanded the policy of summary executions at roadblocks and checkpoints. In most cases, there was no probable cause or necessity for the killings, as individuals could have been subdued without being killed.
• Targeting, shooting, and killing women and children was a routine practise of Israeli forces, who failed to provide a minimum level of protection for all Palestinian civilians, including the most vulnerable.
• Israel has turned a blind eye to attacks carried out by its settlers, which in some cases have included killings and assaults, with the protection of Israeli forces.
• There is no effective Israeli system of accountability for killings by Israeli soldiers, and in the rare cases in which an investigation is opened, the file is often closed or ignored. Israeli persistence in using lethal force against Palestinian civilians is an inevitable result of the lack of internal accountability within Israel, on the one hand, and the policy of the international community, on the other, which consistently permits Israel to evade punishment.

Recommendations

Based on the previous data, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor calls on:

Israeli authorities to immediately halt unlawful targeted killings, summary executions, and excessive use of force resulting in death, as these are gross violations of the right to life and a breach of international law and international humanitarian law. Israeli authorities must establish new, serious, and meaningful mechanisms to investigate unlawful killings and ensure that its officers and soldiers are held accountable for committing such killings.

The European Union to review the implementation of its partnership agreement with the Israeli government in light of Israeli violations of the provisions related to respect for human rights and principles of democracy. Euro-Med Monitor further calls for the halting of cooperation programmes until the Israeli government meets its obligations and ceases the gross violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Relevant United Nations mechanisms and bodies to take urgent action to protect civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and ensure investigation and accountability for gross violations that may constitute war crimes.

The High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfil their obligations as per Article 1 of the Convention, which requires them to respect and ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances. Furthermore, they must prosecute those accused of grave violations of the Convention, and put an end to the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of grave violations in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, at both the political and military levels.

The International Criminal Court to commence its investigations without delay, and handle the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the same manner as it does with similar cases in other regions of the world.

Full report