Palestine in Pictures: February 2019
Palestinians take cover after Israeli forces fire tear gas toward protesters during Great March of Return demonstrations east of Gaza City on 1 February.
ActiveStills
1 March 2019
Israeli occupation forces killed four Palestinian children and one adult during the month of February.
A sixth Palestinian, Ahmad Ghazi Abbas Abu Jabal, 30, died on 3 February from wounds sustained during protests along Gaza’s boundary with Israel the previous month.
The four children killed during the month were all injured by Israeli fire against Palestinians protesting along Gaza’s boundary with Israel during Great March of Return demonstrations.
Hasan Iyad Abd al-Fattah Shalabi, 13, was shot in the chest and killed during protests east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on 8 February.
That same day, Hamza Muhammad Rushdi Ishtaiwi, 17, was fatally shot in the neck during protests east of Gaza City.
Hasan Nabil Ahmad Nofal, 16, died after he was struck in the head with an Israeli-fired tear gas canister during protests east of Bureij in central Gaza on 12 February.
Yusif Said Hussein al-Dayeh, 14, was shot in the chest and killed during protests east of Gaza City on 22 February.
A 21-year-old man in the West Bank, Abdallah Faisal Tawalbeh, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at al-Jalameh checkpoint near Jenin on 4 February.
Crimes against humanity
Sixteen Palestinians – seven of them children – have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza so far this year.
Nine of those killed were fatally injured during Great March of Return protests. A UN commission of inquiry stated in late February that Israel’s use of military force against unarmed demonstrators in Gaza – resulting in the killing of 190 Palestinians and the wounding by live fire of nearly 8,000 more – may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Two Palestinians – Yasir Hamid Ishtayeh and Faris Baroud – died in Israeli detention during the month of February.
Tunnel deaths
Three Palestinians died inside Gaza tunnels during the month.
Gaza’s interior ministry stated that Abd al-Hamid al-Akar, a 39-year-old police officer, and Subhi Abu Qarushain, 28, died after Egypt pumped poison gas into a tunnel while the two men were attempting to rescue three workers who had called for help.
Ibrahim Hamdan Qudeih, a 24-year-old member of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, died of a heart attack while working inside a “resistance tunnel” in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
Also during the month of February a Palestinian man was arrested and charged with the rape and murder of Ori Ansbacher, a 19-year-old Israeli woman.
Palestinian factions have repudiated Israel’s secret police claims of a nationalist motive for the woman’s killing. A senior official with the Fatah faction, imprisoned by Israel, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz: “If an Arab girl had been there, he would have done the same thing. There is nothing nationalist in his acts.”
Palestinians protest against Israel’s blockade at the Gaza City sea port on 5 February.APA images
A trash dump between the West Bank villages of Azzoun and Jayyous, 8 February. Without any solid waste management, Palestinian residents have disposed of their trash at open dumpsites. Palestinians in the West Bank also grapple with illegal dumping of Israeli waste, including toxins and chemicals.ActiveStills
Palestinians relax in Wadi Qana, near Deir Istiya, West Bank, on 8 February. Wadi Qana has been declared a natural park by the Israeli authorities, preventing Palestinian owners from managing their land. The valley is surrounded by settlements and is a popular place for both Palestinians and Israelis. ActiveStills
Construction cranes tower over Barkan settlement industrial zone, near Salfit in the West Bank, 8 February.ActiveStills
Ahmad Obeidat, a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem, demolishes part of his home in the Jabal al-Mukaber neighborhood of the city on 9 February. Obeidat was forced to either arrange for the demolition of his home himself, or pay for the demolition by the Jerusalem municipality, which rarely issues building permits to Palestinians as part of its efforts to push them out of the city.WAFA/APA images
A Palestinian sits at a cafe next to Israel’s wall built inside Bethlehem, West Bank, 11 February.ActiveStills
The rubble of the Abu al-Hija family home which was destroyed by Israeli forces the night before in al-Walaja village, 11 February. The demolition displaced seven Palestinians, including two children. Israel routinely demolishes homes in al-Walaja, which is mostly built in Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli military rule.ActiveStills
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas meets with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh on 12 February.APA images
A Palestinian man argues with Israeli forces as they guard bulldozers demolishing a water network on Palestinian land near Yatta village, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, on 13 February. Israeli authorities regularly demolish basic infrastructure built by Palestinians living in Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli military control. APA images
Nizam Muna, 41, works at his upholstery shop in the West Bank city of Nablus on 13 February. Muna has been in the sewing and upholstery profession for 33 years.APA images
Palestinians protest during Great March of Return demonstrations east of Gaza City on 15 February.
APA images
A paramedic treats a Palestinian protester injured by tear gas fired by Israeli forces during Great March of Return protests east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, 15 February.
APA images
Palestinians protest on the beach along Gaza’s northern boundary with Israel, across from Kibbutz Zikim, on 19 February as part of the Great Marc of Return series of demonstrations.
APA images
The family of Yusif al-Dayeh, 14, shot in the chest and killed by Israeli forces during Great March of Return protests the previous day, mourn during the boy’s funeral in Gaza City on 23 February.
APA images
Palestinians call for the resignation of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas during a protest in Gaza City on 24 February.
APA images
Hayat al-Kilani, 81, prepares traditional salted cheese at her home in the West Bank city of Jenin, 25 February.
APA images
Palestinian protesters calling themselves the “night confusion units” near the central Gaza Strip’s boundary with Israel on 12 February. Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza have joined night protests, during which they set tires on fire and chant slogans through loudspeakers while marching towards the boundary with Israel.
APA images
Mariam Haj Ali, 86, makes trays and baskets by weaving natural fibers at her home in the village of Jamain near the West Bank city of Nablus,27February.
APA images
Khalida Jarrar, a leftist Palestinian lawmaker, is greeted in the West Bank city of Ramallah following her release from Israeli prison, where she was held without charge or trial for 20 months.
APA images