Documentation of the Israeli abuse of power, mistreatment of humanity, and perpetration of the genocidal war on the Palestinian people in the  Gaza Strip.

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On Day 438 of US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Strip, 7 Massacres, 31 Palestinians Killed, 79 Injured, in the Past 24 Hours, with a Death Toll of  45,059 and 107,041 Injuries

by December 17, 2024

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Editor's Notes:  

Here are some initial (not final) statistics, which show the Israeli war crimes against humanity, during the current Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip, based on the reliable data reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza:

By December 17, 2024, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 55,059+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (45,059), those who are still missing under the rubble (an estimate of at least 10,000+). 

By December 17, 2024, the documented injuries exceeded 107,041.

By December 16, 2024, 816 Palestinians who were killed, 6,588 who were injured, and 10,459*, who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023, including 310 women and 640 children (Some of the detainees have been released).

* The number of the Palestinians detainees who remain in the Israeli occupation prisons has been updated to 11,900 by Wafa, on December 9, 2024.

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Two Palestinian young men, Mu'hammed Zaki Al-Ashqar and Dhiyaa Shareef Salmi, were killed by the Israeli occupation forces, east of Qalqilya, on Decem- ber 17, 2024.	A Palestinian couple grieving the death of their baby, who was killed by an Israeli genocidal air strike on the Gaza Strip, file, December 17, 2024.
31 Palestinians were killed, 79 were injured by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on the Gaza Strip, file, December 17, 2024.	The Israeli destruction of entire Palestinian cities in Gaza is a clear manifestation of genocide for the past 14 months, and a primary tool for its implementation, December 17, 2024.
By Day 438 of the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian death toll rose to 45,059 and the injuries to 107,041, file, December 17, 2024.	Palestinian children continue to constitute the majority of the victims of the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, file, December 17, 2024.
Grieving the death of Palestinian family members, who were killed by an Israeli genocidal air strike on their home, in Gaza city, on December 17, 2024.	Funeral procession of Martyr Mu'hammed Abu Kishk, who was killed by the Israeli occupation forces, in the 'Asker refugee camp, east of Nablus, on December 2024.

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بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

"مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا"  (الْمَائِدَةُ ، 5: 32).

"وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا" (النِّسَاءُ ، 4: 93).

"إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ " (الإسْرَاءُ ، 17: 7). 

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

"Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption in the land, it is as if he had killed humankind entirely" (The Holy Quran, Al-Ma-ida, 5: 32).

"And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him, and has cursed him, and has prepared for him a great torment" (Al-Nisa, 4: 93).

"If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, (you do it) to yourselves" (Al-Isra, 17: 7). 

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While brutal force has been used to create Zionist Israel and sustain it thus far, Zionist claims to Palestine are false. Actually, from the five thousand years of known written human history, there has been a continuous Palestinian-Canaanite presence in the Holy Land. Despite the Zionist false claims, the ancient Israelites ruled part of the land for only 85 years (during the reign of Prophets David and Solomon , peace be upon them, and Solomon's son).

 After that, the Egyptians conquered Palestine-Canaan in 925 BC, followed by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, before the Arab Muslim rule, starting from 636 AD.

By the Time Jesus, peace be upon him, started his mission, the three population groups of Canaanites, Palestinians, and Israelites were melted together in religion and language. Most of them became Christians when Constantine converted in 313 AD. Then, most of them became Muslims in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

So, Palestinian Muslims, Christians, and Jews are the ones who have the right to claim descent from ancient Israelites, Palestinians, and Canaanites, not Zionists from other continents.

No matter what the Zionists and their supporters do, they cannot change the will of God, Who promised the Holy Land to Abraham and his descendants, basically the Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

No matter how much persecution and aggression the Zionists and their supporters inflict upon the Palestinian people, they will never be able to force them out of the Holy Land, which Allah, praise to Him, promised for them, and kept His promise ever since.

This is a necessary brief background to understand the US-Backed Zionist Israeli continuous wars against the Arab nation generally, and the Palestinian people in particular, which included the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, 1978, 1982, the brutal crushing of the two Uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2004), 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, and the current genocidal war on Gaza (Since October 7, 2023), which has culminated a blockade of Gaza since 2007. In addition, the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime launched so many covert operations, raids, and air strikes on many Arab states since 1948.

The following news stories are just examples, not a systematic record, of the Israeli occupation government abuse, mistreatment, and violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis.

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Killing and Injuring of Palestinians in Ghazza (Gaza) by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces

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Death toll across Gaza Strip surges to 45,059, over 107,041 injured

GAZA, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Israeli occupation forces committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, resulting in the killing of at least 31 Palestinians and the injury of 79 others, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Local health authorities confirmed that the Palestinian death toll from the Israeli onslaught since October 7, 2023 has risen to 45,059 reported fatalities, with an additional 107,041 individuals sustaining injuries. The majority of the victims are women and children.

According to the same sources, emergency services are still unable to reach many casualties and dead bodies trapped under the rubble or scattered on roads across the war-torn enclave, as Israeli occupation forces continue to obstruct the movement of ambulance and civil defense crews.

Israel's genocidal onslaught continues unabated despite calls from the United Nations Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Y.S.

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Israeli genocidal war on Gaza enters Day 438

Tuesday 17-December-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

In the midst of catastrophic humanitarian suffering for more than two million Palestinians — half of them children, the Israeli occupation army continued, for the 438th consecutive day, to pound and target different areas and massacre more civilians in the Gaza Strip, especially in the northern areas.

Reporters for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said on Tuesday that the Israeli occupation army carried out attacks on several homes, civilian targets and shelter centers in different areas of Gaza during the past 24 hours, killing and injuring dozens of citizens.

The Israeli army’s large-scale genocidal campaign in northern Gaza, especially in Jabalya and Bait Lahya, has entered day 74, where its forces continue to intensively bomb homes and shelters and attack civilians while imposing a tight siege on the entire area.

Deliberate Israeli attacks on ambulance and civil defense workers already deprived northern Gaza of any rescue services.

Local sources said that the Israeli army bombed the Kamal 'Udwan Hospital’s gate in northern Gaza, killing one citizen and injuring others.

Israeli warplanes also bombed a house belonging to the family of Al-Da’our sheltering two displaced families in Bait Lahya, north of Gaza, killing over 15 people.

Another airstrike on civilians near the Sala'h Shahada Mosque in Bait Lahya claimed the lives of four people and injured several others.

Two people were also killed and others were injured in an Israeli strike near the Bilal Bin Raba'h Mosque in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City.

Civil defense rescuers also managed to evacuate one martyr and two wounded people after Israeli forces opened fire at citizens in Al-Mawasi area in western Rafa'h, south of Gaza.

In central Gaza, one civilian was martyred and over 10 people were seriously injured in Israeli strikes on citizens and a civilian car in Al-Hasayna area, west of Al-Nusayrat refugee camp.

A warplane bombed an apartment in Palestine plaza in central Gaza, killing 10 people from the same family, including children and women, and injuring others.

More casualties were reported in other areas of Gaza following Israeli aerial, artillery and shooting attacks last night and today.

In a related context, the health ministry in Gaza said on Tuesday that the Israeli army committed three massacres in different areas of the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, and killed and injured at least 110 civilians, while a large number of victims are still under the rubble of bombed buildings or lying on roads.

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Palestinian Ministry of Education: Over 12,799 Palestinian students killed, 20,942 injured since start of Israeli aggression on October 7,2023

GAZA, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

The Palestinian Ministry of Education said that 12,799 students were killed and 20,942 were injured since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on October 7, 2023.

The Ministry said in a statement that the number of students who were killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression reached more than 12,681, and those who were injured reached 20,311, while in the West Bank 118 students were killed and 631 others were injured, in addition to the arrest of 538.

It affirmed that 598 teachers and administrators were killed and 3,801 were injured in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and more than 158 were detained in the West Bank.

The Ministry pointed out that 425 government schools, universities and their buildings, and 65 affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), were bombed and vandalized in the Gaza Strip.

It also confirmed that 788,000 students in the Gaza Strip are still deprived of attending their schools and universities since the beginning of the aggression, while most students suffer from psychological trauma and face difficult health conditions.

Y.S. 

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Ten civilians killed and others injured in Israeli airstrike on apartment in central Gaza Strip

GAZA, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Ten civilians from one family, including children and women, were killed and others were injured after Israeli occupation warplanes  targeted, at dawn an apartment belonging to the Al-Turk family near the Jabalya parking lot in the Palestine Square area, in the center of Gaza  Strip.

The targeting led to extensive destruction of the building, amid extreme difficulty in rescue and evacuation operations due to the ongoing shelling.

In a dangerous development in the northern Gaza Strip, the occupation forces continued their aggression and targeting of Kamal 'Udwan Hospital, where drones launched more than 10 bombs at the hospital, while the occupation forces deployed three explosive bombs in its vicinity.

The hospital suffers from a complete power outage and a shortage of medicines and medical supplies as a result of the repeated bombing and siege imposed on the area.

Meanwhile, intensive artillery shelling continues north of Nuseirat camp and east of Khuza'a town in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, while Rafa'h city is witnessing continuous bulldozing and demolition of citizens' homes.

In the southwest of Gaza Strip, occupation forces opened heavy fire in the Tal al-Hawa area, while warships targeted areas surrounding the Al-'Alam roundabout, 'Izbet Al-Nada, and Al-Firdaws area west of Rafa'h.

The occupation forces have continued their aggression on the Gaza Strip by air, land, and sea since October 7, 2023, which has led to the killing  of 45,059 citizens and the injury of 107,041 citizens.

Y.S.

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Israeli occupation army blows up several building, residential blocks in Rafa'h

GAZA, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

The Israeli occupation forces today blew up buildings and residential blocks in the city of Rafa'h, south of the Gaza Strip.

Local sources said that the occupation blew up buildings west of Al-Mawasi area of ​​Rafa'h.

He pointed out that the area is witnessing a displacement movement, after the occupation forces infiltrated and opened heavy fire in conjunction with the demolition of residential buildings, while the occupation snipers are deployed around the area.

He pointed out that several civilians were injured, some of them seriously, as a result of the occupation shooting them in Al-Mawasi area.

A fire also broke out in the cafeteria of the huts on the beach of Rafa'h after it was targeted by the occupation vehicles that penetrated Al-Mawasi area of ​​Rafah.

This incursion and demolition of buildings comes at a time when the occupation is firing heavily towards citizens' homes.

A footage taken two days ago showed the massive and extensive destruction caused by the occupation's bombing and destruction of residential buildings in the city.

According to a report issued by human rights organizations, the initial data that was obtained from Rafah through statements from residents, satellite images, and video clips published by Israeli soldiers, show that the governorate was almost completely wiped out.

The report indicated that many neighborhoods in Khan Younus were completely wiped out, as well as many residential blocks in the neighborhoods of Al-Shuja'iyya and Zeitoun in the south and east of Gaza, as well as the area located along the so-called "Netzarim Axis" from the south and north.

Y.S.

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Euro-Med: Israel expands urbicide as tool of genocide in Gaza

Tuesday 17-December-2024

GENEVA, (PIC)

The Euro-Med Monitor said the Israeli occupation army destruction of entire Palestinian cities and neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip is a clear manifestation of the crime of genocide Israel has been committing in the Gaza Strip for the past 14 months, and a primary tool for its implementation.

The Euro-Med added, in a statement on Tuesday, that this crime has not been confined to the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians or the gradual decimation of two million people’s basic survival elements, but also has extended to the complete annihilation of Palestinian cities, obliterating their architectural and civilizational fabric.

This systematic destruction aims to erase the Palestinian national and cultural identity, impose permanent forced displacement, prevent return, dismantle communities, and eradicate their collective memory. It is a deliberate attempt to eliminate their physical and human existence while destroying their past, present, and future, it added.

The Euro-Med explained that information documented by its field team, alongside testimonies from families forcibly displaced from northern Gaza, reveals that the Israeli occupation army has pursued, since its third ground assault on the northern Gaza Strip starting 5 October 2024, a policy of comprehensive erasure and destruction.

Methods employed include demolition using robots and booby-trapped barrels, aerial bombardment with destructive ordnance, planting explosives for remote demolition, and bulldozing using Israeli military and civilian machinery.

The pattern of devastation demonstrates that it is not militarily necessary but serves the deliberate purpose of erasing the Palestinian material and cultural presence. This constitutes a grave breach of international law, the statement highlighted.

It pointed out that the Israeli occupation army targeted dozens of archaeological and urban landmarks, such as mosques, churches, archaeological sites, historical buildings in Gaza City, in addition to public and private museums, cultural centers and universities that constitute an essential part of Gaza’s civilized identity.

The Euro-Med renewed its calls for all countries to assume their international responsibilities, stop genocide and all heinous crimes committed in the Gaza Strip, and protect civilians there.

It also called for the implementation of the ICC’s arrest warrants against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli minister of war, Yoav Gallant, at first opportunity, and handing them over to international justice. 

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Killing, Injuring, and Abduction of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces 

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Two Palestinian men shot, killed by Israeli occupation forces east of Qalqilya

QALQILYA, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Two Palestinian young men were killed by the Israeli occupation forces' bullets today near the Soufeen area east of Qalqilya.

The Red Crescent Society reported that its crews transferred the bodies of two slain Palestinians near the racist separation and expansion wall in the Soufeen area east of Qalqilya. They were transferred to Qalqilya Governmental Hospital.

The two slain Palestinians were identified as Mu'hammed Zaki Al-Ashqar and Dhiyaa Shareef Salmi, from the city Qalqilya.

Y.S.

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Over 12 Palestinians kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, including former detainees

RAMALLAH, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Israeli occupation forces have kidnapped at least 12 Palestinians from various areas of the West Bank since yesterday evening, continuing their ongoing crackdown on the local population.

According to the Palestinian Authority's Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society, The detentions were distributed among the governorates of Al-Khaleel (Hebron), Ramallah, Nablus, Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), and Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

 The raids were accompanied by assaults, threats against detainees and their families, and widespread destruction of property, including damage to homes.

This latest wave of detentions is part of Israel's broader campaign of suppression that has escalated sharply since the beginning of its ongoing genocidal onslaught on Gaza in October 2023. Since then, over 12,100 Palestinians have been detained from the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to local authorities.

The systematic nature of these detentions is a key component of Israeli policy, with large-scale detentions being carried out as part of the ongoing military attacks.  

It is important to note that the figures provided here refer only to detentions made in the West Bank, not including Gaza, where the number of detentions is also significant.

Y.S.

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Israeli occupation regime police kidnap Aqsa Mosque guard from holy site

Tuesday 17-December-2024

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), (PIC)

The Israeli occupation police kidnapped on Monday evening one of the Aqsa Mosque guards in Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

Eyewitnesses said that police officers kidnapped Mu'hammed Al-Zaghal as he was doing his job at Al-Aqsa Mosque’s Al-Hitta Gate, adding that the police took him to the Qishla detention center in the Old City.

Usually, the Israeli police banish Al-Aqsa guards and employees from Al-Aqsa Mosque for several days after detaining them for hours or days.

For years, the Israeli police have been persecuting Islamic Awqaf employees, Al-Aqsa guards and Muslim worshipers, while providing protection for the illegal Israeli Jewish settlers’ daily mass break-ins and provocations at the Mosque.

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IOFs kidnap several Palestinians, illegal settlers attack house in the West Bank

Tuesday 17-December-2024

WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) kidnapped last night and Tuesday morning a number of Palestinian citizens in the West Bank, while extremist Jewish settlers attacked at dawn a house in Ramallah.

According to local sources, the IOFs kidnapped a young man from Teqoa town in Bethlehem and detained other citizens during raids in the towns of 'Husan and Nahaleen to the west.

Local sources in 'Husan and Na'haleen said that the IOFs raided several homes in the towns and herded about 35 citizens into the courtyard of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Mosque in Husan, where they were interrogated before they were released later.

In Ramallah, the IOF kidnaped a young man after intercepting his car near the entrance of Sinjil town and kidnaped two others from their homes in Beerih city and Al-Mazra’a Al-Gharbiya town.

In Jineen, Israeli forces stormed Jaba' town and ransacked several homes, while other special forces raided a house in Tubas City.

In Nablus, Israeli soldiers disguised as civilians kidnaped a young man after intercepting his car in Rafeedya neighborhood in the west of the city.

In Al-Khalieel, the IOFs kidnapped two citizens from their homes in Kharas town and Abu Kateela area.

Yesterday, many citizens suffered from their exposure to tear gas during a violent IOFs raid in Abu Dis town, east of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

In Salfeet, the IOFs seized security camera recordings during raids on stores in Bruqeen town.

In a separate incident, a horde of the illegal Israeli Jewish settlers launched at dawn a stone-throwing attack on a house and tried to burn a car after damaging it in Al-Mazra’a Al-Gharbiya town in Ramallah.

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Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

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Dozens of the illegal Israeli settlers defile Al-Aqsa Mosque

Tuesday 17-December-2024

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), (PIC)

Dozens of the illegal Israeli Jewish settlers escorted by police forces desecrated Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), on Tuesday morning.

The settlers entered the Mosque in different groups through its Al-Maghariba Gate and toured its courtyards under tight police protection, according to local sources.

During their tours at the Islamic holy site, the settlers received lectures from rabbis about the alleged temple mount and a number of them provocatively performed Talmudic prayers.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation police imposed movement and entry restrictions on Muslim worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque’s entrances and gates.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is exposed to daily desecration by Jewish settlers and police forces in the morning and the afternoon except on Fridays and Saturdays.

Recent months have seen an unprecedented increase in settler break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque and an increase in settler violations against the Islamic holy sites, especially during Jewish holidays.

Meanwhile, Jerusalemite figures and activists have urged Muslim worshipers to intensify their presence at the holy site to protect it against desecration and Judaization, especially during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which will start on December 25.

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Israeli occupation forces demolish two tourist villas in Aree'ha (Jericho)

Aree'ha (Jericho), December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Israeli occupation forces demolished two tourist villas in the village of Nuwai'mah in the city of Aree'ha (Jericho).

The mayor of Al-Nuwai'mah and Al-Duyouk Al-Foaqa, 'Husam Thurayaat, said that the occupation forces, accompanied by heavy machinery, raided the village and demolished two villas belonging to the citizen Muhammad Omar.

He pointed out that there are no less than 70 demolition notices from the occupation authorities targeting homes and facilities in Al-Nuwai'mah and Al-Duyouk Al-Foaqa.

It is noteworthy that the occupation forces and settlers had destroyed seasonal agricultural crops in Al-Nuwai'mah two days ago, on an area of ​​40 dunams (10 acres), and completely destroyed the water pipes in the farm.

Y.S.

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Israeli occupation forces demolish several Palestinian structures west of Salfeet

SALFIT, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Israeli occupation forces began on Tuesday demolishing Palestinian shacks and agricultural and commercial facilities in the town of Dair Ballout, west of Salfeet.

Local sources said that the occupation forces, accompanied by five military bulldozers, stormed the Al-Muraij area,  north of the town, where they proceeded to demolish  shacks and structures,  built on an area of ​​approximately 5 dunams.

The forces further demolished a facility and warned of demolishing an agricultural house, a water well, and an agricultural facility containing approximately 10,000 broiler chickens, within hours,

The soldiers also prevented local residents from reaching the targeted structures to help their owners.

Y.S.

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News Related to the Israeli Genocidal War on the Palestinian People

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"Israel will not permit establishment of a Palestinian state," says the Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich

RAMALLAH, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that Israel will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state.

"We continue to work to strengthen our grip in all areas of our country," he added in a post on X.

"We will not allow the Arabs to separate Gush Etzion from Jerusalem, and we will not allow them to establish a Palestinian state that would endanger our existence here," he claimed.

On December 6, Smotrich announced the seizure of 24,000 dunams (6,000 acres) of West Bank land and its annexation as "state land," with the aim of expanding a number of colonies, in a move described as the largest in decades.

On July 19, the International Court of Justice stressed that the Palestinians have the right to self-determination, and that the colonies located on the occupied territories must be evacuated.

During a session in the Dutch city of the Hague to give an advisory opinion on the repercussions of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, the court ruled that the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a "single territorial unit" that will be protected and respected.

He added that Israeli policies and practices amount to the annexation of large parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, and that she is "not convinced" that the extension of Israeli law to include the West Bank and East Jerusalem "has any justification."

In a related context, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said that Tel Aviv intends to control "security" in Gaza and retain the right to operate there after the war, as is the case in the West Bank.

He stated in a post on X, "My position on Gaza is clear, Israel will control security in Gaza with full freedom of action, as is the case in the West Bank."

Y.S.

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Israeli Knesset member submits draft law to cancel ban on Israelis entering Gaza

TEL AVIV, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Israeli Knesset member from the Likud party, Avichai Bo'Aron, submitted a draft  aimed at allowing freedom of movement for Israelis within the Gaza Strip, after years of being banned from entering under the "Disengagement" Law, in preparation for colonization in the Strip.

The draft said, "In the summer of 2005, the Israeli government decided to expel all its Jewish residents from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank and withdraw from the area, and as part of this decision, the Knesset passed a law to implement the "disengagement."

He continued, "The law prohibiting the entry of Israelis into these areas is reminiscent of dark periods in the history of the Jewish people, during the Holocaust."

He said, "Freedom of existence and full movement (for Jews) must be allowed in the Gaza Strip, as is the case in all areas of the Land of Israel."

The draft, according to its text, aims to emulate the measures taken in the northern West Bank, where restrictions on the entry of Israelis were lifted and the "Homesh" settlement was rebuilt, and it believes that "lifting the restrictions on Gaza may open the door to the establishment of new settlement blocs within the Strip."

The new draft joins the law that the Knesset approved in March to cancel the plan to separate from four settlements in the northern West Bank, as part of the "disengagement" plan from Gaza that the Israeli government implemented in 2005.

Recently, Knesset members from The Likud and Religious Zionism parties, in partnership with the settler leaders, have formed a “civilian parliamentary working group” that aims to repeal the unilateral “disengagement” law from the Gaza Strip, in an effort to legitimize re-colonization in the Palestinian territories.

Y.S.

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WHO calls for immediate ceasefire amid 'appalling' conditions in Kamal 'Udwan Hospital

RAMALLAH, December, 17, 2024 (WAFA) – 

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the conditions in Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip are "truly appalling", in light of the continued Israeli occupation bombing.

The UN official stated in a post on X, that the World Health Organization and its partners arrived at the hospital two days ago, in light of the Israeli attacks and bombing, and delivered 5,000 liters of fuel, and quantities of food and medicine.

Ghebreyesus said in his post that the organization transferred three patients from Kamal 'Udwan Hospital to Al-Shifa Hospital, to continue receiving treatment.

He pointed out that Israel arbitrarily refused access for members of the World Health Organization to Kamal 'Udwan Hospital last week.

He affirmed that  these developments deprived the hospital of specialized workers in surgical and obstetric care.

He reported that the clashes and Israeli bombing continued around the hospital, which led to further damage to oxygen supplies and electric generators.

He renewed his call for a ceasefire in Gaza, to protect health services and to stop the atmosphere of hell.

Y.S.

***

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Editorial Notes about terms & names of people and places:

1. Names of people and places have been standardized to match standard Arabic grammatical rules.

2. Underlined letters and letters preceded by an apostrophe are references to Arabic letter sounds, which does not exist in the English alphabet.

3. The English letter i is equivalent to the Arabic short vowel known as kasra, as in Ibraheem and Qasim as well as in the English words sit and bit. So, it is incorrect to use it as a long vowel for such Arabic names as Jameel and Jibreel.

4. The English letter e is equivalent to the Arabi short vowel known as fat'ha, as in A'hmed and Mu'hammed.

5. It is more accurate to refer to the land-grabbing Israelis, who establish illegal settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, as illegal Israeli settlers, than referring to them as colonists.

The term colony is a reference to a large entity or a country, such as American states before independence. It was also a reference to Egypt, and India, when they were British colonies.

In addition, the term "colony" represents a positive nostalgic theme, in the minds of native speakers of English, particularly in America and Britain.

6. It is more accurate to use the verbs "abduct" and "kidnap" than the verbs "detain" and "arrest," in reference to taking Palestinian citizens by force to prisons and interrogation centers, by Israeli occupation regime soldiers. This is because the presence of the Israeli occupation regime forces is illegal in the Palestinian territories, and they have no jurisdiction over the Palestinian people.

Click here for more about using the apostrophe and the underlining of letters in the transliteration of Arabic names. 

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Names of some of the Palestinian cities, as pronounced in standard Arabic, and their foreign names in parentheses: 

Al-Khaleel (Hebron)

Al-Nusayrat

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

Aree'ha (Jericho)

Al-Zaytoun (al-Zeitoun)

Bait (Beit)

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)

Dair El-Bala'h

Jineen (Jenin)

Khan Younus (Khan Younis)

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Person's names as pronounced in standard Arabic:

A'hmed, 'Hasan, Mu'hammed, Younus, Yousuf,  

'Hasan Mulai'hat,

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Conflict terminology

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime (the Israeli government)

Illegal Israeli settlers (instead of settlers, colonists)

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers

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