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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 More Israeli Repression of Palestinians in the West Bank, 22 Bodies of Martyrs Recovered from the Rubble in Gaza, Bringing the Death Toll of the Israeli Genocidal War to 48,320 and the Injuries to 111,749

February 20, 2025

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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 the Gaza Strip, based on the reliable data reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza:

By February 20, 2025, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 62,090+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (48,320), those who are still missing under the rubble (an estimate of at least 13,770+). 

By February 20, 2025, the documented injuries exceeded 111,749.

By February 20, 2025, 903 Palestinians who were killed, 6,840 who were injured, and 11,263*, 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).  

***

22 bodies of Palestinian martyrs recovered from the rubble, a young man killed by the Israeli occupation forces, which increased the death toll in the Gaza Strip to 48,320, by February 20, 2025.	The brutal Israeli military aggression on the city of Jineen has continued after the destruction of its refugee camp, with more raids, pursuits, and kidnappings, February 20, 2025.
The Israeli occupation apartheid regime continues to withhold the bodies of 665 martyrs, mostly Palestinians, at the so-called cemeteries of numbers and in morgues, February 20, 2025.	Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza Strip, Dr Muneer Al-Bursh, warned of the tragic conditions facing Palestinian families and patients, in light of the recurring cold and frost waves, February 20, 2025.
The Israeli occupation regime police kidnapped Al-Shaikh Naji'h Bakirat, former official of the Islamic Awqaf Administration, from his car, near Al-Maghariba Gate in Al-Quds, February 20, 2025.	The Israeli occupation forces blew up the house of the Palestinian martyr 'Ammar Oada’s family, in the city of Salfeet, as a collective punishment of his family members for his resistance activities,  February 20, 2025.
The Israeli occupation forces demolished a house in the Palestinian village of Majdal Bani Fadhil, south of Nablus, on February 20, 2025.	Displaced Palestinian mother, Um Fadhl 'Ayyad, and her children returned to their home in Gaza City, to find it totally destroyed by the Israeli genocidal air strikes on the Gaza Strip, February 19, 2025.

***

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). 

***

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.

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

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Death toll across Gaza Strip surges to 48,319, over 111,749 injured, says medical sources

GAZA, February 20, 2025 (WAFA) – 

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced today that the death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 48,319, the majority of whom are children and women, since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, on October 7, 2023.

The same sources added that the number of causalities have risen to 111,749 since the start of the aggression, while a number of victims are still under the rubble, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them.

The Ministry indicated that 22 slain Palestinians arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals, all of whose bodies were recovered, and 16 injuries during the past 24 hours.

It is noteworthy that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip entered into force on January 19, 2025, and since its entry into force, a number of citizens have been killed and injured by the Israeli occupation forces in various parts of the Strip.

Y.S.

***

 IOF kills Palestinian youth, 22 bodies of martyrs recovered in Gaza over the past 24 hours

Thursday 20-February-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

A young Palestinian man was killed on Thursday afternoon by Israeli occupation forces’ (IOF) gunfire in the Al-Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City.

In a new violation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, an Israeli soldier shot a young Palestinian man while he was checking on his home in the Al-Shuja'iyya neighborhood, according to local sources.

Since the announcement of the ceasefire, the IOFs have committed more than 275 field violations, bombing and opening fire at civilians in various areas of the Strip, according to official data in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the transfer of 22 recovered bodies of martyrs and 16 injuries to hospitals in the Gaza Strip, during the past 24 hours.

The Ministry explained in a statement on Thursday that the bodies of 22 martyrs were recovered from under the rubble of homes destroyed during the genocidal war, noting that 16 citizens have recently been injured in the explosion of remnants of the Israeli occupation army.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the death toll from the Israeli brutal war on Gaza has risen to 48,319 martyrs, and the number of injuries has surged to 111,749 since October 7, 2023.

***

'Hamas: Second phase of the ceasefire deal has not practically begun

Thursday 20-February-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Resistance Movement, 'Hamas, on Thursday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of stalling on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

“The negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire deal have not practically begun, although 'Hamas is ready to engage in them as scheduled”, 'Hamas spokesman Abdul Lateef Al-Qanou' said in a statement.

Hamas is waiting for Israel to implement all the provisions of the humanitarian protocol, and “we are ready to complete the implementation of the agreement in all its stages in a way that meets our demands,” the spokesman added.

“'Hamas is committed to the ceasefire agreement” as long as Israel is committed to it, he stressed.

Under the terms of the ongoing three-phase ceasefire agreement, effective since January 19 with its first phase spanning six weeks, Israel was supposed to begin the talks on the second phase of the ceasefire with 'Hamas on February 3.

***

One civilian killed by Israeli occupation forces' bullets east of Gaza City

GAZA, February 20, 2025 (WAFA) –

A Palestinian young man was killed by Israeli occupation forces' bullets east of Gaza City.

A WAFA correspondent said that the young man, Mohammed Iyad Samir Obaid,23, was killed after being shot by Israeli occupation forces in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City, while trying to check on his house.

Y.S

***

Al-Bursh warns of health catastrophe due to severe cold

Thursday 20-February-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

The Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza Strip, Dr. Muneer Al-Bursh, has warned of the tragic conditions facing Palestinian families, patients, and the most vulnerable groups in the besieged enclave in light of the recurring cold and frost waves due to the severe shortage of blankets and heating devices.

Al-Bursh explained in a statement on Wednesday evening that newborns and children up to three months old are the most vulnerable groups as their lives are at real risk in light of cold and frost waves that the Gaza Strip is currently witnessing.

Hospitals have recorded health complications due to general body infections, respiratory infections, and reduced blood flow to limbs.

He pointed out that the Israeli occupation forces, with their destruction of hospitals, especially children’s hospitals, including the Al-Ranteesi Hospital and Al-Nasr Children’s Complex, and the destruction of the nursery and intensive care units, hinders the work of the medical staff in these hospitals, making them unable to save the lives of children affected by severe cold waves.

Al-Bursh called on the international community as well as international and UN institutions to work immediately to rebuild and rehabilitate children’s hospitals in the Gaza Strip, especially sensitive departments such as intensive care units and nurseries, and to provide them with necessary equipment to save children’s lives.

***

Gaza’s Health Ministry warns of severe oxygen shortage in hospitals

Thursday 20-February-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

Gaza’s Health Ministry warned on Thursday of a severe oxygen shortage in hospitals across the enclave after the destruction of 10 oxygen generation plants in Israel’s genocidal war.

Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Bassam Al-'Hamadeen said in a statement: “Gaza hospitals are facing extremely difficult humanitarian conditions in light of the systematic destruction of the health system, especially oxygen-generating stations.”

“We warn of the serious repercussions of the shortage of oxygen, as it is of utmost importance in saving the lives of patients and the injured.”

Al-'Hamadeen explained that “the conditions have become more difficult with the return of the displaced people from the south of the Gaza Strip to the north, which has exacerbated the crisis to levels that threaten the lives of patients.”

He called for “urgent intervention by international and UN institutions to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow access to oxygen generators in Gaza.”

The Israeli army has systematically targeted hospitals, schools, and shelters during its destructive offensive in Gaza.

According to figures released by Gaza’s Government Media Office, 34 out of 38 hospitals in Gaza were destroyed by the Israeli army since Oct. 7, 2023. The other four hospitals are offering services at a limited capacity, amid a severe shortage of medicine and medical equipment.

Palestinian authorities also said that 80 healthcare centers stopped services while 162 others and 136 ambulances were destroyed in Israeli attacks.

***

Red Crescent field hospital in Gaza City treats dozens of patients and wounded

GAZA, February 20, 2025 (WAFA) – 

The Palestinian Red Crescent field hospital officially opened its doors today in Al-Saraya land in Gaza City, to treat dozens of wounded and sick people.

The association's executive director in Gaza, Haydar Al-Qudra, said that dozens of wounded and sick people have flocked since the early hours of this morning to receive free medical care, as this hospital is the first field hospital in Gaza City, as it began providing emergency services to the wounded and sick in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions.

During its first day, dozens of patients were received, in addition to preparing three cases to undergo moderate surgeries, and admitting four cases to the intensive care unit, in addition to transferring two girls to the premature infant nursery to receive the necessary care.

The outpatient clinics of the Red Crescent field hospital witnessed a large turnout, as patients received medical consultations and free treatment, reflecting the urgent need for these health services in the sector.

The opening of the hospital comes within the framework of relief efforts to support the health sector in Gaza, and to provide urgent medical services amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis that the region is suffering from.

Y.S.

***

‎***

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

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Palestinian child shot and injured by Israeli soldiers west of Ramallah

RAMALLAH, February 20, 2025 (WAFA) —

A Palestinian child was injured by live ammunition on Thursday evening during an Israeli army raid on the village of Shabteen, west of Ramallah in the central West Bank, according to local sources.

Ibraheem Ya'qoob, the head of Shabteen village council, confirmed that Israeli forces opened fire directly at a 15-year-old boy without any provocation or confrontations. The child was shot in one of his legs and was immediately transferred to a hospital for medical treatment.

In addition to the shooting, Ya'qoob reported that Israeli soldiers attacked Palestinian residents in two homes, assaulting them and damaging the properties after raiding the houses.

M.N.

***

Palestinian young man injury during Israeli raid in Shuqba village

RAMALLAH, February 20, 2025 (WAFA) –

A Palestinian youth was injured by live ammunition in the thigh on Thursday evening during an Israeli military raid on the village of Shuqba, located northwest of Ramallah.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces fired live bullets at a 37-year-old man, wounding him in the thigh. The incident occurred as Israeli soldiers stormed the village and forced citizens out of their shops in the village center for searches. Several residents were subjected to harassment during the raid.

According to the same sources, the soldiers also vandalized several vehicles in the village and intensely fired live ammunition, along with toxic gas and tear gas canisters, toward local homes.

The latest raid is part of a series of Israeli military assaults targeting Palestinian villages and towns in the West Bank. Over the past months, there has been an increase in raids, with Israeli forces frequently raiding villages at night or during the day, conducting searches, and making detentions.

M.N.

***

Israeli military vehicle rams into civilian car in Toulkarm, injuring two

TOULKARM, February 20, 2025 (WAFA) –

A Palestinian man and his wife were injured today after an Israeli military vehicle rammed into their vehicle on Nablus Street in the city of Toulkarm.

Local sources reported to WAFA that the military vehicle was driving at high speed and traveling in the wrong direction when it collided forcefully with the couple’s car. The crash resulted in the injury of the couple, who were subsequently transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where their condition was described as moderate. The collision caused significant damage to their vehicle.

This incident follows a similar one that occurred earlier this week. On Tuesday, another military vehicle, traveling against the flow of traffic, struck a car driven by a young man on Nablus Street. The driver suffered minor bruises as a result of the crash.

For over 25 days now, the city of Toulkarm and its refugee camps of Toulkarm and Nour Shams have been under an Israeli military assault. The offensive has so far resulted in the displacement of the population of the two camps and the destruction of many homes there.

M.N. 

***

Israeli occupation forces fire tear gas toward vehicle near Ramallah

RAMALLAH, February 20, 2025 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces Thursday evening fired tear gas toward a Palestinian-registered vehicle at the entrance of Turmus 'Ayya town, northeast of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, according to eyewitnesses.

They said that the occupation soldiers manning a checkpoint at the entrance of the town fired tear gas canisters toward a public vehicle, causing the passengers to suffer excessive tear gas inhalation.

The occupation forces have tightened military measures across the occupied West Bank hours after the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the Gaza ceasefire went into effect, dismembering and isolating cities and governorates one from the other using military gates, barriers, and concrete blocks.

The Israeli military measures are in parallel with ongoing attacks by Israeli colonists across the West Bank to terrorize Palestinians and displace them from their lands to seize them and build illegal Jewish colonies that separate Palestinian communities.

Israel severely restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement within the occupied West Bank through a complex combination of approximately 500 fixed checkpoints, hundreds of flying checkpoints, settler-only roads, over 200 military bases, and various other physical obstructions.

Closures besides other measures, taken under the guise of security, are intended to entrench Israel’s 58-year-old military occupation of the West Bank and its settler colonial project which it enforces with routine and frequently deadly violence against Palestinians.

K.F.

***

Israeli soldiers assault two children east of Tubas

TUBAS, February 20, 2025 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation soldiers assaulted two Palestinian young siblings in Khirbet Yirza, a small village located east of Tubas in the northern West Bank, on Thursday evening.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces raided the tents of local residents in Khirbet Yirza and assaulted two brothers, Fares and Omar Draghmeh, while they were inside their family’s tent. The soldiers also searched the tent and detained all the family members during the incident.

M.N.

***

Media Committee in Jenin: Israeli aggression enters its 2nd month accompanied by PA raids

Thursday 20-February-2025

Jineen, (PIC)

The media committee in the Jineen refugee camp said that the brutal Israeli aggression on the city and its camp in the northern occupied West Bank has entered its second month on Thursday, accompanied by raids and pursuits carried out by the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security forces against the homes of resistance fighters.

The committee reported in a statement that the Israeli aggression on Jenin and its refugee camp has resulted in the martyrdom of 26 citizens, injuries to dozens, and the forced displacement of thousands of citizens.

It pointed out that Jineen has witnessed multiple field events over the past 24 hours, the most notable being the injury of a 50-year-old Palestinian woman who was shot in the chest and abdomen by the occupation forces near the Al-'Awda roundabout at the western entrance of the Jenin camp and was transferred to the hospital for treatment.

The committee added that occupation forces have sent additional reinforcements to the Jineen refugee camp and prevented the displaced from entering after coordination between the Palestinian liaison and the occupation to allow them to return to their homes to gather their belongings.

Furthermore, occupation forces arrested a group of young men while they were attempting to return to their homes in the Jenin camp.

Israeli forces also stormed the town of Ya'bad, southwest of Jenin city, during which confrontations occurred with young men who threw stones and empty bottles at the occupation troops.

According to the media committee’s statement, occupation forces arrested a group of citizens from Jineen city, but their identities have not been confirmed at the time of this report, and details will be published later.

The statement added, “At the same time, the PA security forces continue to intensify their activities in Jineen city and its villages, carrying out raids and pursuits against young men and ‘wanted’ individuals, as part of their efforts to support the occupation army in eliminating resistance.” 

***

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime holds 665 bodies of martyrs in numbered graves and morgues

Thursday 20-February-2025

RAMALLAH, (PIC)

The National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs’ Bodies said on Thursday that the Israeli occupation apartheid regime (IOAR) continues to withhold the bodies of 665 martyrs, mostly Palestinians, at the so-called cemeteries of numbers and in morgues.

According to the National Campaign, some of those bodies have been detained by Israel since the 1960s and 1970s.

The National Campaign also said that those 665 martyrs do not include the withheld bodies of citizens from the Gaza Strip, adding that there is no accurate information about their numbers.

The cemetery of numbers is a set of secret burial sites surrounded by stones and lacking proper markers. Each grave has a metal plate with a specific number instead of names for the martyrs, with each number referring to the security file of an individual.

However, human rights organizations confirm that many of these graves date back to the establishment of Israel.

***

IOFs kidnap several Palestinians in West Bank raids

Thursday 20-February-2025

WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) kidnapped a number of Palestinian citizens during raids in the West Bank last night and on Thursday morning.

According to local sources, the IOFs kidnapped five citizens, including a woman and her husband, during raids in different areas of Nablus province.

Six other citizens were kidnaped by the IOFs from their homes in Al-Khadir town, south of Bait La'hm (Bethlehem).

In Ramallah, the Israeli occupation forces stormed Bait Laqiya town and kidnapped two young men and seized two cars.

Another young man was taken prisoner during an IOFs raid in Turmus 'Ayya town, north of Ramallah.

The IOFs also kidnapped two young brothers from their home in Wadi Al-Fari’ah town, southwest of Toubas.

In al-Khalil, the IOFs kidnapped at least 10 citizens, including a woman, from the city and other areas of the province.

***

Israeli occupation regime police kidnap Al-Shaikh Bakirat, banish him from Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

Thursday 20-February-2025

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), (PIC)

The Israeli occupation police kidnaped on Wednesday evening Sheikh Naji'h Bakirat, former deputy head of the Islamic Awqaf Administration in the holy city, from his car near Al-Maghariba Gate in the Old City of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

Local sources said that Israeli police officers confiscated Sheikh Bakirat’s car and took him to Al-Moskobiya detention center, where he was interrogated for about two hours and then handed an order banning his entry to the Aqsa Mosque for one week.

Sheikh Bakirat was also ordered to come again to the detention center a week later to receive a six-month extension to his banishment from the Mosque.

The Israeli police also kidnaped Sheikh Bakirat’s son, Dawood, during his presence at one of Al-Aqsa Mosque’s gates.

Dawood was taken to the Qishla police station, where he was handed an order banning his entry to the Mosque for one week.

***

***

Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

*** 

Note: Despite the Trump administration support for the Israeli occupation apartheid regime, the U.S. official policy is still considering the Israeli settlement activities in the Palestinian territories as illegal.

***

Israeli occupation forces seal off checkpoint near Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), February 20, 2025 (WAFA) –

The Israeli occupation forces Thursday sealed off the Beit Iksa checkpoint, northwest of the occupied West Bank city of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), according to the villagers.

They said that the occupying forces closed down the permanently staffed checkpoint, located down the internal road that connects Road 436 to the Iksa House, denying the villagers, even patients, access into and out of the village.

This forced hundreds of passengers to endure lengthy delays at the checkpoint for hours.

Israel, the occupying power, has constructed a section of the apartheid wall around Bait Iksa, isolating large swaths of the village land, preventing landowners from accessing their land, and pushing the village into a crowded enclave isolated from the rest of the West Bank cities.

Israel severely restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement within the occupied West Bank through a complex combination of approximately 500 fixed checkpoints, hundreds of flying checkpoints, settler-only roads, over 200 military bases, and various other physical obstructions.

Closures besides other measures, taken under the guise of security, are intended to entrench Israel’s 58-year-old military occupation of the West Bank and its settler colonial project which it enforces with routine and frequently deadly violence against Palestinians.

K.F.

***

Hundreds of settlers defile Al-Aqsa Mosque under police guard

Thursday 20-February-2025

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), (PIC)

Scores of the illegal Israeli settlers desecrated Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) on Thursday morning and later in the afternoon, amid tight restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshipers to the holy site.

According to local sources, at least 543 settlers entered the Mosque through its Maghariba Gate in the morning and provocatively toured its courtyards under police protection.

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 and prevented many of them from entering the holy site.

***

Dozens of the illegal Israeli settlers storm Sebestya archaeological site

Thursday 20-February-2025

NABLUS, (PIC)

Dozens of the illegal Israeli settlers stormed on Thursday the archaeological site in the town of Sebestya, northwest of Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank, while another settler demolished an agricultural structure in Al-Khalil.

Local sources reported that dozens of settlers broke into the Sebestya archaeological site under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces (IOFs), which were deployed heavily in the area.

The sources stated that the town is subjected to daily IOF raids to impose a fait accompli and take control over the area for settlement expansion purposes.

Meanwhile, in the southern West Bank, a settler demolished a shed used for raising cows, and robbed an electric generator, agricultural equipment, and digging tools in the Al-Muntar area in Masafir Bani Na'eem, east of Al-Khaleel city.

Citizen Fareed Burqan confirmed that a settler from the Bnei Hefer settlement, which was forcibly built on citizens’ lands, demolished with a bulldozer a 700-square-meter barn for raising calves, owned by citizen Netham Burqan, and seized a generator and electrical and digging tools, and bulldozed the street near the barn.

Burqan pointed out that the Bnei Hefer settlers have recently escalated their attacks on citizens’ property in Masafir Bani Na'eem and the neighboring hamlets, in an attempt to force citizens to relocate in favor of settlement expansion.

***

IOF blows up martyr 'Ammar Oada’s house in Salfeet

Thursday 20-February-2025

SALFEET, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) blew up the house of the martyr 'Ammar Oada’s family, in the city of Salfeet, who carried out the Holon resistance operation on August 4, last year.

The Palestinian resistance fighter, Oada, carried out a qualitative stabbing operation in Holon area in the center of Tel Aviv, killing two Israelis and injuring others.

Neither the racist separation wall nor the IOFs intense security measures had prevented Oada from carrying out the stabbing attack, as he overcame all obstacles and managed to carry out the stabbing in three different locations in Holon.

The first location was the entrance to the Holon area, where Oada stabbed the first Israeli, then he headed towards the public park and stabbed two others, then he continued towards Moshe Dayan Street and stabbed several others.

The resistance fighter was seriously injured after IOF opened fire at him. One hour later he was declared dead.

***

***

News Related to the Israeli Genocidal War on the Palestinian People

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Türkiye: Palestinian lands non-negotiable

Thursday 20-February-2025

JOHANNESBURG, (PIC)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking at the “Global Geopolitical Situation” session during the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, reiterated Türkiye‘s unwavering stance on key global issues.

Fidan emphasized that a just and lasting peace cannot be achieved by expelling Palestinians from their lands and reaffirmed that Palestinian territories are non-negotiable.

“The path to achieving a just and lasting peace is not through the expulsion of millions of Palestinians from their lands. The lands for which Palestinians have made great sacrifices are not subject to negotiation,” Fidan said.

“The two-state solution remains the long-overdue and only path to lasting peace. Failure to implement this solution will only perpetuate the cycle of conflict,” he added.

Fidan also addressed the growing global vulnerabilities, citing the prolonged and destructive nature of conflicts, including the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

He highlighted the immense pressure on humanitarian aid systems and economic disruptions caused by conflicts that displace millions of people worldwide. He added that multilateral institutions are struggling to adapt to shifting global power dynamics, particularly in light of technological advances such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

Fidan sharply criticized the United Nations Security Council for its failure to fulfill its mandate in the current polarized global environment.

“The United Nations Security Council is unable to fulfill its responsibility to maintain peace and security in an extremely polarized global environment,” he stated.

***

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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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