Israeli authorities also destroyed at least 729 Palestinian buildings – including 273 homes – last year, an NGO says.
Israeli security forces carried out “heinous killings” throughout 2020, killing at least 27 Palestinians across Palestinian and Israeli-occupied areas, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
“Over 2020, Israeli security forces have killed 27 Palestinians, seven minors: one in the Gaza Strip, 23 in the West Bank [including East Jerusalem] and three inside Israel, ”B’Tselem said Monday.
In at least 11 of the 16 killings carried out by B’Tselem on the West Bank, Palestinians posed no “threat to the lives of troops” or anyone else at the time. killed.
Some examples cited in the report included the murder of Iyad Hallaq, a 32-year-old autistic Palestinian who attended and worked at a school for people with special needs in East Jerusalem’s Old Town.
At the time, Israeli officials said they suspected Hallaq was carrying a weapon and began chasing him as he panicked and started running.
He was shot dead while hiding behind an obstacle, just a few meters from his school.
Hallaq’s father told Al Jazeera in June that his eight-year-old son had mental capacity and lacked an understanding of the dangerous realities of career life.
“For years, Israel has been implementing a reckless, illegal open fire policy in the West Bank. This policy is fully supported by the government, the military and the courts, who are utterly incapable of the expected fatal consequences, ”said B’Tselem.
In the rare incident where members of Israeli forces are identified for killing Palestinians, the allegations and sentences “do not reflect the seriousness of the crimes”, the group said.
Over 2020, amid the pandemic of coronavirus, Israeli authorities destroyed at least 729 Palestinian buildings, including homes and non-residential structures.
In 2020, the group said, more Palestinians lost their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem than in every year since 2016.
“In total, Israel demolished 273 homes in 2020, leaving 1,006 Palestinians – 519 of them minor – homeless -” said B’Tselem.
“In 2020, Israel also demolished 456 non-residential structures and infrastructure facilities. This includes humanitarian infrastructure such as water chests and pipes or power grids, which are essential for health and hygiene, especially important at this time. “
The group said it had recorded 248 attacks by illegal Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank last year.
The attacks ranged from physical attacks to targeting farmers or their properties, which would not have been possible without the state-provided clearance support.