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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18,000 Palestinian Children Murdered and 14,000 Still Missing During the Israeli Genocidal War on the Gaza Strip, More Israeli Murders, forced Displacement, and Demolitions in the West Bank

February 26, 2025

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Brutal Israeli Ongoing Aggression on the West Bank, Restrictions Continue on the Humanitarian Aid to the Gaza Strip, the Death Toll of the Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Rises to 48,348 and the Injuries to 111,761, February 25, 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 25, 2025, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 62,079+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (48,348), those who are still missing under the rubble (an estimate of at least 13,743+). 

By February 25, 2025, the documented injuries exceeded 111,761.

By February 26, 2025, 910 Palestinians who were killed, 6,855 who were injured, and 11,300*, 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).  

Note About the Missing in the Gaza Strip:

The Center for Political and Development Studies announced that the number of the missing in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 14,000 people, including 2,000-3,000 held in Israeli occupation prisons, without releasing any information on their fate (Palestine Information Center, February 26, 2025).

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A Palestinian young man, Abdul-Ra'hman Nawwas, died of the injury he sustained two months ago by an Israeli drone airstrike, which targeted the Nour Shams refugee camp, February 26, 2025.	The number of the missing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 14,000 people, including 2,000-3,000 held in Israeli occupation prisons, according by a new stud by the CPDS, February 26, 2025.
The funeral procession of the Palestinian young man, Tariq Al-Qassas, who was killed a day before by the Israeli occupation forces, during their raid on Nablus, February 26, 2025.	Daniel Levy reminded the UNSC that the Israeli occupation apartheid regime murdered 18,000 children in the Gaza Strip, calling for justice for the Palestinian people, February 25, 2025.

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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.

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

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Infant dies due to severe cold in Gaza

GAZA, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

A baby girl died on Wednesday due to the severe cold in her family's tent in the Gaza Strip.

Local sources reported that the baby girl was less than two months old and died in her family's tent in Al-Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City.

Yesterday, six children died due to the severe cold, while the condition of others was described as critical, according to what was confirmed by health sources in Gaza.

The people of the Gaza Strip suffer from a lack of shelter and treatment due to the occupation's aggression on the Strip, and the lack of heating methods due to the scarcity of fuel, in light of a severe polar wave of cold.

K.T.

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Palestinian detainee from Gaza dies in Israeli custody

The General Authority for Civil Affairs, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) confirmed the death of detainee Rafat 'Adnan Abdul 'Azeez Abu Funouna, 34, from Gaza on Wednesday, in Ramla prison.

The Comission and PPS said that the Abu Funouna had been detained since October 7, along with his brother Shadi, and was injured during his detention.

Throughout this period, the occupying forces withheld any information regarding his fate and denied all requests for visits.

According to available information, Abu Funouna remained in Ramla prison and was recently transferred to Assaf Harofeh Hospital, until his death was confirmed today, noting that before his detention and injury he did not suffer from health problems.

It is noteworthy that he was married and had a child.

They explained that with the death of the detainee Abu Fanouna, the number of slain Palestinians among the prisoners and detainees in the Israeli occupation prisons since the beginning of the genocide has risen to 60, adding that they are the only ones whose identities are known, including at least 39 from Gaza, saying that this number is the highest historically, which confirms that this stage is the bloodiest stage in the history of the prisoner movement since 1967.

They stated that the number of slain prisoners whose identities have been confirmed since 1967 has risen to 297, noting that there are dozens of slain prisoners from Gaza detainees who remain subject to the crime of enforced disappearance.

The two institutions continued that the occupation is not satisfied with killing the detainees, but also deliberately conceals their fate and manipulates the responses, emphasizing that this has occurred repeatedly.

They confirmed that all the responses related to the slain prisoners are responses from the occupation army and there is no other evidence of their passing, since the occupation continues to withhold their bodies, and in most of the responses it indicates that an investigation is underway in an attempt to evade any international accountability.

They held Israel fully responsible for the death of the detainee Abu Funouna and renewed their demand for the international human rights system to take effective action to hold the occupation leaders accountable for the war crimes they continue to commit against the Palestinian people. They called for sanctions to be imposed on the occupation, placing it in clear international isolation, and for the restoration of the human rights system's fundamental role. 

They further demanded an end to the terrifying state of helplessness that has affected the human rights system during the genocide and an end to the exceptional immunity granted to Israel by old colonial states, allowing it to remain above accountability and punishment.

K.T

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Severe cold devours children in the Gaza Strip

By: Reema El-Suwaisy

GAZA, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) -

Thirty-year-old Ola did not know that her first child, 'Amro, would lose his life because of the severe cold that recently struck the Gaza Strip and the surrounding region. The tent she moved into two months ago was not enough to protect her infant’s heart, or his life, which he lost to the cold.

This is the reality for newborns in the Gaza Strip, who suffer from a lack of heating supplies necessary to stay alive. As a result, seven children have died from the cold in the Gaza Strip in the past two days.

Ola, who gave birth to 'Amro after two miscarriages, says: "I am displaced from the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, and now I am staying in a tent over the rubble of my family’s home."

She adds, "On Thursday at dawn, I noticed severe cold symptoms in my baby Amro. Suddenly, his body temperature rose above 39°C, and his breathing became excessively loud. We took him to 'Abdul 'Azeez Al-Ranteesi Hospital where he stayed for 15 hours. When his condition worsened, he was transferred to the Patient's Friends Benevolent Society Hospital (PFBS), where he stayed in the ICU for two hours before his death was declared." Ola cries. To be noted, the Al-Ranteesi hospital is currently destroyed but still operating with minimal medical and health protocols.

She concluded, "I am living in psychological shock and a nervous breakdown. The cold killed my little baby, with his tender body suffering from the lack of warmth that my embrace tried to provide."

Yesterday, six children from the Gaza Strip died as a result of the severe cold, and today, Wednesday, a two-month-old girl in Al-Shuja'iyya neighborhood died due to the cold.

According to medical sources, the number of children who have died because of the cold waves since the beginning of winter has reached 15. They also pointed out that hospitals in the sector, particularly children’s hospitals, are no longer able to deal with the cases they receive from cold-related complications.

The sources emphasized that the occupation has not adhered to humanitarian protocols, including allowing the entry of medical supplies, heating equipment, tents and mobile homes.

Residents of Gaza, especially the displaced, continue to sleep on the ground in tents that do not protect them from the winter cold, amid the deterioration of the medical and health situation in hospitals, which are operating with minimal resources.

Dr. Sa’id Salah, the medical director at Patient's Friends Benevolent Society Hospital, comments: "In the past two weeks, we have observed cases of death among newborns and premature infants due to the severe cold."

He added, "The symptoms begin with the freezing of limbs, the cessation of blood circulation, low blood pressure and difficulty breathing. We try to intervene medically with resuscitation efforts, some of which succeed, while others fail."

According to the medical director at Patient's Friends Benevolent Society Hospital, nine cases arrived during the mentioned period, six of which unfortunately passed away, one of them an hour after reaching the hospital. The six included five children from Gaza, while the sixth was from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

He concluded by saying, "We have called on the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF to pressure the occupation to allow the entry of necessary heating equipment to warm these infants."

The people of the Gaza Strip are suffering from a lack of shelter and medical care due to the occupation’s aggression on the Strip and the absence of heating supplies as a result of fuel shortages, amid a severe polar cold wave.

T.R.

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

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Palestinian succumbs to injury from Israeli airstrike in northern West Bank refugee camp

TOULKARM, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

A Palestinian Wednesday evening succumbed to the injury he sustained from an Israeli airstrike in the northern occupied West Bank refugee camp of Nour Shams two months ago, according to medical sources.

They said that Abdul-Ra'hman Khalid Nawwas died of the injury he had sustained after being hit by the shrapnel of a missile due to an Israeli military drone airstrike that targeted Al-Mansihiya and Al-Shuhada neighborhoods in the Nour Shams refugee camp on the evening of December 24, 2024.

Nawwas was being hospitalized at Al-Istishari Hospital near Ramallah.

K.F.

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Israeli jailers assault and maltreat Palestinian prisoners in Gilboa jail

Wednesday 26-February-2025

RAMALLAH, (PIC)

Israeli prison forces savagely assaulted Palestinian prisoners in Gilboa jail recently, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Commission said that Israeli forces stormed one of the cells in Gilboa jail a few days ago, assaulted the prisoners inside it, and wreaked havoc on everything.

The Commission also said that the prisoners in Gilboa jail suffer from different forms of maltreatment and torture, including starvation, nighttime raids, brutal beatings, sleep deprivation, and medical neglect.

Israeli jailers deliberately leave cells’ windows open and prevent prisoners from blocking them with anything while refusing to provide them with enough clothes and blankets in order to make them suffer from severe cold temperatures, according to the Commission’s lawyer.

Israeli jailers also torture the prisoners through keeping the lights on in their cells 24 hours a day in order to deprive them of getting natural sleep.

During the lawyer’s visit, Gilboa prisoners complained of being served poor quality meals and not provided with essential needs such shavers and clippers.

Since the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza started, the incarceration conditions in Israeli jails have become much worse than before. 

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Israeli occupation forces launch wide-scale detention and field interrogation campaign in west bank, targeting at least 50 Palestinians

RAMALLAH, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

Since last night until this morning, Israeli occupation forces have launched an extensive detention and field interrogation campaign across the West Bank, detaining at least 50 Palestinian citizens, including children and former prisoners.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that the detentions and field interrogations were carried out in the governorates of Hebron, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jericho and Tubas.

They also noted that the occupation has continued its onslaught on the Jenin and Tulkarem governorates for weeks, accompanied by systematic detentions and field interrogations targeting dozens of families. In addition, the forces have taken citizens as hostages, turned homes into military outposts, and deliberately destroyed infrastructure.

T.R.

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Red Crescent: We received distress calls from families trapped in Toulkarm’s Nur shams camp and are facing difficulty reaching them

TOULKARM, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced on Wednesday that it has received dozens of distress calls from families trapped inside Nour Shams Refugee Camp, east of Toulkarm.

In a statement, the PRCS said that it has received numerous calls from families trapped in the Jabal al-Nasr area of the camp and is facing difficulties reaching them due to the dangerous situation and the area being surrounded by Israeli forces.

The statement continued, "We are continuing coordination efforts with our partners to ensure the safe access of teams to evacuate these families and provide the necessary support."

Furthermore, the Israeli forces notified last night of their intention to demolish 11 homes in Nur Shams Camp in the coming days, under the pretext of constructing a road starting from the Al-Jami’ neighborhood towards the Al-Manshiya neighborhood. Forces gave homeowners until 11 a.m. tomorrow to evacuate their homes and remove their belongings before the demolitions begin.

This morning, dozens of citizens were seen heading into the camp, accompanied by relief teams from the Red Crescent, Civil Defense and others, amidst a state of shock and sorrow over the destruction that had befallen the camp in general, and the properties in particular.

PRCS teams worked to evacuate several families still trapped in their homes, ensuring their safe exit.

Disturbing footage showed families hastily exiting, racing against time, carrying whatever belongings they could salvage from their partially destroyed homes.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces surrounded the area, deploying heavy machinery throughout the camp's vicinity. They deliberately drove rapidly over rubble and sewage, splashing it onto those present in the area, especially journalists.

Nour Shams refugee camp has been subjected to relentless escalation since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on it 18 days ago, coinciding with the ongoing onslaught on the city of Tulkarem and its camp for the past 31 days.

Israeli forces have been carrying out repeated raids on homes after blowing up their doors, evicting residents at gunpoint, and turning the homes into military outposts.

The camp has also been subjected to widespread and complete destruction of its infrastructure and properties, including homes and businesses that were demolished, blown up, and set on fire. This has exacerbated the suffering of the citizens who remained in their homes, living under a strict siege and facing a shortage of essential supplies, including food, water, medicine, and baby formula.

In recent days, the camp has witnessed significant displacement among its residents, including women, children, the elderly and the sick, with more than 5,000 people forced to flee.

T.R.

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Israeli occupation forces kidnap four Palestinians from Jordan Valley town

Aree'ha (Jericho), February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces Wednesday evening kidnapped four Palestinians from Al-'Auja town, north of Aree'ha (Jericho) in the Jordan Valley, according to the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS).

PPS Officer 'Eid Barahma said that the occupying forces barged their way into the town and rounded up four people, including a woman.

Meanwhile,  local sources said that the occupying troops conducted a raid in Al-Nabi Sali'h village, northwest of Ramallah.

In the course of ensuing confrontations, Israeli troops fired barrages of live gunfire and tear gas canisters toward the villagers, without resulting in any casualties.

Meanwhile, security forces confirmed separate two raids in the villages of Qibya and Dair Abu Mish'al, located to the west and northwest of Ramallah respectively.

There was no immediate information on any injuries or detention cases.

The Israeli occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids are conducted without a search warrant whenever and wherever the military chooses, in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative, and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

K.F.

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Several suffocate in Israeli occupation army raid in southern West Bank town

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

Several Palestinians Wednesday evening suffocated in an Israeli army raid in the Al-Khadir town, south of the occupied West Bank city of Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), according to a WAFA correspondent.

He said that Israeli occupation forces stormed the town, and deployed in the vicinity of the local grand mosque, Al-Bawwaba area, and along the Jerusalem-Hebron Road.

He added that the heavily armed soldiers opened intensive gunfire, tear gas, and concussion bombs toward civilians’ houses, causing several Palestinians to suffocate from excessive tear gas inhalation.

The occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids are conducted without a search warrant whenever and wherever the military chooses, in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative, and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

K.F.

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Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

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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.

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Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem): Illegal Israeli settlers uproot olive trees in Jaba’a Plain

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers uprooted on Wednesday around 100 olive trees in the Jaba’ Plain, northeast of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

Last Saturday, colonists set fire to a house belonging to a family in the Bedouin community in Jaba’ village and destroyed a vehicle owned by a local resident. They also opened heavy fire in the area.

These assaults are part of the Israeli occupation apartheid regime’s systematic policy aimed at displacing Bedouin villages from their lands and seizing them for colonial expansion. The colonists carry out these attacks under the protection of Israeli forces.

T.R.

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Illegal Israeli settlers set up tents near Palestinian tents in the Jordan Valley

JORDAN VALLEY, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) – 

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers Wednesday set up a tent near the tents of Palestinians citizens in Khirbet Samra in the northern Jordan Valley.

Human rights activist 'Aarif Daraghma said that a group of colonists set up a tent near the homes of local resident Yasser Abu Aram, noting that these lands are owned by the residents of Tubas.

He explained that this comes within the framework of further restrictions on the people of the Jordan Valley and pushing them to leave, by establishing more colonial outposts, or establishing new facilities aimed at linking the existing colonial outposts to each other.

Draghma confirmed that the place where the tent was set up today is located near the outpost that was established years ago in Khirbet Al-Suwayda, which leads to expectations of an intention to connect it to the aforementioned outpost and expand it and later link it to the colonies surrounding the area.

He noted that the settlers have been working diligently during the recent period to establish arbors and tents that will later turn into colonial outposts that block the way for shepherds to reach pastures, and also a starting point for daily and dangerous attacks on the residents, to have them to leave by force, as happened months ago in the Umm al-Jimal gathering.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission monitored the colonists' attempt to establish 10 new colonial outposts since the beginning of last January, which were predominantly agricultural and pastoral in nature, and were distributed as four new colonial outposts on the lands of Toubas Governorate, three outposts in Nablus Governorate, and three others in Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Bait La'hm (Bethlehem).

The Commission indicated that the decision to establish colonial outposts comes under directions from within the Israeli cabinet, which sponsors the colonial settlement project and provides facilities to terrorist colonists in order to implement plans to control the land and forcibly displace.

K.T.

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Illegal Israeli settlers assault shepherds southeast of Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers Wednesday assaulted Palestinian shepherds in the wilderness of Al-Maniya village, southeast of the occupied West Bank city of Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), according to a local official.

Zayid Kawazba, head of Al-Maniya Village Council, said that a group of colonists trespassed onto the villagers’ lands in the Al-Maniya wilderness, attacked shepherds, and forced them to leave their farmlands.

He added that the assailants grazed their cattle on the villagers’ lands and set up two tents at the Al-Tanna and 'Hajjar localities as a prelude to establishing a pastoral colonial outpost.

The settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

The settler violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, and attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

Approximately 1 million Israeli colonists are living in colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

K.F.

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Israeli occupation forces demolish 18 tents in Masafir Yatta

Al-Khaleel (Hebron)., February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces demolished 18 tents and destroyed the water and electricity networks in the Khallet Al-Dhab' community in Masafir Yatta, south of Al-Khaleel (Hebron).

According to WAFA correspondent, Israeli occupation forces stormed the Khallet Al-Dhab' community in Masafir Yatta, where they bulldozed 18 tents with their furniture and belongings and seized them.

They also destroyed the water and electricity networks of the community.

Mu'hammed Badawi, one of the affected residents, said that the occupation forces demolished the tents that housed more than ten families, who took refuge in those tents after the occupation had demolished their homes earlier this month, leaving more than 80 individuals, most of them women and children, homeless.

It is worth noting that the occupation forces had demolished more than 17 homes and a number of caves in that area during this month, seven of them in Khallet a-Dabe' alone.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation authorities razed land and uprooted olive trees in the town of Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem.

Y.S.

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Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) Governorate warns of Israeli escalation at Al-Aqsa Mosque as Ramadan approaches

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) Governorate has warned of an impending escalation by Israeli occupation forces as the holy month of Ramadan approaches, calling for the lifting of restrictive measures and the guarantee of freedom of worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Governorate stated that the Israeli authorities intend to impose a series of provocative and discriminatory measures against Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan. These measures will include limiting the number of worshippers at the mosque to only a few thousand, allowing 10,000 worshippers from the West Bank to attend Friday prayers, in clear violation of Muslims' right to worship, and preventing recently freed prisoners from entering the mosque. Additionally, entry to the mosque for worshippers from the West Bank will be restricted to men over 55 and women over 50.

The Governorate further noted that the Israeli authorities are intensifying their military presence by deploying 3,000 police officers daily at the checkpoints surrounding Jerusalem. They have also tightened their grip on 82 military checkpoints, which include placing earth mounds, iron gates and the apartheid wall, effectively isolating Palestinian neighborhoods from the heart of the city and from each other.

This is part of an ongoing effort to suffocate the movement of worshippers and terrorize them, stressed the Jerusalem Governorate in a statement.

Furthermore, the Israeli authorities continue to reinforce surveillance and repression centers in the Old City, where five police centers are stationed near the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, conducting random detentions of worshippers and humiliating them under false security pretenses, in a clear embodiment of a systematic ethnic cleansing policy.

The Governorate emphasized that the holy month of Ramadan is a month of worship, and international agreements, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, guarantee freedom of worship for peoples under occupation.

The Convention ensures the freedom to practice religious rites, protects places of worship, and guarantees the prohibition of religious discrimination, said the statement. It explicitly addresses religious freedom and prohibits occupation forces from intervening in religious practices, obligating them to protect sacred sites, it added.

The Jerusalem Governorate stressed that Israeli authorities have no right, under any circumstances, to impose military barriers, restrictions, or interference to prevent citizens from reaching the mosque. It considered all Israeli measures in Jerusalem and its holy sites to be null and void, viewing them as part of the Israeli right-wing government's efforts to escalate the conflict and facilitate the implementation of its colonial expansionist plans.

The Governorate called on the Palestinian people within the 1948 occupied territories to intensify their presence at Al-Aqsa Mosque, in order to thwart the occupation's plans. It also urged Arab and Islamic countries, as well as the international community, to assume their responsibilities and take immediate action to halt these violations.

T.R.

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 Israeli occupation forces Palestinian family to leave their lands near Salfeet

SALFEET, February 26, 11, 2024 (WAFA) – 

The Israeli occupation forces forced a Palestinian family to leave their land, located in Khirbet Abul Ra'ish between the towns of Dair Ballout and Al-Lubban Al-Gharbiya.

Mu'hammed Shu'haibar, a local civilian,  told WAFA that the occupation forces along colonists attack the family's five tents, beat them, kill their livestock,  and prevent them from grazing on their land .

Shu'haibar added, The occupation informed the families to evacuate the place immediately, and gave them until Friday.

Y.S

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Water sector sufferers great damage due to Israeli’s massive destruction of infrastructure, says officials

RAMALLAH, February 26, 11, 2025 (WAFA) – 

Water Authority Chairman Ziyad Mimi stressed that Israel's continued systematic destruction in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has inflicted heavy losses on the water and sanitation sector, which requires working according to rapid plans, including providing urgent interventions and cooperation with partner agencies and institutions.

This came during a meeting held in the city of Ramallah today with the French Consul General Nicolas Kassianides and other French and Palestinian key officials.

Al-Mimi briefed Kassianides on the current developments on the ground and their impact on the implementation of development projects.

The two parties discussed the developments in the work of the programs and projects funded by the French government in the water and sanitation sector in Palestine, and the steps included during the stages of their implementation, including the challenges, whether at the financial or technical level, and the steps required to be completed by both parties to move forward in implementing these projects.

Al-Mimi pointed out that in light of the current challenges, some projects have witnessed a number of obstacles that are being followed up and resolved by the Water Authority’s teams, in cooperation with partner agencies.

For his part, Kassianidas appreciated the practical steps that Minister Al-Mimi mentioned for the advanced stages of the projects, and what they included regarding the necessity of providing additional financial support for some stages in order to be able to complete the strategic projects.

Y.S.

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News Related to the Israeli Genocidal War on the Palestinian People

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EU Heads of Mission call for preserving Status Quo, character of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

 The European Union (EU) reiterated Wednesday the special status and character of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) and the inviolability of its sacred spaces must be preserved, affirming that any unilateral attempt to change the Status Quo would have deeply destabilizing effects and must be avoided.

In a statement, the EU Representative, in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) and Ramallah, recalled the significance of the Holy Sites, calling for upholding the Status Quo, in line with previous understandings.

In this framework, they stressed that worshipers need to be able to access their holy sites freely.

The EU Heads of Mission visited the Al-Aqsa compound and met with the Jerusalem Waqf as part of regular exchanges dedicated to the religious and cultural diversity of Jerusalem and its Old City, with the Waqf sharing concerns over the restrictions to access the Al Aqsa Compound during the holy month of Ramadan.

The EU and its Member States have also engaged with the heads of Churches on challenges affecting their position and the Christian communities.

The Churches highlighted, inter alia, the financial pressure they continue facing from local Israeli authorities through the imposition of retroactive municipal taxation on their properties, irrespective of their use, in contrast to a long-standing practice and past agreements of not taxing church properties.

They stressed how this would limit their ability to function and continue their charity and educational work. The initiation of foreclosure procedures against properties of the Armenian Patriarchate is of increasing concern.

A.D./ K.F.

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‎UNRWA Commissioner-General: West Bank is undergoing alarming spillover of Gaza war

NEW YORK, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General said Wednesday that the West Bank is undergoing an alarming spillover of the Gaza war.

In remarks on the X platform, Lazzarini said more than 50 people, including children, have been reported killed since the Israeli operation started 5 weeks ago.

He warned that the destruction of public infrastructure, bulldozing roads, and access restrictions are commonplace.

“People’s lives have been turned upside down, bringing back traumas and loss. Around  40,000 people have been forced to flee their homes especially in refugee camps in the north,” he further noted.

He said that fear, uncertainty, and grief once again prevail, pointing out that affected camps lie in ruins.

“More than 5,000 children who normally go to UNRWA schools have been deprived of education, some for over 10 weeks now,” he said, adding that patients cannot access healthcare, and families are cut off from water, electricity and other basic services.

More and more people are relying on humanitarian aid at a time when aid agencies are overstretched and severely under-resourced, Lazzarini said.

“Our UNRWA  teams are tracking displaced people and continue to provide them with much-needed food, health care, and basics to keep them warm,” the UN official stressed.

He said the West Bank is becoming a battlefield, noting that “ordinary Palestinians are the first and most to suffer. This must end.”

A.D./ K.F.

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France expresses concern over Israeli military aggression in northern West Bank

PARIS, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) –

France Wednesday expressed concern over the stepped-up Israeli military aggression operations in refugee camps in the northern occupied West Bank governorates of Jineen, Toulkarm, and Toubas.

The French Foreign Ministry called on in a press statement the Israeli occupation authorities to exercise the utmost restraint in the use of force and to ensure the protection of civilian populations, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

It noted that these operations have reportedly already resulted in the displacement of 40,000 Palestinians, emphasizing that the forcible displacement of populations is contrary to international law.

France called on the occupying authorities to allow civilians displaced by the aggression to swiftly return home.

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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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