JOHANNESBURG, April 24 (ANA) – A female Israeli soldier suffered light injuries when she was stabbed by a Palestinian woman on Monday morning at the Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank.
She was the fifth Israeli to be stabbed by Palestinian assailants in a 24-hour period while six Palestinians were shot by Israeli security forces, one of them critically, as protests in support of Palestinian hunger strikers raged across the West Bank, according to media reports.
Over a thousand Palestinian political prisoners embarked on a mass hunger strike a week ago in prisons across Israel, demanding an improvement to the harsh conditions in which they are held, including an end to solitary confinement and detention without trial.
The Israeli Prison Services (IPS) responded by stating that they would not negotiate with the prisoners and have implemented a number of counter-disciplinary measures, including the transfer of prisoners to other prisons, placing hunger strikers in solitary confinement, banning them from praying and confiscating their Qurans.
On Sunday an 18-year Palestinian from the West Bank city of Nablus carried out two stabbing attacks in two hotels along Tel Aviv’s shoreline, wounding four Israeli civilians lightly before he was apprehended by police and taken in for interrogation.
Following questioning by Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, the reasons behind the attack were reported to be nationalistically motivated.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank village of Kafr Malik, near the defacto Palestinian capital of Ramallah, three young Palestinian men were shot by Israeli soldiers as clashes raged in support of the hunger strikers on Sunday.
One of the young men remains in a critical condition after he was shot at close range in the chest, according to the Palestinian news agency Maan. Another two Palestinians were arrested during the same confrontation.
Earlier Sunday at least three other Palestinian protesters were injured by security forces during clashes in other parts of the West Bank.
International and Israeli human rights groups have accused Israeli forces of using disproportionate and excessive force when dealing with Palestinian demonstrators.
In 2016, Israeli security forces killed 101 Palestinians, including 31 minors, said Israeli rights group B’tselem in a recent report entitled “From trigger-happy to shoot-to-kill”.
Ninety of the casualties were killed in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), eight in the Gaza Strip, and three in Israel. Among the casualties were ten women and one female minor.
Seventy-five of the casualties (74 percent) were killed in incidents in which they assaulted, attempted to assault, or allegedly attempted to assault Israeli security forces and settlers.
Seventeen more Palestinians (17 percent) were killed during clashes with the security forces, in demonstrations, and in stone-throwing incidents. The rest were killed by bombing, during arrest missions, and in other incidents.
The wave of violence is expected to continue, accompanied by rising numbers of casualties, as the hunger strike continues with the Palestinian organisation Fatah, which is affiliated to the Palestinian Authority (PA), calling for a “Day of Rage” on Friday – in addition to daily protests.
During the Day of Rage, Palestinians have been called to confront Israeli security forces on mass at various points across the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem.
Imprisoned Fatah leader, Marwan Barghouti, who is serving several life sentences in an Israeli jail for attacks on Israelis during the second Palestinian Intifada or uprising, is one of the hunger strikers and the one responsible for mobilising the protest.
“The situation on the ground is very tense and I expect more violence,” Dr Samir Awad from Birzeit University, near Ramallah, told the African News Agency (ANA).
“However, I believe the hunger strike will be successful and in the end force the Israelis to treat the prisoners more humanely by allowing basic rights in prisons. Furthermore, this strike has the support of all political factions,” said Awad.
– African News Agency (ANA)
