OCHA: Israeli Forces Killed 295 Palestinians in 2018

Occupied Al-Quds, MINA – The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that a total of 295 Palestinians were killed and over 29,000 others were injured in 2018 by Israeli forces.

According to a recent report released by OCHA, 57 of those Palestinian fatalities and about 7,000 of the wounded citizens were under age 18.

“This is the highest death toll in a single year since the Gaza conflict of 2014, and the highest number of injuries recorded since OCHA began documenting casualties in the oPt (occupied Palestinian territories) in 2005,” the report said.

In 2018, OCHA recorded 265 incidents in which Jewish settlers killed or injured Palestinians or damaged Palestinian property, marking a 69 percent increase in the occurrence of such incidents compared with 2017, PIC reported.

The settlers’ attacks led to the killing of one Palestinian woman and the injury of another 115 Palestinians.

Palestinian property vandalized by settlers includes some 7,900 trees and about 540 vehicles, according to the report.

As for Israel’s demolition policy, the report said that the Israeli authorities demolished or seized 459 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, mostly in Area C of the West Bank and east Jerusalem, overwhelmingly on the grounds of a lack of Israeli-issued construction permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. Those Israeli demolitions displaced 472 Palestinians, including 216 children and 127 women.

In Area C alone, there are over 13,000 pending demolition orders, including 40 issued against schools.

The report also highlighted Israel’s siege on Gaza, saying the land, sea and air blockade on the impoverished enclave persisted, with people being able to exit on an exceptional basis only.(R/R04/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)