This week: Palestinians protest for access to a segregated street in Hebron while Israeli settlers freely march on it during Purim; reactions to the death of prisoner Arafat Jaradat; a teen is shot by Israeli forces; and right-wingers mock hunger strikers at Ofer military prison.
During a protest against the continued closure of Shuhada Street to Palestinians, demonstrators climb a fence, bulit by the Israeli army in the West Bank city of Hebron February 22, 2013. Hundreds of demonstrators, including foreign and Israeli activists, gathered to mark the 19th anniversary of the closure of the street by the Israeli army in 1994 following the massacre by Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli settler, who went on a rampage inside Al Ibrahimi Mosque, killing 29 Palestinian worshipers. (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Demonstrators clash with the Israeli army during a protest against the continued closure of Shuhada street to Palestinians, in the West Bank city of Hebron February 22, 2013. (Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)
Hundreds attend a solidarity demonstration with hunger striking Palestinian prisoners, February 21, 2013. The confrontations spread to several locations in the area, from the Bituniya checkpoint in front of Ofer military prison into Bituniya itself. The Israeli army fired large quantities of rubber bullets. (Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)
A Palestinian woman watches from her doorstep as costumed Jewish settlers participate in the traditional Purim holiday parade on Shuhada Street, heavily guarded by Israeli police and military forces, Hebron, West Bank, February 24, 2013. Shuhada Street, once the heart of the prosperous Hebron market, has been closed to Palestinian businesses or access for the past 19 years, while Jewish settlers are free to use it as they please. (Photo by: Activestills.org)
A Palestinian family looks from their balcony – protected by a screen net – at Jewish settlers participating in the traditional Purim holiday parade taking place on Shuhada Street, Hebron, West Bank, February 24, 2013. (Photo by: Activestills.org)
The father of deceased Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jaradat collapses after identifying his son’s body at the Abu Kabir Forensic institute, February 24, 2013. Arafat Jaradat, 30, from the Palestinian village of Sa’ir died on February 23, 2013 in the Israel’s Megiddo prison. According to human rights reports, Jaradat died either during or shortly after he was interrogated in Megiddo Prison. (Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)
A relative of the deceased Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jaradat holds his photograph as she and other family members wait for the autopsy results in their home, Sa’ir, West Bank, February 24, 2013. (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
The body of Arafat Jaradat, minutes before the funeral, Sa’ir, West Bank, February 25, 2013. (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
An armed masked man shoots in the air above the crowd at the funeral of Arafat Jaradat in Sa’ir village, West Bank, February 25, 2013. (Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)
Friends evacuate 13-year-old Muhammad al-Kurdi, who was injured by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces during clashes in Aida Refugee Camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, February 25, 2013. The clashes were in response to the death of Arafat Jaradat, who died after being interrogated in Israeli custody. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)
Palestinian youths pile burning tires against a tower in the Israeli separation wall during clashes in Aida Refugee Camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, February 25, 2013. The clashes were in response to the death of Arafat Jaradat, who died after being interrogated in Israeli custody. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)
The mother of 13-year-old Mohammad al-Kurdi visits him in the intensive care unit in Beit Jala hospital, West Bank, February 26, 2013. Mohammad suffered from shrapnel in his body after he was shot by an Israeli soldier during clashes over the death of Arafat Jaradat in Aida refugee camp. Some shrapnel, close to his spine, could not be removed because of the high risk involved. Doctors in the hospital declared the shrapnel came from a dum-dum bullet. (Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
Israeli right-wing activists, among them ex-parliament member Michael Ben Ari, demonstrate in front of Ofer military prison calling to ignore all demands by hunger strikers and let them die. The sign reads, “hunger strike – saving expenses”. (Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)
Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war – the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel and the massive retaliatory Israeli attacks on Gaza. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing violence.
We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed unleashed by these events has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Hamas’ murderous assault in southern Israel has devastated and shocked the country to its core. Israel’s retaliatory bombing of Gaza is wreaking destruction on the already besieged strip and killing a ballooning number of civilians. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to escalate their attacks on Palestinians.
This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 13 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, the entrenched occupation, and an increasingly normalized siege on Gaza.
We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.
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