Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses. Share the link of this article with your facebook friends

 

3 Palestinians Killed in One Day, Scores Injured, Dozens Abducted by Israeli Occupation Soldiers

October 5, 2021 

Editor's Note:

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 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 David, Solomon, 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 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.

The following news stories are just examples of the Israeli occupation government abuse, mistreatment, and violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis.

More detailed news stories can be found at the following sources:

http://english.wafa.ps/, https://english.palinfo.com/, https://imemc.org/, https://paltoday.ps/ar/

 

Scores of Activists March South of Palestinian city of Hebron Demanding Water rights, October 2, 2021	Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh, 60, was abducted from her home in Ramallah by Israeli occupation soldiers, on October 1, 2021

Illegal Israeli Settlers Burn Olive Trees Near Nablus

IMEMC, October 5, 2021

A group of illegal Israeli settlers, illegally squatting on Palestinian lands, invaded Palestinian olive orchards in Jurish village, southeast of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and burnt dozens of trees.

Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors Israel’s illegal colonialist activities in the northern West Bank, said the Israeli assailants came from Magdolim illegal colony which was installed on stolen Palestinian lands.

Daghlas added that the colonizers set dozens of olive trees ablaze, while Israeli soldiers were heavily deployed in the area.

While such attacks and violations are frequent, they witness a serious escalation during the olive harvest season.

In related news, the colonizers attacked Palestinian shepherds east of Khirbat Makhoul village, in the Northern Plains of the occupied West Bank.

All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Humanitarian Law.

Israeli Occupation Soldiers Invade Home, Shops, In Al-'Isawiya, Jerusalem

 IMEMC, October 5, 2021

Israeli occupation soldiers invaded, Tuesday, a Palestinian home and several shops in the al-‘Isawiya town, in the occupied Palestinian capital, Jerusalem, in the West Bank.

Media sources said the soldiers invaded the home of Essam Darwish and violently searched it.

They added that the soldiers interrogated the Palestinian and his family while ransacking the property.

In addition, the soldiers invaded several shops in the town and searched them, causing damage, in addition to installing roadblocks in several areas.

In related news, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center In Silwan (Silwanic) the soldiers and police officers installed, for the second day, many roadblocks in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem, preventing the Palestinians from entering or leaving it, while allowing hundreds of colonizers into the neighborhood, demanding the removal of the Palestinians.

Journalist among nine Palestinians Abducted by Israel in the occupied territories”

RAMALLAH, Tuesday,

IMEMC, October 05, 2021 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces today abducted nine Palestinians, including a journalist, from various parts of the occupied territories, according to local and Palestinian security sources.

They said that Israeli forces raided the southern West Bank city of Hebron, raided and ransacked several houses and rounded up two Palestinians, including Radi Karama, a journalist

The soldiers rounded up two others after breaking into and searching their houses in Sair and al-Shuyukh towns, northeast of Hebron.

In Jerusalem, Israeli occupation regime police re-arrested a former prisoner, who spent 21 years in Israeli custody, after summoning him for interrogation at the al-Moskobiya detention facility.

Israeli military stormed Beit Anan town, northwest of Jerusalem, where the soldiers re-arrested a former prisoner and stormed his family house.

In the northern West Bank, the sources confirmed an army raid in Urif village, south of Nablus city, resulting in the detention of one Palestinian man.

The soldiers forcibly entered a house in Izbit al-Jarad area, southeast of Tulkarm, where they re-arrested a former prisoner.

In Jenin district, a resident of Siris town, south of Jenin city, was detained at a military checkpoint south of Nablus.

Meanwhile, soldiers raided Yabad town, west of Jenin, and conducted on-site interrogations of a number of residents.

The raid triggered confrontations during which the soldiers opened fire towards the residents who attempted to block their passage, causing a number of tear gas suffocation cases.

Israeli Occupation Army Abducts Five Palestinians In Jerusalem

 IMEMC, October 4, 2021

Israeli occupation soldiers abducted, on Monday at dawn, five young men from their homes in the al-‘Isawiya town, in occupied Jerusalem.

The Wadi Hilweh Information Center In Silwan (Silwanic) the soldiers invaded the town, before breaking into and searching several homes, and abducted the five young men.

The abducted Palestinians have been identified as Ali Sofian Obeid, Adam Shafiq Obeid, Eyas Hussein Obeid, Mohammad Bassam Elyan, and Mohammad Bakr Mustafa.

The soldiers also summoned for interrogation another young man, identified as Mo’tasem Hamza Obeid.

Video Player 00:00 00:33

Video By Silwanic

Also at dawn, the soldiers abducted three Palestinians, including a former political prisoner, in Ramallah and Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Occupation  Soldiers Close Road With Rocks Near Jenin

 IMEMC, October 4, 2021

Israeli occupation soldiers placed, Sunday, large rocks to close a road near Ya’bad town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and installed a roadblock on a nearby road before stopping cars and interrogating the Palestinians.

Media sources said the soldiers, accompanied by bulldozers, invaded an area near the Emreiha area, south of Ya’bad town, and installed the rocks to close a minor road leading to large areas of Palestinian lands and various surrounding areas.

They added that the soldiers forced the Palestinians to leave the area, after alleging it is now a closed zone, without providing any explanation.

Amjad Atatra, a member of Ya’bad Village Council, told Palestine TV that the closed road is essential because it links between various villages and towns, and also leads to Tulkarem.

He added that the closed road also isolated 6000 Dunams of Palestinian olive orchards in the Emreiha area.

Atatra also said that the soldiers previously prevented the Town Council from rehabilitating and expanding the main road in Ya’bad.

The closure of the road also forced schoolchildren to climb the rocks just to be able to return home from school.

The soldiers also installed a roadblock on the Kafrit-Ya’bad junction, leading to the Dothan military roadblock, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated the Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.

It is worth mentioning that Ya’bad is surrounded by six illegal Israeli colonies that were built on stolen Palestinian lands, and the army constantly invades the town and bulldozes lands, in addition to the currently ongoing work to expand one of the colonies.

Furthermore, the soldiers invaded Palestinian olive orchards near Kafrit, and searched them, while many army jeeps also invaded areas near Marka and Nazlet Zeid villages.

Ya’bad and surrounding areas have been subject to constant invasions and violations, including violent searches of homes, the bulldozing and uprooting of lands, and the demolition of property, in addition to the installation of various military roadblocks.

Human Rights Organizations Call for Release of Rasmea Odeh

 IMEMC, October 3, 2021

On 1 October 2021, Al-Haq and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Addameer) sent letters to State Representatives calling on them to intervene to prevent Ms. Odeh’s unlawful detention and mistreatment and urging their attendance at Ms. Odeh’s next legal hearing on 4 October 2021, in order to ensure fair standards of legal proceedings.

Ms. Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh, 60 and mother of three, a human rights defender and the Director of the Health Work Committees (HWC), was forcibly and arbitrarily arrested at her house in Ramallah by the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) on 7 July 2021, at around 2:00 am. She was then forcibly taken to Ofer Israeli Military Camp in Ramallah, where a nine-hour interrogation ensued on the day of her arrival. Next, Ms. Odeh was moved to Hasharon Prison, located outside the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), in violation of international humanitarian law. Since 27 July, Ms. Odeh has been held in Damoun Female Prison in Haifa.

The forced and arbitrary arrestation and detention of Ms. Odeh constitutes breaches of several Israel’s obligations under international human rights and international humanitarian law, notably the prisoners’ right to remain in the occupied territory during all stages of detention (Article 76 Fourth Geneva Convention related to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War) and the prohibition of forcible transfer of civilians (Article 49 Fourth Geneva Convention). Holding Ms. Odeh in Israeli prisons outside of the OPT both infringes on her right to maintain contact with family and defense counsel, as heavy restrictions on Palestinians’ free movement imposed by Israeli authorities preclude the ability of her family to visit, and constitutes forcible transfer of civilians.

The conditions of detention of Ms. Odeh also amount to violations of the Occupying Power’s obligations to provide adequate medical care (Article 76 Fourth Geneva Convention) and Ms. Odeh’s right to human dignity. Indeed, Ms. Odeh was denied access to emergency medication for the first eight days of her detention and has been subjected to degrading and inhumane conditions of detention which induced her to lose 9 kilograms of weight thus far. Finally, the continuous unjustifiable detention of Ms. Odeh without knowledge of the charges levelled against her is a violation of her right to a fair trial and due process, protected by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In light of the above, Al-Haq and Addameer urged the state representatives to:

i. Call on the Occupying Power, Israel, to immediately release Palestinian detainee Ms. Odeh, whose health is compromised, and guarantee her right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary arrests and detention;

ii. Call for your attendance at the next legal hearing on 4 October 2021, at 2 pm at the Offer Military Camp, in order to ensure fair standards of legal proceedings;​_

iii. Call on Israel to put an end to the systematic and ongoing practice of targeting of Palestinian civil society organizations, including the HWC and intimidating Palestinian human rights defenders, including Ms. Odeh, contrary to international law;

iv. Call for the return of Ms. Odeh’s property, including her mobile phone and car, unlawfully, confiscated without a requisition order and in the absence of the requisite ‘military need’ or ‘military operations’ provided for under Articles 52 and 53 of the Hague Regulations (1907); and

v. To condemn and call on Israel to end its inhumane practices of prolonged drives and transfers of prisoners between prisons, in confined spaces for hours in conditions causing ‘intense suffering’.

Scores of Activists March South of Hebron Demanding Water rights

 IMEMC, October 2, 2021

Scores of Palestinian and Israeli activists joined a mass protest on Saturday organized by7 Combatants for Peace movement in the village of Al-Tawani, south of Hebron, to demand water rights of Palestinian that’s is stolen by the occupation and its settlers.

Also joined the rally today Palestinian ministers and Israeli members of parliament, From the Palestinian side, Walid Assaf, head of the Wall and Settlements Commission, and Dr. Sabri Saidam, Palestinian Minister of Education joined the protest. On the Israeli side, Knesset members Ofer Kassif and Moshe Raz joined the protest today.

The march started from the village of Al-Tawani and reached the neighboring village of Al-Mafqarah, where the participants raised banners condemning the occupation and settlements and demanding the rights of Palestinians to water stolen by the occupation and its settlers.

Today’s march is part of the water campaign launched by the Combatants for Peace movement in cooperation with the Committee for Protection and Resilience in Masafer Yatta, which aims to raise international awareness of the racism of the occupation in distributing water to Palestinians in what is known as Area C of the West Bank.

Adam Rabie, campaign coordinator in the Combatants for Peace movement, said, “Today’s march is part of the Water campaign launched by the Combatants for Peace movement in cooperation with the Protection and Resilience Committee in Masafer Yatta, which aims to raise international awareness about the occupation’s racism in distributing water to Palestinians in the so-called areas (C) From the West Bank. “We will continue our campaign with our partners until our people in Masafer Yatta obtain their legitimate rights,” he added.

MK Ofer Kasif, from the Joint List, said, “It is a great honor for me to be among you, hundreds of people who came here to stand with our Palestinian brothers and sisters who suffer every day, every hour from the oppression of the occupation, and the terrorist settlers, who are supported by the occupation army. We are here, hundreds, Jews and Palestinians together. We have come to say no. No to the occupation, yes to justice and freedom.

During the past week, settlers attacked the village of Al-Mafqara and attacked vandalized homes he support of the occupation forces, resulting in several injuries, including an eight-year-old child.

The Israeli occupation controls more than 95% of the natural water wells in the West Bank,

while the Israeli settlers enjoy running water throughout the year, and the Palestinians in those areas suffer from water cuts of up to 150 days during one year, and the occupation also prevents the Palestinians in Area C from building Or develop any water wells and distribution networks of their own.

Israeli Occupation Soldiers Injure Many Palestinians, Abduct Two, In Jerusalem

 IMEMC, October 1, 2021

Israeli occupation soldiers injured, on Friday afternoon, many Palestinians near occupied Jerusalem, and abducted a young man in the city.

Medical sources said the soldiers invaded the Breita mountain area, near Beit Duqqu and Beit Ijza towns, northwest of Jerusalem, and attacked protesters, wounding two with rubber-coated steel bullets, and causing many to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.

In addition, the soldiers abducted a young man near Bab Hutta, one of the gates leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.

Eyewitnesses said the soldiers took the abducted young man to an interrogation facility in Jerusalem.

In related news, the Israeli police said it detained, over the last twenty-four hours, 694 Palestinians from several parts of the West Bank, for entering and staying in occupied Jerusalem “without a permit,” and released them after forcing them out of the city.

On Friday at dawn, Israeli soldiers abducted nine Palestinians, including one child, from several parts of the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.

Israeli Occupation Soldiers Injure 90 Palestinians Near Nablus

 IMEMC, October 1, 2021

 Israeli occupation soldiers injured, Friday, at at least ninety Palestinians during protests in Beit Dajan and Beita towns, east and south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, during processions against the illegal colonialist activities on the Palestinian lands.

– The Palestinain Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has reported that the soldiers injured ninety Palestinians in Sbeih Mountain in Beita town, and in Beit Dajan.

– The PRCS added that among the wounded 13 who were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets in Beita, and 13 in Beit Dajan,

– 74 Palestinians suffered the effects of tear gas inhaltion, in addition to cuts and bruises.

—

The Nablus office of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) stated that the soldiers shot five Palestinians with rubber-coated steel bullets in Beit Dajan before the medics provided them with the needed treatment and moved them to a hospital for further examination.

The Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission, the Coordination Committee between Palestinian Factions, and the Popular Land Defense Committee participated in the massive procession which started following noon prayers at the mosque in Beita before the residents nonviolently marched toward their lands where the Israeli colonizers installed an outpost.

The soldiers then attacked them with rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs, wounding the five Palestinians, and causing a few others to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.

In addition, the soldiers shot eleven Palestinians with rubber-coated steel bullets and caused more than seventeen to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation, in addition to four who sustained cuts and bruises, after the army attacked protesters in Beita.

Israeli Occupation Soldiers Kill A Palestinian In Central Gaza

 IMEMC, SEP 30, 2021

Israeli occupation soldiers killed, Thursday, a Palestinian man east of the al-Boreij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip.

Palestinian medical sources said the slain Palestinian has been identified as Mohammad Mohammad Ammar, 41, from al-Boreij.

They added that Mohammad was shot with a live round in the head before he was rushed to the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the nearby Deir al-Balah city, where he was officially pronounced dead.

The slain man was shot on Palestinian land close to the perimeter fence of the besieged coastal region.

Local sources said Ammar was hunting for birds when the soldiers delivered the fatal shots.

Israeli Ynet news quoted that army claiming that the soldiers reportedly observed, through surveillance cameras, three Palestinians approaching the fence, and added that “one of them was digging in the ground while carrying a suspicious bag.”

It said that the army did not provide further clarification besides stating that the soldiers spotted the man and opened fire at him.

His family said that Mohammad was a married father of father of seven children (four boys and three girls), and worked at the local town council, and added that he took a four-day vacation from work to hunt for birds and spend time with the family.

The attack is part of frequent Israeli violations against the Palestinians, especially the fishermen, farmers, shepherds, and workers in the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip, and have led to dozens of casualties, including fatalities, in addition to serious property damage and the confiscation of many boats after abducting the fishermen.

Also Thursday, the soldiers killed a Palestinian woman in Jerusalem, identified as Isra’ Khaled Khzaimiah, 30, in Burqin town, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and Ala’ Nasser Zayyoud, 22, from Qabatia, south of Jenin.

Israeli Occupation Soldiers Kill A Palestinian Near Jenin

  IMEMC, SEP 30, 2021

Israeli occupation soldiers killed, on Thursday at dawn, a young Palestinian man in Burqin town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin. The soldiers and uncover officers were operating in the area to abduct Palestinian resistance fighters.

Palestinian medical sources said the slain young man has been identified as Ala’ Nasser Zayyoud, 22, from Sielet al-Harithiya town, northwest of Jenin.

They added that the young was shot from a close range and that the soldiers wanted to take his corpse away when Palestinian resistance fighters fired several rounds at them and managed to retrieve the corpse before taking it to Khalil Suleiman governmental hospital in Jenin.

The incident took place when a large Israeli military force, including undercover soldiers, invaded Burqin, leading to protests, and an exchange of fire between the army and armed resistance fighters.

Eyewitnesses said a large military force also invaded an area, between the towns of al-Yamoun and Burqin towns, before surrounding a home.

They added that Ala’ ran towards the area of the invasion carrying his weapon, but did not know the soldiers were deployed around the corner and came face to face with them when they shot him with several live rounds, and even fired several rounds at him after he dropped onto the ground.

The soldiers also invaded and ransacked homes, before abducting two young men, and took them to an unknown destination.

The slain Palestinian was a member of the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad.

Israeli Occupation Soldiers Kill A Palestinian Woman In Jerusalem

  IMEMC, SEP 30, 2021

Israeli occupation soldiers killed, on Thursday morning, a Palestinian woman near the Chain Gate, leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem.

The Israeli police claimed the woman, 30, carried a sharp object and attempted to stab officers before they delivered the fatal shots, and added that she is from Qabatia, south of Jenin, in northern West Bank.

It also claimed that the woman exited the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound through the Chain Gate, and “pulled a knife out before attempting to stab officers, before they fired live rounds at her.”

Eyewitnesses said the woman was still alive, but seriously injured and unable to move, and added that the police prevented anybody from reaching her to render the urgently needed first aid before she succumbed to her wounds.

The woman was later identified as Isra’ khaleed Khzaimiah, 30, a married mother of four children, the youngest are four and two years of age, from Qabatia town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

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Palestinian Man Lies in Front of Israeli Bulldozer in Last-Ditch Attempt to Save His Land

  IMEMC, OCT 4, 2021

Ahmad Samrin lay down in from of an Israeli bulldozer Sunday to try to non-violently prevent the bulldozer from destroying his family’s land in Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem – an area that has become a flashpoint in the past two years as Israeli municipal authorities have tried to force Palestinian landowners off their land. Israeli authorities have publicized their plan for the neighborhood, which is to remove the Palestinians who have lived there for generations and to destroy their homes and orchards, and then to turn the neighborhood into a tourist site.

The Samrin family land is located in the Wadi Al-Rababa are of Silwan, and is the last remaining green land of Silwan. The land in question faces the southern facade of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.

Ahmad Samrin decided to take this action of civil disobedience to try to get the Israeli bulldozer to retreat, after having exhausted all other means to prevent the Israeli takeover of his land. Israeli forces attacked him with rifle butts, causing injuries and bruises on his face.

Since the beginning of this year, the owners of land in Wadi al-Rababa have been carrying out non-violent demonstrations and sit-ins to prevent the illegal seizure of their land by Israeli authorities and US-funded colonial organizations. Several times, residents have sat down in front of the massive armored bulldozers to prevent the razing of the picturesque and historic valley.

Ahmad’s cousin Shadi Samrin, one of the Jerusalemites who confronted the bulldozers on another occasion earlier this year, told reporters with the Palestinian Wafa news Agency that Israeli forces assaulted his cousin with rifle butts during the landowners’ response to the storming of the occupation, which led to bleeding in the face and bruises all over his body.

“In these moments, the responsibility is on us to protect our homes and lands. Our actions are based on our right to our land. The only thing we can do for the survival of our lands is to continue our sit-in and not give up,” Shadi told reporters.

Shadi said that he fears that the Israeli occupation authorities will hand his cousin a decision to expel him from the neighborhood in order to carry out their destruction of his land, adding that the Israeli occupation authorities previously handed him and a number of land owners decisions of expulsion under the pretext that their lands were considered by the Israeli government to be “absentee property”.

According to the human rights organization Adalah, The Absentee Property Law passed by Israel in 1950, “Defines persons who were expelled, fled, or who left the country after 29 November 1947, mainly due to the war, as well as their movable and immovable property (mainly land, houses and bank accounts etc.), as ‘absentee’. Property belonging to absentees was placed under the control of the State of Israel with the Custodian for Absentees’ Property. The Absentees’ Property Law was the main legal instrument used by Israel to take possession of the land belonging to the internal and external Palestinian refugees, and Muslim Waqf properties across the state.”

The Law is being used by Israeli authorities right now in various parts of Jerusalem to expel Palestinian landowners from their homes, despite the illegality of such forced expulsion under international law and signed human rights conventions.

Shadi explained that the Israeli “Nature Authority” is working with the Israeli municipal government, police and courts to seize the land, although the families have papers proving their ownership. He added that in 2004 he proved in Israeli court that this land belongs to the Samrin family.

Ahmed Samrin said that the Israeli forces prevent him and his family members from cultivating and farming their land, and from carrying out construction projects on their land.

He said that Wadi al-Rababa is divided into two parts, north and south, where about 20 affected people who have identification papers showing they own the land have faced continuous aggression by the Israeli occupation and its settlers for a year.

He explained that the Israeli occupation authorities, “after transferring part of the neighborhood’s lands to the Israeli municipality’s control, are seeking to convert about 80 dunums of its lands, whose residents hold identification papers, into a garden for settlers.”

He points out that the lands of Wadi al-Rababa constitute the most important green areas in Silwan, and are owned by the Abbasid, Samrin and Siam families.

According to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in the town of Silwan, 70 dunums of the lands of the Wadi al-Rababa neighborhood are threatened with confiscation in order for Israeli authorities to construct Jewish-only settlements on them.

The Center also documented that the Nature Authority crews from time to time stormed the neighborhood’s lands, an area of ​​about 300 dunams, and worked inside them.

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Human rights organizations call on PayPal to end its digital discrimination in the occupied Palestinian territory

IMEMC, OCT 5, 2021

Report by 7amleh.org: October, 5, 2021, Ramallah – Tens of human rights organizations have joined together to tell PayPal to stop denying its services on discriminatory grounds to Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), including the West Bank and Gaza.

The coalition has sent a letter to Paypal to request that the company brings it’s policies in line with international human rights law and to request that the company engages directly with Palestinian civil society representatives to work together towards a sustainable solution.

Despite international pressure, PayPal still refuses to operate in the OPT while providing full access to users in Israel and illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. As a population living under prolonged military occupation, Palestinians face extreme restrictions on imports, exports, and movement as a result of Israel’s discriminatory laws, policies and practices in the West Bank and more severely so in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians rely on digital accessibility for economic development and access to the global economy. The ability to use digital payment platforms is crucial for Palestinian entrepreneurs, businesses, and freelancers, to access regional and international customers.

Nadim Nashif, Director of 7amleh said, “Our research has shown that the Palestinian market is ready for PayPal. By excluding Palestinians from its service but allowing illegal settlers, PayPal directly emboldens the Israeli occupation and further entrenches its devastating effects on the Palestinian population and their economy.”

PayPal claims that its policy against Palestinians is based on its “Prohibited Countries” policy which labels Palestine and other countries as “High Risk and Conflict Affected Areas,” in which PayPal has no ability to operate. However, Palestine has already implemented the regulatory frameworks necessary for accessing electronic payment systems. This includes the “Electronic Transactions Law” which facilitates electronic transactions and establishes measures to combat money laundering and fraud.

PayPal’s policy contributes to the Israeli campaign of delegitimization and deplatforming of Palestinian civil society and businesses. Furthermore, our requests are in line with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights guidance on the rights and obligations of business enterprises under international humanitarian law.

The guiding principles warn that if a “business finds (either through its own due diligence or other means) that it has caused or contributed to an adverse human rights impact, it has a responsibility to actively engage in remediation, either by itself or in cooperation with other actors”

The coalition calls on the international community to condemn PayPal’s discriminatory policies, and to join Palestinians in this campaign to pressure PayPal to extend its services to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Join our PayPal4Palestine campaign launch webinar to hear the implications PayPal’s policy has on the lives and careers of Palestinian freelancers, entrepruners and businesses.

Rand Safi is the Partnership and Community manager at Gaza Sky Geeks, Sam Bahour is a Palestinian entrepreneur and Managing Partner at Applied Information Management, and Zayne Abudaka is the Director of Research at Momentum Labs, a Palestinian venture builder and boutique consultancy. Deborah Brown, an expert in digital rights from Human Rights Watch will be moderating the session. Register here.  

Send an email to PayPal.

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