OCHA / February 12, 2020
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
In 2019, Israeli forces killed 132 Palestinians, mostly by air-launched explosive weapons or live ammunition: 107 were killed in the Gaza Strip and 25 in the West Bank. Another 15,368 Palestinians were injured during the year by Israeli forces: 42 per cent required medical treatment after inhaling tear gas, 16 per cent were hit by rubber bullets and 13 per cent were shot with live ammunition.
Some 20 per cent of the Palestinian fatalities across the oPt in 2019 and at least 36 per cent of the injuries were of children (under 18 years of age); 25 of the children killed were boys and two girls.
Of the Palestinian fatalities in the Gaza Strip, 33 were civilians killed in the context of the ‘Great March of Return’ (GMR) protests by the perimeter fence with Israel, and the rest during hostilities and other incidents, including 31 civilians and 43 members of armed groups. In the West Bank, 13 of the Palestinians killed were in clashes that erupted, for the most part, during protests and search-and-arrest operations, and eight were perpetrators or alleged perpetrators of attacks against Israelis.
These figures bring the Palestinian death toll by Israeli forces during the decade to 3,602 throughout the oPt.[1] Nearly two-thirds of these fatalities occurred in 2014, which witnessed the deadliest escalation in hostilities since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967.
Three out of four Palestinians killed during the decade (2,668 people) were civilians, including 791 children, and 23 per cent were members of armed groups (817 people); the status of three per cent of those killed (114 people) could not be confirmed. More than 101,000 Palestinians were injured, with the peak recorded in 2018 in the context of the GMR.[2]
3,602 Palestinians killed and 101,254 injured by Israeli forces
203 Israelis killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Palestinians during the decade
In 2019, Palestinians killed ten Israelis and injured at least 121 others. Half of these fatalities (all civilians) were caused by rockets launched from Gaza by armed groups and the others (three civilians and two soldiers) by attacks carried out by Palestinians from the West Bank.
This brings the number of Israelis killed by Palestinians during the decade to 203, and those injured to 3,475. Half of these fatalities (101) were civilians who did not belong to any of the security forces (including the police), and 102 were members of Israeli security forces, including 67 soldiers killed during the 2014 escalation in Gaza.
203 Israelis killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Palestinians during the decade
During 2019, there were at least 112 attacks by West Bank Palestinians against Israeli settlers and other Israeli civilians, resulting in three fatalities, 26 injuries and damage to Israeli property (mostly vehicles hit by stones). These incidents bring the number of such Palestinian attacks during the past decade to 1,329.[3]
1,329 attacks against Israeli civilians by West Bank Palestinians
Nearly 3,000 Israeli settler attacks led to Palestinian casualties or property damage during the decade
In 2019, Israeli settlers carried out 341 attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in which they killed two Palestinians, injured 115, and vandalized Palestinian property, including almost 8,000 trees. During the decade, OCHA recorded a total of 2,955 settler attacks that resulted in Palestinian casualties (20 deaths and 1,256 injuries) or property damage.[4]
During the decade, the Nablus governorate was the most affected by settler violence, the majority around the settlement of Yitzhar, followed by Hebron and Ramallah governorates.
2,955 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians*
* Incidents resulting in both casualties and damage are classified as resulting in casualties
Fadi’s story: Fadi Shaqoura, 25, from Jabaliya camp in Gaza, is one of over 101,000 people injured during the decade. On February 2018, he was shot with live ammunition during a protest against the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. His right leg had to be amputated. Since then, he has applied unsuccessfully multiple times for an exit permit to attend a rehabilitation centre in Bethlehem, from the Israeli authorities (read more). He recently received a temporary artificial limb in Gaza, which does not fit and causes him severe pain. He is still waiting for an exit permit.
The story of Jum’a: Jum’a Ar Raba’ai, 48 and father of eight, lives in At Tuwani village in southern Hebron, next to the unauthorized settlement outpost of Havat Ma’on. The safety and livelihood of his family have been systematically undermined in recent years due to settler violence. On March 2018, while working their land, Jum’a and his son Rafat were physically assaulted and injured by settlers (read more). Almost two years after that incident, he is yet to recover for the leg injury and relies on a cane for walking. He is still subject to settler harassment and intimidation while working on his land.
[1] Included in this figure are 17 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Israel and four Palestinian citizens of Israel killed in the West Bank during attacks against Israelis.
[2] People injured multiple times are counted each time they are injured.
[3] Information about Palestinian attacks against Israeli settlers is based primarily on Israeli media reports.
[4] The 20 fatalities include one Palestinian killed by Israeli civilians in West Jerusalem on February 2011. The figures exclude three Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers in the context of Palestinian attacks or alleged attacks.
