Where is the ‘never again’ for Gaza?
Last week, we passed the 100th-day mark of Israel’s latest episode of aggression against the people of Gaza. It was a depressing milestone to consider. A hundred days of Palestinians being mercilessly exterminated in all kinds of brutal ways: Israeli bombs ripping them apart, Israeli bullets piercing their skulls, and the Israeli-imposed siege starving them or killing them through otherwise treatable infections. A hundred days in which the countries that said “never again” almost 80 years ago did nothing to stop our extermination. A hundred days in which we pleaded, humanitarian organisations pleaded, the United Nations pleaded and people in the streets across the world pleaded, but we were all ignored. Perhaps we should not be surprised at the silence. After all, Israel’s brutal and illegal occupation was allowed to go on for decades till it beat all records and became longest-lasting in modern history. Throughout this time, the Israeli occupying state, its governments and army have controlled virtually every aspect of Palestinian life: political, economic, social and – you may not believe it but – love life, too. Israel has been telling us what we can eat, what we can drink, what we can buy, where we can go, where we can travel, where we can live, where we can garden, where we can graze our cattle, where we can fish, where we can go to school, where we can get health services (if at all), and yes, who we can fall in love, get married to and settle with. Israel has even tried to tell us who we are as a nation. It has told Palestinians that they are Arab, Muslim, Christian, Druze or Circassian, but not Palestinian. It has done everything and anything to break up the Palestinian social fabric. Israel has also persistently sown divisions between political forces in Palestine; in the past 15 years, it has made sure that any mediation seeking a unity government between the two biggest Palestinian parties, Hamas and Fatah, has failed. Political disunity has caused immense damage to the Palestinian community, ultimately leading to conflict and weakness from within. Israel has also made sure that we remain poor and vulnerable not only through continuous dispossession – land theft, expulsions, and home demolitions – but also through economic dependence. It has purposefully kept the Palestinian economy on the brink of collapse, suffocating economic activity and private business. This has resulted in high unemployment rates and forced many Palestinians to work for the occupiers – sometimes even in illegal Jewish settlements literally built on their stolen land. Israel has also consistently undermined Palestinian agriculture – traditionally one of the strongest economic sectors in Palestine. Restricted access to land and water resources has led to a dramatic reduction of Palestinian agricultural output, fundamentally disrupting traditional livelihoods. In Gaza, the economic devastation has been even worse, courtesy of the 17-year-long blockade imposed by Israel. It severely restricted imports and exports, effectively killing most trade with the outside world and wrecking the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Israel even counted the calories of foods it was allowing into Gaza to ensure we barely have enough to survive. When we have resisted – peacefully or otherwise – the Israeli occupation has shown no mercy. It has killed, maimed, imprisoned, tortured and collectively punished. In the ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip, this drive to decimate the Palestinian people has taken on genocidal proportions. In 100 days, in the killing fields of Gaza, Israel managed to slaughter at least 31,000 Palestinians – 23,000 who have been officially counted and at least 8,000 who could not be because their bodies are still under the rubble with no one to take them out. The rest of us, who have survived, have faced the deadly combination of fear, hunger and thirst under Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and total siege. Over the past 100 days, the Israeli occupation has denied the entry of food, water, and medicine to the Gaza Strip. Not only that, but Israeli air strikes have targeted every source of life. From water wells and water treatment plants to bakeries, farms, electricity generators, and solar panels, Israel has systematically targeted any means of relief for the people of Gaza. It is important to note that the aid that comes into the Gaza Strip right now cannot cover the needs of even a small proportion of the population. People have become so desperate due to hunger and thirst that aid trucks that come in are sometimes attacked and ransacked. These goods are then sold in the streets for three to five times the regular price and thus never reach the most vulnerable who desperately need them. This is, of course, one of the intended outcomes of the siege. Another one was outlined by Member of the Knesset Tali Gottlieb in October. “Without hunger and thirst among Gazan population, we will not be able to recruit collaborators, we will not be able to recruit intelligence, we will not be able to bribe people, with food, drink, medicine, in order to obtain intelligence,” she said, demonstrating just how emboldened Israeli officials have become in displaying their genocidal goals in public and how secure they feel in their impunity ensured by the backing of the United States. To aid the process of “obtaining intelligence”, the Israeli occupation forces have regularly dropped leaflets from the sky, offering Palestinians food, medicine and safety in exchange for “cooperation”. But there is another even more sinister goal that Israel is pursuing. The unpredictability and harshness of daily life in Gaza are producing a sense of helplessness and despair. Many Palestinians, especially children, suffer from depression, anxiety, and stress disorders; many had not healed from traumas from past agressions before this one started. Israel wants not only to break and destroy our bodies; it wants to break and destroy our minds and souls. If we dig a little into history, we will find that these brutal tactics have been used before. The ancestors of part of the Israeli
Israel approves plan to transfer Gaza tax funds to Norway
Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh says ‘any deductions from our financial rights’ would be rejected. Taxes collected by Israel and bound for Gaza will be held in Norway, instead of being sent to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to a plan approved by Israeli officials. “The frozen funds will not be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, but will remain in the hands of a third country,” said a statement released on Sunday by the Israeli prime minister’s office. “The money or its consideration will not be transferred under any circumstances, except with the approval of the Minister of Finance of Israel, not even through a third party,” it said. In line with a deal reached in the 1990s, Israel collects tax on behalf of the Palestinians and makes monthly transfers to the PA pending the approval of the Ministry of Finance. While the PA was ousted from the strip in 2007, many of its public sector employees in the enclave kept their jobs and continued to be paid with transferred tax revenues. But nearly a month after the October 7 attack – when Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented assault into southern Israel killing at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics, and taking about 240 captives – Israeli authorities decided to withhold funds earmarked for the Gaza Strip. In response to the money deduction, the PA refused to accept a partial transfer of money. “Any deductions from our financial rights or any conditions imposed by Israel that prevent the PA from paying our people in the Gaza Strip are rejected by us,” said senior PA official Hussein al-Sheikh on X. “We call on the international community to stop this behavior based on piracy and stealing the money of the Palestinian people and force Israel to transfer all of our money,” he added. Nour Odeh, a political analyst based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said Israel was using its leverage over the tax revenues to “punish” and “weaken” the PA. “It’s a way for Israel to assert how much control it has on everything, including the PA’s ability to function. It’s not clear if the PA would be willing to accept conditions, because it would be humiliating to walk back its pledge to not take the revenues with the deduction of Gaza’s share of it,” she told Al Jazeera. “[WIthholding the revenues] will have a huge impact because those employed by the PA won’t receive their salaries at a time when many are starving due to Israel’s siege and war – people need that money to survive.” Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was the only member of the government to oppose the plan to send the funds to Norway. Ben-Gvir said the plan does not guarantee that the money won’t be transferred to Gaza. “Last week they started moving flour trucks and now they are making a decision that does not guarantee that the money will not reach the Nazis from Gaza,” the far-right leader said on X, adding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “constantly” moving “the red line”. The issue has been a source of friction within the Israeli war cabinet, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calling for the funds to be distributed to maintain stability in the occupied West Bank. Violence there has spiked since the start of the war amid nearly daily raids and mass arrest campaigns in cities and villages by Israeli forces. Since then, at least 319 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers, according to UN figures, and more than 6,000 have been arrested, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society advocacy group. Adblock test (Why?)
Palestinian industries falter as Israel bombs Gaza, locks down West Bank
Bethlehem, occupied West Bank – As the occupied West Bank roils with near-daily Israeli raids, settler attacks and killings of Palestinians, an overlooked impact of the violence is starting to take its toll. The past few months, Muhanad Nairoukh, manager of one of the three biggest aluminium factories in the occupied West Bank, tells Al Jazeera, have been the worst for production and profits in a long time. Life in the occupied West Bank is becoming more dangerous and complicated for the people living there, and alongside that, industry has crawled to a near halt as a result of Israeli actions, making it impossible to have “business as usual”. Losses across Palestinian industry Nairoukh manages more than 30 employees who keep the company his father founded in 1993 running. He has found himself having to cut costs recently as the company operates at 40 percent capacity, and production has been reduced by 60 percent. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) estimated at the end of December that the overall economic losses in Palestine, since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, reached around $1.5bn during the initial months of the war, equivalent to approximately $25m per day, excluding direct losses in properties and assets. Head of Purchasing Mohamed Nairoukh is worried about what the liquidity crunch will mean for the company [Ahmed Jibran/Al Jazeera] The Israeli checkpoints, which at best hold up shipments and at worse refuse to let them through, have increased the cost of internal transportation and shipping between Palestinian cities and overseas. Conversely, importing raw materials has become a logistical nightmare, significantly inflating production costs at a time when demand is plummeting due to the war. Nairoukh added that the checkpoints also affect the ability of workers to get to work on time, with truck drivers having to reroute their shipments, which exposes them to danger in addition to the time it wastes. Importing raw materials, as Nairoukh does from countries including China, Italy, Spain and Turkey, has been complicated by the closure of ports at the beginning of the war, leading to delays that resulted in inflated costs. A shipment from China, he said, used to cost $1,650 before the war but skyrocketed to $7,600 afterwards, a 360 percent increase – the kind of rise in costs that he is not sure he will be able to absorb for much longer, especially as delays mean cancelled orders and contracts. Samir Hazboun, secretary-general of the Federation of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, told Al Jazeera that both extractive and transformative industries in Palestine are in trouble. [embedded content] He added that other factors, such as the fluctuating exchange rates for industries that import raw materials, also play a big role. No sales, no profits, bouncing cheques Nairoukh and other business owners who service the construction sector, as he does, have found their sales plummeting as construction has come to a near-standstill. As fewer and fewer public and private sector employees receive their salaries and Palestinians who used to work in Israel are barred from crossing the checkpoints, there is less money for even individuals to complete construction projects. While October to May is usually the construction high season, this year it was a season of significant loss instead. Collecting money owed on older orders is also becoming more complicated as cheques bounce because the people who wrote them a few months ago now have empty bank accounts. In just one day, Nairoukh reveals, he had about 67,000 shekels ($18,000) worth of cheques bounce. He is not likely to try to go after these individuals either, he says, as it is not possible to expect them to pay off such amounts when the situation is so dire for all Palestinians. But losing out on this potential income burdens his company financially even more. Muhanad Nairoukh speaks to a worker on the factory floor [Ahmed Jibran/Al Jazeera] Hazboun predicts that, if these conditions continue, there will be numerous economic collapses. For example, he says, only 30 to 35 of Bethlehem’s 130 stone and raw material factories are operational. Worrying about the employees Nairoukh has felt this pinch in all aspects of his life as the father of two has had to postpone maintenance and renovation projects for the family home and may find himself reducing household expenses if the war persists. He has kept his employees on and continued paying them, but he acknowledges that this may not be possible for much longer if the war persists, at which point layoffs may be necessary. His employees also worry about their livelihoods. They consider themselves lucky to still have jobs but know full well that the situation is very precarious. Rakan Ibrahim Abu Al-Hur, who lives near Bethlehem, considers himself lucky to still have his job cutting and processing aluminium rolls. Responsible for supporting his parents and five siblings, he really hopes the situation improves soon. He tells Al Jazeera how difficult it is now to commute back and forth from his village of ash-Shawawra to Bethlehem for work. The checkpoint at the city’s entrance is frequently closed or the inspection lines are long and slow, delaying everyone who is trying to get through. “I hope this all ends soon because if the war doesn’t stop, everything will collapse and I’ll lose my job,” Rakan says sadly. The raw material inputs the factory needs are harder and harder to come by [Ahmed Jibran/Al Jazeera] Adblock test (Why?)
Training the brain in hyper-competitive South Korea
Meet the sport therapists and ‘brain trainers’ who cultivate grit and resilience in a hyper-competitive South Korea. With 27 gold medals, South Korea has dominated archery at the Olympics for three decades. In a sport that requires significant mental strength and focus, sport psychologists play a key role in keeping the country’s archers on target. Beyond the shooting range, competitiveness is fostered in Korean society from a young age in a school system known for its rigidity. Whether it’s in the classroom or on the sports field, South Koreans strive to be the best on the global stage. Mindset meets the sports psychologists and “brain trainers” pushing South Koreans to be number one. Adblock test (Why?)
Celebrating a child’s birthday in Gaza with no cake, candles or friends
NewsFeed Palestinian journalist Mohammed Asad has celebrated his daughter’s 6th birthday in Gaza amid the rubble of homes destroyed by Israel’s war. Dana’s birthday wish is to return to school. Published On 21 Jan 202421 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Anti-government protesters demand new elections in Israel amid Gaza war
NewsFeed ‘The threat is no longer from Hamas, but from (Israel’s) criminal cabinet.’ Thousands of outraged Israelis, including relatives of soldiers and captives, are calling for new elections, saying they’ve lost all faith in their government for how it has relentlessly pursued war on Gaza. Published On 21 Jan 202421 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Paul Lynch: Is Prophet Song a mirror of modern-day fascism?
The Booker Prize-winning author dissects his tale of global conflicts and tyranny. In a world where literature often mirrors the pulsating heart of society, Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song stands out as a beacon of emotional and narrative depth. This masterpiece delves into the complexities of human experience, weaving a story that resonates deeply with the themes of tyranny and resilience. Set against a backdrop that parallels global conflicts, Lynch portrays the struggles of a mother in a totalitarian regime, drawing parallels with real-world events. We dissect how his novel is a poignant exploration of human spirit under oppression as Booker Prize winner, Paul Lynch talks to Al Jazeera. Adblock test (Why?)
US base attacked in Iraq hours after Iran vows revenge for Damascus attack
Iran-backed armed groups have targeted US troops in Iraq hours after Tehran vowed revenge and blamed Israel for a deadly attack on a building housing its elite forces in the Syrian capital Damascus, driving fears of wide regional conflict. The attack caused one Iraqi and possible American casualties, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday, and came hours after Tehran vowed to take revenge against Israel for its strike targeting the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Syria. “Multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase,” CENTCOM said on X. Most of the projectiles were intercepted by the base’s air defence systems, but “others impacted on the base”, the statement said. Iranian-backed Militants Attack Al-Assad Airbase, Iraq At approximately 6:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) time Jan. 20, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in Western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase. Most of the missiles were intercepted by… pic.twitter.com/rYaNrRdRtu — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 20, 2024 Attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria have increased since the October 7 Israeli military offensive, which has been militarily backed by Washington. Since launching its offensive on the Gaza Strip, Israel has expanded its attacks targeting Iran-linked armed groups in Syria and Lebanon. Yemen’s Houthis, who form part of Tehran-backed groups known as the “axis of resistance”, have launched attacks towards Israel and targeted Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza disrupting one of the busiest maritime routes. Houthis demand Israel end its war on Gaza and allow humanitarian aid into the besieged territory in desperate need of food, medicines and other essential items. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has warned of the dangers of escalation in Israel’s war on Gaza. “If Israel continues to ramp up its attacks on other fronts and if it drags the West in, we’ll be looking at a very, very serious escalation of the conflict,” he told Al Jazeera. Missiles elsewhere risk wider war The stepped-up Israeli and US attacks targeting Iran-linked groups have the potential to trigger a regional conflict, pitting Iran and its allies against Israel and the US. An Israeli drone strike in south Lebanon reportedly killed a member of Hezbollah, who was travelling in a car, according to two security sources. Another unidentified person travelling in the same car was also killed. Meanwhile, the US said it had targeted a missile that the Houthis were aiming into the Red Sea. The US military has in the last week launched a number of strikes at the Houthis. According to Hassan Ahmadian, a professor at the University of Tehran, Israel is widening the conflict due to its inability to achieve its military goals in Gaza. “Israelis have upped the ante of what they were doing beforehand,” Ahmadian told Al Jazeera, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been vocal about calls for an escalation. Israel is also ramping up its attacks to stave off attacks by Iran and allies in the region, however many of these groups are part of the “axis of resistance” and are doing so in their own national interests, he said. Israeli strike targets Iran in Syria On Saturday, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said his country would retaliate against the attack in Damascus which killed five members of the IRGC. Tehran blamed Israel for the latest attack targeting its forces in Syria – a close ally of Iran. “The Islamic Republic will not leave the Zionist regime’s crimes unanswered,” Raisi said, according to state broadcaster IRIB. There was no comment from Israel, but it has killed IRGC members in several similar strikes since October 7. They were targeted in a building in Damascus which was flattened by “precision-targeted Israeli missiles”, according to a security source close to Syria’s government. Portraits of the IRGC members on Iranian state media referred to three of them with an honorific used for generals, suggesting they were senior commanders, while the two others were a major and someone holding a lower rank. An unspecified number of Syrian troops were also killed. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on the X: “The activities of Iran’s military advisers in the fight against terrorism and securing the region will continue with full strength.” Iran and its military allies in Syria have entrenched themselves in several parts of the country. In December, an Israeli air strike killed two IRGC members, and another on December 25 killed a senior adviser to the IRGC. Adblock test (Why?)
In India’s Ayodhya, the Ram temple means ‘land is costlier than gold’
Ayodhya, India: Ram Surat Verma regrets his decision to sell his land in 2019. A farmer in Takpura village in the Ayodhya district of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about 155km (96 miles) from Lucknow, the state capital, he received 25 million rupees ($300,000) when he sold his 1.55 acre (0.6 hectares) patch of land to a local property dealer four years ago. The 65-year-old believes that he could have gotten at least 10 times that amount had he delayed his decision to now. “Land is costlier than the gold here, with prices surging since the verdict for building a Ram temple was announced by the Supreme Court in 2019. I made the mistake of selling my land before the judgement. Had I delayed the land deal, it could have fetched me a far better price than what I had received then,” Verma told Al Jazeera. Verma, whose land holding is 7km (4.3 miles) from the temple, is yet to decide on selling his remaining 4.65 acres (1.88 hectares) of land. “The property brokers and customers are making a beeline outside my house every day, offering me lucrative prices for the land but I will not repeat the same mistake again. A delay would certainly fetch me a higher price,” he said. Verma is not alone in adopting a wait-and-watch policy on selling his land. Several thousand farmers and landholders in the Ayodhya district and its neighbouring areas are doing the same, expecting exponential prices for their land which is in massive demand mainly to build commercial properties there. The boom in real estate began after India’s apex court in its verdict on November 9, 2019, ruled in favour of the construction of a temple to the Hindu god Ram at the 2.77-acre (1.12-hectare) disputed site in Ayodhya. The court also allocated a separate 5 acres (2 hectares) of land to Muslims near Ayodhya to build a mosque. The verdict turbocharged the political and religious movement that for decades had been campaigning to build a temple at a spot that many Hindus believe was the birthplace of Ram. But it also opened new business avenues for entrepreneurs who began to tap investment opportunities in Ayodhya in anticipation of the millions of tourists expected to visit the temple after its inauguration on Monday, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Vinay Kumar Verma, 33, a property dealer in Ayodhya, told Al Jazeera that his phone has not stopped ringing for the past six months, with people inquiring about the availability of land for building hotels. “Earlier, I used to receive one to two calls every month asking for land for commercial use. But now I am getting eight to nine calls per day for this,” he said. Some of those calls are from people in other states who are interested in building hotels and guest houses to cash in on the huge influx of pilgrims that are expected to visit the holy city, pushing up prices from 16 million rupees ($190,000) per acre of land in 2019 to about 64 million rupees ($770,000) now. “And still, people are ready to pay more, expecting huge returns after investing in commercial properties like hotels and guest houses,” Verma said. “The land here is even costlier by four to five times than that in the state capital, Lucknow.” Vinay Kumar Verma, a property dealer in Ayodhya, said he has been inundated with calls from potential buyers seeking commercial land [Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera] The days leading up to the January 22 consecration of the temple have seen an explosion in demand for hotel rooms from visiting tourists and pilgrims – buttressing the business logic of real estate firms looking to build more hotels in Ayodhya. Most hotels are booked out and have hiked up rates for rooms even when they are available after the temple launch. Jitendra Pandey, 41, who has been a real estate agent in Ayodhya for the past 12 years, said he has never witnessed such an increase in land prices. “The prices of commercial property have increased by four to five times because of the deep pockets of buyers who are willing to pay any price for the land. Even the prices of residential property have gone up by 2.5 times. The commercial rates are high because outsiders are not interested to settle here but want to make much of the business opportunity,” he told Al Jazeera. Farmers, he said, are the main beneficiaries because they are not only getting exorbitant prices for the land but some buyers are also connecting directly with them in order to avoid real estate agents commissions. Real-estate majors have jumped in too. Mumbai-based House of Abhinandan Lodha (HOABL) has acquired 25 acres (10 hectares) of land and plans to invest 12 billion rupees ($1.4m) in Ayodhya to develop a seven-star mixed-use enclave that would host luxurious facilities for buyers including a swimming pool, gym and banquet halls, among other amenities. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has booked a piece of land of about 10,000sq feet (929sq metres) in this upcoming project for 145 million rupees ($17.43m), according to local media reports. HOABL did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for information about the new project. The city is also witnessing a wave of modernising with star hotels like the Park Inn by the Radisson Group, as well as malls and showrooms of multinational companies that have set up their outlets in recent weeks, including Tata Group’s high-end jewellery store Tanishq which opened its showroom in the city in December. A new township Realising the potential of Ayodhya on its way to becoming the spiritual hub for millions of Hindus globally, the state government has since 2020 acquired 1,407 acres (569 hectares) of land to build Navya Ayodhya, or the new township of Ayodhya, on the outskirts of the city. Om Prakash Pandey, an executive engineer with the Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Board, told Al Jazeera that the total township would be spread across 1,857
Palestinian-American teen one of hundreds killed by Israelis in West Bank
They are using US tax dollars to ‘kill our own children’, says father after Israeli soldiers and settlers opened fire, killing his 17-year-old son. Palestinian-American Tawfiq Ajaq, 17, is one of 369 people killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the occupied West Bank since October, including 95 children. Speaking at his son’s funeral on Saturday, Tawfiq’s father, Hafez Ajaq, implored Americans to “see with their own eyes” the ongoing violence in the occupied West Bank. “They are using our tax dollars in the US to support the weapons to kill our own children,” Hafez Ajaq said. “How many fathers and mothers have to say goodbye to their children? How many more? “They are killer machines,” Tawfiq’s father said of Israeli forces at the funeral. Born and raised in Gretna, Louisiana, near New Orleans, Tawfiq Ajaq’s parents brought him and his four siblings to the village of al-Mazra’a Asharqiya last year so they could reconnect with Palestinian culture. Tawfiq Hafez Tawfiq Ajaq, 17, a U.S. citizen, was killed yesterday as an Israeli settler and Israeli forces opened fire on his car in the occupied West Bank. It remains unclear whether the settler or a soldier fired the bullet that struck him in the head. https://t.co/KNXxMRoeqj pic.twitter.com/nYEULLlWCM — Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) January 20, 2024 On Saturday, crowds of Palestinians filled village streets, following men who held aloft a stretcher with the teen’s body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag and covered in flowers. Another vigil held at the Masjid Omar mosque in Harvey, New Orleans was standing room only, according to the New Orleans news outlet NOLA.com. Circumstances unclear Ajaq’s relative, Joe Abdel Qaki, said Tawfiq and a friend were having a barbecue in a village field when he was shot, once in the head and once in the chest. Abdel Qaki said he arrived at the field shortly after the shooting and helped transport Tawfiq to an ambulance. He said Israeli forces briefly detained him and other Palestinians at the scene, asking for their identification cards before the men could get to Tawfiq. He said Tawfiq died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. “Tawfiq is an American child who was chased and shot at by an Israeli settler, then Israeli forces pulled up and continued shooting,” Miranda Cleland, an advocacy officer with Defense for Children Palestine, said in a post on X. “This is not the first time Defense for Children Palestine hasn’t been able to confirm whether a settler or soldier killed a child. One aids and abets the other,” Cleland said. The United States Office of Palestinian Affairs called for an “urgent investigation” into Ajaq’s death in a post on X. Devastated to hear about the killing of a 17 year old U.S. citizen, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar. We call for an urgent investigation to determine the circumstances of his death. — U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (@USPalAffairs) January 20, 2024 Various English spellings of the teen’s name have been used in reports. In its daily update for Friday, the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA reported a “17-year-old Palestinian child was shot and killed” near al-Mazra’a Asharqiya village in Ramallah where Tawfiq Ajaq lived. “At the time of the incident, Israeli forces and settlers shot live ammunition towards a group of Palestinians who were reportedly throwing stones at Israeli vehicles driving on Road 60 near the village,” OCHA said. “It is not yet clear whether the boy was shot by Israeli forces or settlers,” OCHA said. According to OCHA’s latest figures, of 358 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7, “348 were killed by Israeli forces, eight by Israeli settlers, and two by either Israeli forces or settlers”. Israeli police said they received a report on Friday regarding a “firearm discharge, ostensibly involving an off-duty law enforcement officer, a soldier and a civilian”. Police did not identify who fired the shot, though it said the shooting targeted people “purportedly engaged in rock-throwing activities along Highway 60″, the main north-south thoroughfare in the occupied West Bank. The ongoing violence in the occupied West Bank comes as the death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza approaches 25,000, with thousands more missing under the rubble. Adblock test (Why?)