‘Israel increases violence against Palestinians in al-Khalil’

According to the report published by the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) organization on Sunday, there has been a “sharp increase in harassment, violence, and human rights violations by the Israeli military” against the Palestinians in al-Khalil over the past weeks.

Israeli soldiers have during the past few weeks detained several Palestinians “arbitrarily” or denied them access to “roads or walkways” in the city, the CPT report said. Israeli troops have also “injured or threatened” the Palestinian detainees in al-Khalil.

On February 6, six Israeli soldiers detained two 11-year-old Palestinian boys in front of their school for “throwing stones” at the soldiers, according to the report.

International observers have also been prohibited from documenting human rights violations by Israel in al-Khalil in recent weeks.

The report said Israeli soldiers have arrested an international observer at a checkpoint on February 7 for “interfering with military operations,” claiming that the activist has been detained in line with a “new law” that bans filming or photography of Israeli troops.

The CPT concluded in its report that the number of documented Israeli abuses “constitutes only a small portion of what is actually occurring” in the Palestinian city.