A Year of Violations by the Occupation Forces and Settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories during 2023

Saida Zaarir

The concluding quarter of 2023 witnessed an escalation in Israeli hostilities towards the Gaza Strip, starting on October 7. This period was marked by an observable rise in the issuance of settlement expansions by the Israeli government within the occupied West Bank, accompanied by a significant increase in the violations by the occupying forces and their settlers on Palestinian civilians, their lands, and possessions in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, especially during the timeframe overlapping with the Gaza conflict.

The report to follow sheds light on the prominent offenses and breaches committed by the occupation forces against Palestinian territories and civilians throughout 2023.

Month	Martyrs	Injured	Detainees	Firearm Incidents (Including Aerial Bombardment)
Jan	36	146	576	391
Feb	31	246	539	278
Mar	25	180	501	249
Apr	10	98	479	235
May	56	355	601	696
Jun	22	244	458	245
Jul	26	274	669	312
Aug	19	125	607	214
Sep	14	250	436	287
Oct	8,655	24,000	1,855	531
Nov	6,673	17,186	1,864	450
Dec	6,720	15,862	1,342	397
Total	22,287	58,966	9,927	4,285

In 2023, the Palestinian territories experienced a comprehensive array of violations from the Israeli forces spanning the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem. A total of 22,287 Palestinians were recorded as martyrs over the last year in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, of which 21,760 were from the Gaza Strip, fallen due to Israeli aggression since October, alongside approximately 7,000 individuals reported missing. The West Bank accounted for 527 of these martyrs, 318 occurring post-October 7.

The martyrs from Gaza included 9,280 children, 6,600 women, 326 medical personnel, 40 civil defense staff, 106 journalists, and 136 United Nations workers, indicating the wide-reaching impact of the hostilities. In contrast, the occupation resulted in the death of 74 children in the West Bank, alongside 5 elderly persons and 9 prisoners.

Detentions by the occupation forces amounted to 9,927 citizens, predominantly from the West Bank with 4,923 detainees, and 58 detainees from Gaza before October 7, escalating to 4,946 detainees from the West Bank and Jerusalem and approximately 2,600 from Gaza. Furthermore, there were 4,285 instances where the occupation forces discharged firearms, including aerial bombardments, towards Palestinian civilians and properties across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, demonstrating the extensive nature of military engagements. Moreover, about 65,000 tons of explosives were deployed by the occupation over the last three months of 2023, highlighting the severity of the conflict’s climax.

Month	Raids into Palestinian Towns and Villages	Sudden Military Checkpoints	Home Demolitions	Demolitions of Agricultural, Industrial, and Commercial Facilities	Property Destruction and Confiscation	Assaults on Places of Worship
Jan	735	442	37	20	79	28
Feb	544	372	28	41	122	24
Mar	679	342	16	11	46	25
Apr	541	375	1	12	29	30
May	749	332	103	54	96	25
Jun	705	275	22	14	41	23
Jul	673	315	13	7	49	24
Aug	734	329	11	5	64	27
Sep	722	438	10	61	94	28
Oct	875	398	29	12	339	60
Nov	1,269	616	46	34	154	34
Dec	1,470	645	30	27	142	27
Total	9,696	4,879	346	298	1,255	355

Throughout the year, the occupation army executed 9,696 raids into residential areas in Palestinian villages and cities within the West Bank and Jerusalem. These were aimed at arresting Palestinian citizens, demolishing their homes and facilities. Additionally, the occupation forces set up 4,879 sudden military checkpoints across the West Bank and Jerusalem, aiming to obstruct the movement of Palestinians, subject them to searches, and detain numerous individuals. These checkpoints also became sites where many Palestinians were injured or killed by the gunfire of occupation soldiers.

The past year saw the demolition of 346 homes, alongside the destruction of 298 Palestinian agricultural, industrial, and commercial facilities in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Furthermore, there were 1,255 instances where Palestinian properties were destroyed or confiscated. The occupation’s assaults against sacred and religious sites amounted to 355 incidents.

The aggression on Gaza during the year resulted in damage to over 290,000 housing units, with 65,000 completely destroyed, in addition to the destruction of 130 government headquarters and numerous public facilities. Education facilities were not spared, with 385 schools and universities targeted, 93 of which were completely destroyed. Approximately 332 mosques were affected, 120 of which were completely demolished and 212 partially damaged, along with targeting 3 churches and the destruction of 200 ancient archaeological sites.

During the aggression, 30 hospitals and 53 health centers in Gaza were rendered inoperative, along with the destruction of 104 ambulances due to targeting. The occupation also targeted 150 health institutions to some extent, further exacerbated by dozens of ambulances being put out of service due to fuel shortages amidst the siege on the sector.

According to the World Health Organization, since the onset of the crisis, over 180,000 cases of acute respiratory infections have been recorded, along with 136,400 cases of diarrhea, half of which were among children under the age of five. Additionally, there were 5,330 cases of chickenpox, 42,700 cases of rash, 4,683 cases of acute jaundice, and 126 cases of meningitis, amid concerns over the rise of infectious diseases in shelter centers due to severe overcrowding and the breakdown of health, water, and sanitation systems.

The sector has experienced a power outage since October 11, after the occupation cut off electricity and fuel supplies, leading to the depletion of fuel reserves at Gaza’s sole power generation station.

The bombardment has forced approximately 1.9 million citizens to flee their homes, constituting 85% of the sector’s population, with some being displaced multiple times. The Rafah governorate is witnessing severe overcrowding with displaced persons, following an escalation of Israeli aggression in the Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah governorates, where more than a million displaced individuals have congregated.

After 48 days of Israeli occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip, a temporary ceasefire began on November 24, lasting only seven days. During the days of the ceasefire, the occupation released 240 Palestinian women and children, and the Palestinian resistance handed over to the Red Cross 86 Israelis and 24 foreigners who were detained.

Month	Settler Terrorism Cases	Exclusions from Jerusalem	Palestinian Trees Cut or Burned	Land Bulldozed for Settlement Expansion (Dunams)
Jan	171	3	2,022	873
Feb	161	1	413	200
Mar	130	13	671	–
Apr	135	22	525	10
May	97	4	2,961	185
Jun	184	2	165	35
Jul	156	3	2,552	24
Aug	126	6	240	9
Sep	102	15	728	50
Oct	390	1	2,487	–
Nov	186	–	3,232	–
Dec	131	–	1,206	60
Total	1,969	70	17,202	1,446

Settlers carried out 1,969 attacks against Palestinian citizens, their lands, and properties, manifested in running over citizens, stone-throwing towards Palestinian vehicles, raiding villages, and physically assaulting inhabitants, in addition to burning trees and stealing crops.

The occupation authorities issued 70 expulsion orders from Al-Aqsa Mosque and certain neighborhoods in Jerusalem such as Sheikh Jarrah, the Old City, and the Silwan area, for periods ranging from 3 days to 6 months.

The number of trees that were cut down, vandalized, or had their fruits stolen reached 17,202, most of which were olive trees. In the year 2023, the areas that were bulldozed expanded to exceed 1,446 dunams in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Month	New Settlement Units Approved	Palestinian Lands Confiscated (Dunams)	New Settler Roads Constructed
Jan	6	24	1
Feb	1,000	1,971	1
Mar	1,029	1,448	1
Apr	–	72	–
May	918	166	1
Jun	6,678	220	1
Jul	932	120	1
Aug	30	–	1
Sep	816	–	1
Oct	551	5,381	–
Nov	2,364	1,294	3
Dec	1,738	548	2
Total	16,052	11,244	14

During the year 2023, the occupation forces approved the construction of 16,052 new settlement units on lands in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Additionally, 14 new settler roads were carved out at the expense of Palestinian lands. Meanwhile, the expanse of Palestinian territories that were confiscated exceeded 11,244 dunams.