Nothing but death and dispossession in Gaza, West Bank – Ceasefire Day 21

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire in the Gaza Strip on Sunday despite a ceasefire agreement in the enclave, a medical source said.

In the West Bank, Israeli troops killed two women, ages 21 and 23, in Tulkarem camp. The latter was eight months pregnant. Medical crews could not save the life of the fetus because Israel prevented the transfer of the injured to the hospital.

Freed Palestinians reveal they were beaten by Israeli forces for refusing to recite verses from Torah

Freed Palestinian prisoners revealed Saturday that Israeli forces violently attacked them because they refused to recite verses from the Torah, specifically, a verse that said: “The eternal people do not forget, I chase my enemies and catch them, and I do not return until I annihilate them.”

Jamal Al-Tawil said he was violently attacked hours before his release because he refused to recite the verse.​​​​​​​

When he refused, the soldiers severely beat him, which led to a deterioration in his health to the point he could not stand when he left to go to the International Red Cross bus.

The situation forced a Red Crescent team to carry Al-Tawil to an ambulance and transfer him to the hospital.

Israeli forces killed 7 Palestinian journalists in Gaza in January

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) has condemned Israel’s “serious and continued escalations” against media workers, saying Israeli forces killed at least seven reporters in the Gaza Strip last month alone.

The PJS said Israeli forces also killed nine family members of Palestinian journalists in January and destroyed the homes of six of them.

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About 580 arrested by Israel in West Bank in January: monitors

Local groups tracking Israel’s detention of Palestinian prisoners said about 580 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in January, Al Jazeera reports.

The highest number of cases were recorded in Jenin and its refugee camp, which have been heavily besieged by the Israeli military for 21 days.

At least 60 children were among the arrested, along with 17 women, the groups said in a statement. Hundreds more people were subjected to field interrogations by Israeli soldiers.

About 760 Palestinian prisoners have been released since the ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19.

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Mass graves and skeletons found in Netzarim after Israeli withdrawal

Gaza-based Journalist Muhammad Shehada wrote on social media:

Decapitated heads, rotting corpses, hacked bodies, skeletal remains discovered in the “Netzarim corridor” after the IDF withdrew today Israelis soldiers barbecued, played football & threw parties in that same corridor, right next to piles of Gazans they savagely murdered!

The Israeli army did NOT even bother to hide this pure barbarism before they left.

They left those bodies in the open for all to see. They saw no problem with this scene coming to light!

The graphic video accompanying the post has been deleted.

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Trump Says He’s ‘Committed to Buying and Owning Gaza’

On Sunday, President Trump continued to push his idea for a US takeover of the Gaza Strip, saying he was “committed” to owning the Palestinian territory.

“I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza. As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

The president said it would be a “big mistake” to allow Palestinians to return to Gaza once they’re removed despite the White House previously walking back his call for the “permanent” expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which means ethnic cleansing would be required for his plan.

“It’s a big mistake to allow the Palestinians or the people to be living in Gaza to go back yet another time. We don’t want Hamas going back, think of it as a big real estate site,” Trump said.

He again called Gaza a “demolition site” and said the “remainder will be demolished. You can’t live in those buildings right now. We’ll make into a good site for future development by … somebody.”

Asked if Palestinians would have the right of return to Gaza under his plan for the United States to take over the territory, he said, “No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing, In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them.”

Just 13 percent of Americans support Trump’s Gaza ‘takeover’ proposal: Poll

Nearly half of Americans rejected US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over” the Gaza Strip and relocate Palestinians to neighboring countries, calling it a “bad idea,” as did several major Arab, European, and other countries around the world.

According to a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted between Feb. 5 and 7, in which 2,175 US adults were polled and released on Sunday, 47% of Americans believe the US proposal to “take over” Gaza is a “bad idea,” with only 13% supporting it and 40% unsure or saying “it depends.”

The poll also found that 34% of respondents had little or no knowledge of the proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, which has been nearly completely destroyed by brutal Israeli forces since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 48,200 people, the majority of whom are women and children.

Trump says released Israeli captives in ‘horrible condition’

US president Trump said Sunday that he has doubts about the long-term prospects of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after watching the release of three Israeli captives from Gaza on Saturday.

“I watched the hostages come back today, and they looked like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated. It looked like many years ago, the Holocaust survivors, and I don’t know how much longer we can take that,” he said as he flew to the city of New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl.

“I know we have a deal where we’re supposed to get, they dribble in and keep dribbling in, but they are in really bad shape,” he said. “You know, at some point, we’re going to lose our patience.”

Regarding his earlier comments about taking over Gaza, the US leader said: “We will take care of the Palestinians and make sure they are not murdered. We will make Gaza into a good site for future development.”

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Israel expands shooting orders for soldiers to kill Palestinians in West Bank: Report

The Israeli occupation army has expanded shooting orders for its soldiers in the occupied West Bank, leading to a high Palestinian death toll amid military operations in the occupied territory, Israeli media said today.

According to Haaretz newspaper, the army’s Central Command decided to implement the same shooting policy used during the Gaza war to kill any unarmed Palestinian, whether a suspect or not, in the West Bank.

“The orders made it easier for soldiers to pull the trigger at the behest of Central Command Commander Avi Blot,” it added.

The newspaper quoted Israeli soldiers taking part in the ongoing military assault in the West Bank as saying that Blot permitted them to shoot with the intent to kill Palestinians without resorting to arresting them.

The soldiers explained that the recent high death toll of unarmed Palestinians in the West Bank was “unusual”, attributing it to Blot’s orders allowing them to shoot and kill any Palestinian suspected of planting explosive devices or “tampering with the land.”

Haaretz, citing army unit commanders, said the head of the army’s West Bank Division, Yaki Dolf, ordered soldiers to shoot at any vehicle “coming from a combat zone” and heading toward a checkpoint.

Two Palestinians were killed yesterday when Israeli soldiers opened fire on a car approaching a military checkpoint in the West Bank.

According to the Israeli daily, soldiers used Palestinian civilians as human shields while searching buildings for explosives, the same tactic used by the Israeli occupation army in Gaza.

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Israel arrests 2 Jerusalemite booksellers, confiscates books

Palestinian bookstore owners in Jerusalem Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmad Muna were detained by Israel yesterday.

The owners and booksellers of Jerusalem’s Educational Bookshop, Mahmoud and Ahmad were accosted by undercover Israeli police in the bookshop around 3pm.

They were handcuffed and taken away, while the bookshop was ransacked and many publications were confiscated.

“They used Google Translate on the books, and anything they didn’t like, they took,” said Murad Muna, Mahmoud’s brother.

“They even found a Haaretz newspaper with a picture of the hostages and asked what it was, saying it was incitement. They took every book with a Palestinian flag on it.”

The charge against Mahmoud and Ahmad was initially “inciting and supporting terrorism”. Attorney Nasser Odeh, who represents the booksellers, said that they were told the charge had changed to “disturbing the public order” during the course of their interrogation.

“The arrests of Mahmoud and Ahmad is a stark reminder of the ongoing campaign to stifle free speech and information that challenges Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of all just societies. There is no genuine security without the freedom to read, and no freedom to read without booksellers being able to carry out their work safely and freely,” Saqi Books publishing house said.

Lynn Gaspard, publisher of Saqi Books, said: “It is a grim moment for culture and freedom when people are arrested for selling books and their books are sieved. The parallels are obvious and horrible.”

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Dancer waves Palestinian, Sudanese flags during Super Bowl halftime show

A background dancer in the Super Bowl half-time shows on Sunday caused a disruption when he displayed Palestinian and Sudanese flags.

The dancer, who was part of a group of around 400 performers with rapper Kendrick Lamar on the football field at the Super Dome in New Orleans, was quickly tackled after unfurling the flags with “Sudan” and “Gaza” written on them.

Prior to being apprehended, the man ran around the field for about 20 seconds with the flags under a bright spotlight. 

MORE NEWS:

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Palestine Chronicle: Israeli Soldiers Get Travel Insurance for Potential War Crimes Arrests

IMEMC Daily Reports

This morning, 23 year old Sundus Shalabi—8 months pregnant—was shot dead by Israeli forces in Tulkarem’s Nour Shams Camp while trying to leave with her husband Yazan, who was critically injured.

Medical crews could not save the life of the fetus because Israel prevented the… pic.twitter.com/Ctj5Mtkhxi

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 9, 2025

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – FEBRUARY 9, 2025 (ongoing count):

At least 63,299 Palestinians killed, 118,638 injured – including:

• at least 62,403 killed in Gaza (~20,600 children)
• at least 898 killed in the West Bank (~180 children)
• at least 111,638 injured in Gaza
• at least 7,000 injured in the West Bank

WAR STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 (Hamas attack) – JANUARY 19, 2025 (Ceasefire):

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: at least 48,143 – including at least 47,283 in Gaza (~20,600 children), and 860 in the West Bank (~177 children). Palestinian injuries: at least 118,472 – including at least 111,629 in Gaza, and 7,000 in the West Bank.

Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 11,000 more are still buried under rubble.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: ~1,616 (or 1,590) – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 436 (or 405) military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

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