Israel has used unlawful lethal force against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, carried out unlawful killings and shown “a shocking disregard for Palestinian life,” Amnesty International says.

The human rights organization said in a report released Monday that Israel’s actions in the territory have intensified during its war on Gaza and that its military and other entities are committing numerous illegal acts of violence that constitute clear violations of international law.

The eyes of the world are mainly on them Gaza Stripwhere the Israeli military has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since the war began on October 7. But Israeli forces also carry out unlawful killings in occupied Palestinian territories, Amnesty said in the report.

The document was compiled using remote interviews with witnesses, first responders and residents, as well as verified videos and photos.

“Under the cover of relentless bombing and atrocities in Gaza, Israeli forces have used unlawful lethal force against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, carried out unlawful killings and shown a shocking disregard for Palestinian life,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International Director for global research, advocacy and policy.

“These unlawful killings constitute a blatant violation of international human rights standards and are being carried out with impunity as part of maintaining Israel’s institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination over Palestinians.”

Palestinians in the West Bank were already experiencing regular deadly Israeli attacks before the war, but there was one The number of Israeli attacks is increasing explosively since October.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israel killed at least 507 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in 2023, including at least 81 children in 2005.

UN figures also show that 299 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war through the end of 2023, a 50 percent increase compared to the first nine months of the year. At least 61 more Palestinians, including 13 children, were killed by Israeli forces in January, according to the United Nations.

“Intentional homicide”

Amnesty International’s analysis of a 30-hour Israeli raid on the Nour Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem on October 19 highlights the Israeli military’s tactics.

In this raid, Israeli soldiers used a large number of military vehicles and soldiers to storm more than 40 houses. They destroyed personal items, drilled holes in walls for sniper outposts, cut off the refugee camp’s water and electricity supplies, and used bulldozers to destroy public roads, power grids, and water infrastructure.

By the end of the raid, they had killed 13 Palestinians, including six children, four of them under 16, and arrested 15 Palestinians.

An Israeli border police officer was killed after an improvised explosive device was used against a military convoy.

Among those killed in the raid was an unarmed 15-year-old named Taha Mahamid, whom Israeli forces shot dead outside his home as he came out to check whether Israeli forces had left the area, Amnesty said.

“They didn’t give him a chance,” said Fatima, Taha’s sister. “In an instant, my brother was eliminated. Three bullets were fired mercilessly. The first bullet hit him in the leg. The second in his stomach. In his eyes, the third. There were no confrontations. … There was no conflict.”

Taha’s father, Ibrahim, was unarmed and tried to carry his son to safety, but was shot and suffered serious internal injuries.

“This unnecessary use of lethal force should be investigated as a possible war crime of intentional killing and the intentional infliction of great suffering or serious bodily harm or harm to health,” Amnesty said.

But that wasn’t the end of the Israeli operation for the family. About 12 hours after Taha’s murder, the Israeli military stormed his family’s home and locked his family members, including three children, in a room under the supervision of a soldier for about 10 hours.

They also drilled holes in the walls of two rooms to position snipers overlooking the neighborhood. A witness said the soldiers searched the house and beat a family member, and one was seen urinating on the doorstep.

The significant damage caused by Israeli bulldozers in the refugee camp’s narrow streets meant that ambulances could not get through, making medical evacuation of the injured difficult.

Attacks on ambulances, killing protesters

Amnesty also documented cases of Israeli forces directly opening fire on ambulances and medical personnel.

The obstruction of medical assistance to Palestinians by Israeli forces is now “routine practice,” the human rights organization said.

It documented a case in which Israeli soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching victims who ended up bleeding to death.

“The victims were later picked up by an Israeli military ambulance and their bodies have yet to be returned to their families,” Amnesty said.

The organization also documented how the Israeli military cracked down on peaceful Palestinian protests in solidarity with the people of Gaza, firing live bullets and tear gas canisters into the crowd.