Israel Kills 4 Palestinians, Arrests 239 in Occupied Jerusalem in 3 Months

Israeli forces killed four Palestinians and arrested 239 others in occupied East Jerusalem during the first quarter of 2025, according to a report released Saturday by the Jerusalem Governorate.

The report detailed a pattern of Israeli violations, including extrajudicial killings, mass arrests, demolition orders, and daily incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Among the four Palestinians killed was 16-year-old Adam Sub Laban. The other victims were identified as Raafat Abdel Aziz Hammad, Maher Abdel Salam Sarsour, and Mohammad Hassan Abu Hammad. The body of Abu Hammad, 41, remains withheld by Israeli authorities—raising the number of withheld Palestinian bodies in Jerusalem to 46.

The report also noted that among those arrested were 22 women and 18 children. Israeli courts issued 73 prison sentences, including 32 administrative detentions and 27 rulings for house arrest.

Authorities also issued 86 expulsion orders, with 57 specifically barring Palestinians from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

During the same period, 13,064 illegal Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa compound under heavy police protection. Another 12,134 intrusions were recorded under the pretext of tourism. The report further documented 33 settler-led attacks and approximately the same number of Palestinian injuries due to live and rubber bullets, physical assault, and tear gas exposure.

Since the start of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, violence across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem has escalated sharply. Official Palestinian figures report over 944 Palestinians killed, 7,000 injured, and more than 15,800 arrested.

In July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.