The Month in Pictures: March 2013

The sister of Muhammad Asfour holds a poster of her brother during his funeral procession in the West Bank village of Aboud, 8 March. Muhammad Asfour, 22, was hit in the head by a rubber-coated steel bullet shot by an Israeli soldier on 22 February during a protest in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners at the entrance to his village northwest of Ramallah. Asfour succumbed to his injury after a two-week fight in the hospital. Oren Ziv ActiveStills

During the month of March, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian demonstrator at al-Fawwar refugee camp; two other West Bank Palestinians died of injuries from Israeli fire sustained earlier this year. A total of seven West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the beginning of the year.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured during clashes with Israeli forces throughout the month; an average 112 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces per week so far this year, double the rate of 2012.

In Gaza, three children were killed on 12 March in a house fire related to the ongoing electricity crisis. The children, all from the same family, died after a fire broke out as a result of a gas leakage from a small gas cylinder used by the family during daily power cuts. Eleven persons including eight children have been killed in electricity shortage-related incidents since the beginning of the year.

Two workers were injured when a fuel tank exploded in a smuggling tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border; eight workers have died and another eight injured in tunnel-related incidents so far this year.

Above facts and figures compiled from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ weekly reports through 25 March.

Palestinian relatives of Mahmoud Adel al-Titi, 22, mourn during his funeral in the West Bank refugee camp of al-Fawwar near the city of Hebron, 13 March. Al-Titi was allegedly shot dead by an Israeli soldier during an Israeli military operation in the camp. Issam Rimawi APA images
The mother of Muayad Nazih Ghazawneh mourns the death of her son during his funeral in the West Bank city of al- Ram, near Ramallah, 15 March. Ghazawneh died after Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters directly into his car during clashes in al-Ram three weeks ago; he remained in a coma until succumbing to his injuries. Oren Ziv ActiveStills
Palestinians mourn over the bodies of victims killed during a road accident in Jordan during a memorial service in the northern West Bank city of Jenin for Palestinians who were killed on Saturday in a road accident in Jordan, 17 March. Fifteen Palestinian passengers, returning to the West Bank from pilgrimage to Mecca, were killed when their bus collided with a truck and overturned on the Dead Sea highway in Jordan. Nedal Eshtayah APA images
Palestinians visit former prisoner Ayman Sharawna at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, 18 March. Sharawna, a 36-year-old resident of the West Bank, arrived to Gaza after more than eight months on intermittent hunger strike in Israeli prison following his agreement to be forcibly transferred to Gaza. Ashraf Amra APA images
Israeli riot police keep position at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound during clashes with Palestinian worshippers following Friday prayers on 8 March. Mahfouz Abu Turk APA images
Palestinians carry a protester injured by a rubber-coated steel bullet fired by Israeli forces during a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in front of Ofer military prison in the West Bank, 6 March. Oren Ziv ActiveStills
Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian protester during clashes in the old city of Hebron on 1 March following a protest demanding the reopening of Shuhada Street, the one-time heart of the city. Flanked by a handful of Jewish settlement enclaves, the Shuhada Street was partially closed off in 1994 after settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim worshippers at the city’s Ibrahimi mosque, killing 29 of them. Mamoun Wazwaz APA images
An Israeli soldier fires tear gas toward Palestinian, Israeli and international activists during a demonstration against the occupation and in support of Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank city of Hebron, 1 March. Ryan Rodrick Beiler ActiveStills
Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian child after spraying his face with pepper spray during a protest against the new Israeli waste dump site in Qusin village, west of Nablus in the northern West Bank, 6 March. The dump site is one kilometer away from the most built‐up area of the village and is located in an area rich with groundwater resources. Ahmad Al-Bazz ActiveStills
US President Barack Obama leaves the stage at the close of his speech in the Jerusalem Convention Center, 21 March. Jim Hollander EPA/Newscom
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and US President Barack Obama shake hands during a joint press conference following meetings at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 21 March. Issam Rimawi APA images
Palestinian security officers prevent protesters from reaching the Palestinian Authority headquarters during a demonstration against US President Barack Obama’s visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah, 19 March. Issam Rimawi APA images
Palestinian activists scuffle with PA police in Dheisheh refugee camp during a protest against US President Barack Obama’s visit to the nearby West Bank city of Bethlehem, 22 March. Anne Paq APA images
Activists hold banners in front of the US embassy in Tel Aviv in a protest against US military aid to Israel, 22 March. Keren Manor ActiveStills
An elderly Palestinian woman watches as youth chant slogans during the Land Day march in the Galilee town of Sakhnin, 30 March. Land Day commemorates the deaths of six Palestinian protesters at the hands of Israeli forces during mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Palestinian land in northern Israel. Ryan Rodrick Beiler ActiveStills
A Palestinian family who were displaced from the unofficial Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus stage a sit-in protest outside the offices of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) in Beirut, 26 March. The family have been protesting for a month, calling for housing, health, education and nutrition services. Nabil Mounzer EPA/Newscom
Palestinian women shout slogans as they call for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in the West Bank city of Hebron on 11 March during a rally for International Women’s Day, which is celebrated worldwide on 8 March. Mamoun Wazwaz APA images
Palestinian schoolgirls hold Turkish flags and gather next to a statue erected as a memorial for the victims of the Mavi Marmara massacre in the port of Gaza City, 23 March. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologised to Turkey on 22 March for Israel’s 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship, during which eight Turkish activists and one US citizen with Turkish residency were killed, ending a nearly three-year diplomatic rift. Ashraf Amra APA images
A Palestinian man destroys his own home using a sledgehammer in Jerusalem’s Old City on 3 March. The man decided to demolish his own home to carry out an Israeli court order banning construction without a municipality permit. Many Palestinians end up demolishing their homes themselves to avoid the high fees of paying for Israeli government bulldozers or being sent to prison for failure to pay. Mahfouz Abu Turk APA images
In the annual Palm Sunday procession, Palestinian Christians carry signs naming their West Bank communities, all of which are cut off from Jerusalem by Israel’s wall, requiring their residents to obtain special permits to enter, 24 March. Ryan Rodrick Beiler ActiveStills
Palestinian activists build the first mud and bricks structure in the Bab al-Shams protest camp in the E1 area of Jerusalem slated for settlement expansion, 22 March. Oren Ziv ActiveStills
A Palestinian couple travel through a smuggling tunnel between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, 21 March. The bride entered Gaza via tunnel after Egyptian authorities prevented her from entering via Rafah border crossing. Eyad Al Baba APA images
A Palestinian tailor irons a military uniform at his workshop in the southern of Gaza Strip town of Rafah, 19 March. Egyptian forces seized military-style clothing from a smuggling tunnel near the Gaza border, according to an Egyptian army spokesman. Eyad Al Baba APA images
Palestinian riot policewomen take part in a graduation ceremony at a police academy in Gaza City, 19 March. Ashraf Amra APA images
A Palestinian man walks past a billboard in Gaza City announcing the launch of a campaign against collaborating with Israel, 13 March. The ruling Hamas party in Gaza launched a month-long campaign offering amnesty to residents who provided intelligence to Israel. Ashraf Amra APA images
A Palestinian farmer displays locusts at a farm in Khan Younis the southern Gaza Strip, 5 March. Massive swarms of locusts have plagued Egypt and have affected Gaza and southern Israel, causing damage to crops. Eyad Al Baba APA images
A Palestinian man rides his bicycle in the al-Azaria neighborhood of Jerusalem during an organized run to the West Bank city of Jericho, 1 March. The Palestine Liberation Organization called for a boycott of the 2013 Jerusalem Marathon, saying participation normalizes Israel’s annexation of eastern Jerusalem. Issam Rimawi APA images
Musicians from the Golan Heights and al-Lydd participate in a solidarity concert in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley featuring political hip-hop and folk dancing troupes from Nabi Saleh and the South Hebron Hills, 22 March. The concert was part of the World Water day, which aims to raise awareness regarding the discriminatory Israeli policies and practices denying Palestinians their basic right to water. Ahmad Al-Bazz ActiveStills
Members of a Palestinian youth skate team show their skills during training at a school in south of Gaza Strip town of Rafah, 27 March. Eyad Al Baba APA images

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