The Independent Commission for Human Rights - ICHR 19 former political prisoner Sami al-Umour was also withheld. An Israeli court ruled that the body would complete the sentence. Notably, another 254 bodies of Palestinians are held in the so-called cemeteries of numbers, including some withheld for several decades. According to information available to ICHR researchers, the occupying Power is the only State in the world, which implements this unprecedented heinous crime, violating and using dead bodies as a bargaining chip. During the reporting period, the IOF carried out at least 4,289 raids into Palestinian cities and towns, set up 3,784 flying checkpoints, opened fire on some 4,750 occasions, and launched 877 attacks on properties belonging to Palestinian citizens.4 To serve the Israeli settler colonial project, the Israeli occupying authorities issued orders to confiscate a minimum of 1,237 dunums of Palestinian land under various pretexts. In the meantime, Israeli settler violence and attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian property continued under the protection of the Israeli army and police, who did not fulfil their duty of providing protection to Palestinian civilians under the occupation. Israeli settlers also carried out at least 945 attacks on Palestinian civilians and property. No settlers were held to account or placed in custody. The Nablus area witnessed the largest portion of Israeli settler violence, which particularly targeted Palestinian farmers and crops during the olive harvest season.5 In tandem with a systematic policy pursued throughout the oPt, the Israeli occupying authorities broke the record for the demolition of Palestinian homes and structures. At the expense of Palestinian communities, this policy is tailor-made to seize control of the Palestinian space for the benefit of Israeli colonies. In grave violation of the provisions of IHL, the home demolition policy impinges on standards enshrined in international human rights conventions and instruments. Also deemed as a crime against humanity, it reflects one pattern of collective punishment inflicted by the Israeli occupying Power on the civilian population across the oPt. Home demolitions picked up significantly throughout the governorates of the occupied West Bank. The Israeli occupying authorities demolished some 906 buildings and structures, resulting in the displacement of 1,203 persons. This is the highest number of demolitions recorded in five years. To further promote Judaisation and change the demographic and geographical composition of the city, 177 structures were pulled to the ground in East Jerusalem, displacing 332 persons. In Area C, the Israeli occupying authorities demolished 220 structures funded by the donor community,6 disrupting the flow of international humanitarian aid. A total of 875 demolition notices were distributed by the Israeli occupying authorities to Palestinian homes and structures, mostly in the governorates of Bethlehem, Hebron, and Nablus. These affected 908 structures, including homes, barracks, and tents, among others.7 Anecdotal evidence suggests that this increase in demolitions is related to new Israeli legislation passed in recent years. This legislation has made it more difficult for Palestinian residents to protect their properties and avoid displacement via legal proceedings, increased fines, and other penalties, while making it easier for the Jerusalem Municipality to pressure them to demolish their properties by themselves. 2021 saw systematic military aggression on the entire Gaza Strip. On the evening of Monday, 10 May 2021, the IOF waged the aggression over a period of 11 days in a row. In conjunction with shelling by naval and land artillery, Israeli warplanes and drones launched a series of violent air strikes on Gaza. Rather than indiscriminate, Israeli bombardment openly and mainly targeted civilian infrastructure, residential towers, civilian objects, and service facilities. While taking the lives of 4 PMG NAD. Israeli Violations: January-December 2021. 6 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). West Bank demolitions and displacement | November - December 2021, February 2022. 5 7 Ibid. Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, Annual Report 2021: Violations of the Occupying Power and Colonisers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Ramallah, February 2022. Twenty Seventh Annual Report 2021