Israeli Forces Continue to Kill Palestinian Civilians

Israeli Forces Continue to Kill Palestinian Civilians
January 8 2001

Abdul Hameed el Kharti (38), from el Mighraka in the Gaza Strip was killed by the Israeli security forces on Sunday evening. Kharti was mentally handicapped. According to Palestinian sources, Khartišs body was riddled with bullets on the road leading to the Netzarim settlement.

In the West Bank, twenty one year old Fatma Abu Jeesh from Beit Dajan village in the Nablus district, was also killed on Sunday by Israeli fire near the village of Salem. According to an eyewitness Abu Jeesh was mortally wounded when Israeli soldiers opened fire on vehicles traveling in the vicinity of Salem.

In a separate incident, Mahmoud Abu Haseera (37) from the Gaza Strip was killed on Friday 5 January. According to Israeli sources Haseera was shot while trying to enter Israel illegally. Haseerašs family have denied Israelš s claims. Haseera was handicapped.

Also on the 5 January, as a result of Israeli shelling on residential areas in Hebron, Areej el Jabali (18) was killed. Ahlam Jabali, Areejšs cousin, was injured in the same incident.

Despite repeated declarations from the United Nations and international human rights organizations, Israel continues to use lethal force against unarmed civilians. LAW has stressed repeatedly over the period of the current intifada that such acts constitute crimes of war. The killing of a resident of occupied territory in circumstances that are not life threatening to the army of occupation is willful killing, and is thus a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention (art 146,147). Moreover,
article 32 of the convention stipulates:

łThe High Contracting Parties specifically agree that each of them is prohibited from taking any measure of such a character as to cause the physical suffering or extermination of protected persons in their hands. The prohibition applies not only to murder, tortureŠbut also to any other measures of brutality whether applied by civilian or military agents.˛

In light of the enormous loss of life over the past few months, with most of those killed being unarmed Palestinian civilians, LAW calls on the High contracting parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to abide by their article 1 obligation and ensure Israelšs adherence to the Conventions provisions pertinent to territories under belligerent occupation.

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