Ref: 35/2014
Date: 19 March 2014
Time: 12:30 GMT

In an excessive use of force, on Wednesday morning, 19 March 2014, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian child near the annexation wall, west of Dura, southwest of Hebron, and arrested 2 others in company. Following this crime, Israeli forces calimed that they opened fired at a Palestinian from Deir al-‘Asal al-Foqa village while he was attempting to cross the wall into Israel and killed him instantly.

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 05:30 on the aforementioned day, Yousif Sami Salem Shawamrah (14) left the house of his uncle, ‘Azmi Hasan Shawamrah, in Deir al-‘Asal al-Foqa village, southwest of Dura, southwest of Hebron, to collect Gundelia from the confiscated lands, which are 1500 meters away from the west of his village behind the annexation wall. The aforementioned child went with Zahi Samir Shawamrah (12) and Al-Montaser Belah Jamal al-Dardon (18) to the area. At approximately 07:00, residents of the village heard sounds of 3 gunshots coming from the wall side. At approximately 07:40, they saw an Israeli military ambulance heading to the wall. The family of Yousif Shawamrah knew from the Israeli media that their son was killed and his body was taken to “Soroka” Hospital in Beersheba in Israel. It should be mentioned that the annexation wall established in the aforementioned area is built of a metal fence and has two holes through which children were crossing to the lands belonging to the residents of the village behind it.

PCHR strongly condemns this crime, which further proves the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians in disregard for their lives. PCHR also emphasizes that Israeli forces should have used less lethal means against Shawamrah and should have arrested him especially that they arrested the two other children who were with him.

PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective action to stop Israeli crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions.