Ref: 20/2014
Date: 26 February 2014
Date: 12:10 GMT

Two civilians, including a journalist, were wounded by Israeli forces stationed near “Nahal ‘Oz” Crossing along the borderline, east of Gaza City, during a peaceful demonstration.

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 12:00 on Tuesday 25 February 2014, a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian young men to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the al-Ibrahimi Mosque massacre in Hebron and to protest against the recent attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque. The demonstration headed towards “Nahal ‘Oz” Crossing along the eastern borders of Gaza City. Around 150 demonstrators arrived at the Access Restricted Area (ARA), east of Gaza City. At approximately 13:30, a group of them threw stones at the Israeli soldiers, who in response fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters. As a result, Naser Maher Rahmah (24), a journalist at Gaza Network for Youth Media, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg and Younis Ibrahim Ahmed al-Moghrabi (23), a student at the Journalism and Media Department at al-Azhar University, was wounded by two bullets to the two legs.

PCHR severely condemns these crimes, which once again prove the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians. PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances. PCHR also calls upon the international community to fulfill 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.