Ref: 132/2022

Date: 16 October 2022

Time: 08:36 GMT

Today dawn, a Palestinian civilian succumbed to wounds he sustained yesterday evening by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)’s fire during their incursion into the entrance to Qarawat Bani Hassan village, west of Salfit, while four other Palestinians, including a child and a boy, were wounded and are still receiving treatment. This crime and other crimes committed during the past few days prove IOF’s loose shooting standards against Palestinians upon top-level Israeli military and political orders. Hardly a day passes without murders in the cities and villages of the West Bank, including Occupied East Jerusalem, as ten Palestinians, including 4 children, have killed within less than 10 days.

According to Investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 12:15 on Saturday, 15 October 2022, IOF moved into the entrance to Qarawat Bani Hassan village, west of Salfit, and tried to confiscate a bulldozer at the abovementioned entrance, under the pretext of working in an area classified as Area “C”. When IOF were on their way to confiscate the bulldozer, the villagers, who were harvesting olive trees in their lands, confronted IOF and threw stones at their military vehicles stationed at the entrance. IOF immediately fired live and rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades and teargas canisters at the protestors and Palestinians present in their lands. As a result, a child and a teenager were shot with two live bullets in their lower limbs and then taken to a nearby medical center near the village entrance. When the villagers learnt about those injured, they gathered at the medical center’s door, while IOF arrived at the area and fired live and rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades and teargas canisters at them. As a result, three Palestinians were wounded, including two in serious condition; one of them is a teenager and the other was a man identified as Mujahed Mohammed Ahmed Dawoud (30), from Haris village and living in Qarawat Bani Hassan village.  Dawoud was shot with a live bullet in his chest and taken to receive treatment at Salfit Hospital, where he succumbed to his serious wound on Sunday at dawn.

According to PCHR’s field investigations, Mujahed Dawoud, who was a plasterer, was working in a house near the medical center when he heard shooting and events in the area, so he went downstairs to see what was gonging on. Afterwards, as one of the Israeli soldiers stationed 25 meters away from Dawoud, opened fire in the area, Dawoud was wounded with a live bullet in his chest. He was then taken to the hospital, where his condition was reported serious and stayed for treatment until he was pronounced dead at dawn.

PCHR reiterates its call upon the international community to take immediate action to end Israeli occupation’s crimes and double standards when it comes to international law and urges the Public Prosecutor of the ICC to act seriously with regard to the situation in Palestine.  PCHR also demands the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention fulfil their obligations as per Common Article 1 of the Convention, “undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances,” and their obligations under Article 146 of the same Conventions, i.e., to hold accountable persons accused of committing grave breaches of the Convention noting that these violations are considered war crimes in accordance with Article 147 of the Convention and in accordance with the Additional Protocol I of the Convention to guarantee the right of protection for Palestinian civilians in the occupied territory.