Ref: 12/2022

Date: 08 February 2022

Time: 13:30

In a new crime of extrajudicial execution, a special Israeli force directly opened fire at 3 Palestinians when it stopped their car in Nablus, north of the West Bank, killing them immediately.

PCHR strongly condemns the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) return to extrajudicial executions, which is an official and declared policy of Israel that killed hundreds of Palestinian political figures and activists, in grave violation of the principles of the intentional humanitarian law (IHL) that prohibit this kind of murder crime.

According to PCHR’s investigations, at around 13:25 on Tuesday, 08 February 2022, a special Israeli force sneaked into al-Makhfiyah Street, west of Nablus, via 2 civilian vehicles; one was a yellow bus, and the other was a grey Caddy.  The first vehicle intercepted from the front a silver Siat car traveling on the street while the second vehicle intercepted the car from behind.  Soldiers in military uniform stepped out of the 2 vehicles and directly opened fire at the 3 persons inside the car; one was the driver, the second was sitting beside him and the third was in the backseat.  The shooting was mainly on their heads, killing them immediately.  Five minutes later and after making sure the 3 persons died, the special force withdrew from the area.  The persons killed were identified as Ashraf Mohammed ‘Abdel Fattah Mbaslat (21), Mohammed Ra’ed Hussein Dakhil (22) and Adham Mabrouki (al-Shishani) (21), who are suspectedly affiliated with al-Aqsa Martyers’ Brigades and had been haunted by IOF for a while.  All of them were from Nablus’s Old City.

IOF admitted commission of the assassination, and the Israeli Broadcast Corporate -Makan stated: “a special force from IDF, Police and Shin Bet assassinated 3 members of a terrorist cell,” which allegedly carried out a series of shooting attacks in recent weeks near the city.

Similar operations are carried out pursuant to Israeli Intelligence services’ knowledge, and those wanted are killed instantly instead of being arrested. Therefore, IOF play in these operations the judge’s role by deciding a death sentence and executing it.

PCHR condemns in the strongest terms the assassination crime and emphasizes that IOF have always used this type of crimes in the recent years against the Palestinians in light of international community silence, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and inaction to stop these crimes and take effective measures against the Israeli occupation, encouraging Israel to commit further war crimes against the Palestinians.

PCHR calls on the international community to intervene immediately to end Israeli extra-judicial executions that are considered a form of summary execution without trial and bring the perpetrators to trial.