Ref: 83/2011

On Tuesday
evening, 16 August 2011, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed a
Palestinian child from al-Nussairat refugee camp, who was 400 meters from the
border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Deir al-Balah in the central
Gaza Strip. The victim’s family told a
PCHR field worker that their child had a mental disability. The victim was in an area that had not been
explicitly declared as prohibited.

According to
investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 18:00 on Tuesday, 16 August
2011, Israeli soldiers stationed at the border northeast of Deir al-Balah
opened fire at a Palestinian, who was nearly 400 meters from the border. As a result, he was wounded by 10 bullets in
his head and chest. He was left wounded without
being offered any first aid. After
coordination was made with IOF, at approximately 19:20, medical crews were able
to retrieve the body, which was then transferred to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in
Deir al-Balah. After four hours later,
the child was identified as Sa’d Abdul Rahim Mahmoud al-Majdalwai, 17, from
al-Nussairat refugee camp. He was hit by
10 live bullets mostly to the head. In
his testimony to PCHR, the victim’s father said that his son had been suffering
from a mental disability and a speech impairment.

The Israeli
radio reported that IOF observed a person approaching the security fence, and
shot him. This version of events confirms
that IOF could have arrested or used less than lethal force against him, especially
as he was wearing civilian clothes and there was nothing to indicate that he
was a non-civilian.

It should be
noted that on Tuesday morning, the Gaza Strip witnessed several shooting and
shelling attacks on civilian areas and military training sites. As a result of
this shelling and shooting, a Palestinian resistance man was killed and two
others were seriously wounded in Gaza City. A child and another person were
wounded in Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.

PCHR condemns and
expresses concerned over this crime, and:

1. Asserts that these crimes are part of a series of war crimes
committed by IOF in the oPt, which reflect total disregard for the lives of
Palestinian civilians.

2. Calls upon the international community to take immediate action in
order to put an end to such crimes. PCHR further renews its demand for the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligation
under Article 1, which stipulates “the High Contracting Parties undertake
to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all
circumstances,” as well as their obligations under Article 146 which
requires that the Contracting Parties 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 under Protocol I Additional
to Geneva Conventions.