PRESS RELEASE

Released @ 1:00 GMT 19^th May 1998

• In commemoration of al-Nakba,

    the Israeli army perpetrated willful killing

An Israeli military spokesman of the Southern Region Command stated on 17 May 1998 that the Israeli occupation forces used snipers against individuals who constituted a danger to the Israeli soldiers in order to avoid contact with the demonstrators during clashes that erupted on 14 May 1998 in commemoration of al-Nakba – the uprooting of the Palestinian people from their homeland in 1948. This statement confirms the information provided in press releases from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights on 14 and 16 May stating that the Israeli occupation forces used lethal and random force against Palestinian civilians, resulting in the death of five Palestinians, four from Gaza and one from the West Bank, and the injury of more than 300.

In the light of this statement by the Israeli military spokesman, the PCHR would like to clarify the following: First, the use of snipers by the Israeli occupation forces constitutes official license for the willful killing of Palestinian demonstrators. The Israeli soldiers opened fire with the intent to kill, leading to the death of five Palestinian civilians. Such willful killing of unarmed civilians is in direct violation of the provisions of the Forth Geneva Convention of 1949 Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War. This Convention absolutely prohibits willful killing, considering it a grave breach amounting to war crimes, which demand the international community bring the perpetrators and their superiors to trial. Moreover, the Israeli occupation forces clearly endeavored to kill as many civilian Palestinians as possible, as evidenced by the fact that 52 out of 71 Palestinians injured in Gaza were shot in the upper part of their body.

Secondly, the high number of Palestinian civilians injured by the Israeli live ammunition proves that these forces used excessive and lethal force against demonstrators without danger to the lives of the Israeli soldiers. The use of such military means has violated the principles of proportionality and discrimination, which must direct the conduct of military forces in their relations with civilians. On the one hand, the use of live ammunition in this way and the number of casualties is disproportional with the claimed intention to preserve order and with the fact that the civilians were unarmed and did not constitute danger to these forces. On the other hand, the Israeli occupation forces gave their soldiers free hand to shoot randomly and without discrimination, as evidenced by the case of nurse Zamil El-Waheidi, shot dead while providing aid to the injured. Moreover, in the Gaza Strip, 29 children under 18 years old were injured, five of them younger than 10 years old. In addition, the fact that many of those injured were shot from behind, reaffirming that they were in the escape position and were in no way endangering the lives of soldiers.

Third, the Israeli military spokesman’s claim that the aim of using snipers was to prevent contact with the demonstrators, is undermined by the fact that more than 300 civilians were injured among demonstrators and those in the area.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights condemns these crimes perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces and sees the statements of the Israeli military spokesman as undeniable confirmation that these forces have adopted another new war crime by using willful killing, random and lethal force against Palestinians. This is in grave violation of the provisions of the Forth Geneva Convention of 1948 and of the provisions of the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials of 1979. In the light of these facts, and the potential danger of the situation, the PCHR demands that the international community, especially the high contracting parties of the Forth Geneva Convention of 1949, bring the perpetrators of these crimes to trial. They must immediately fulfill their legal obligations to ensure the de jure applicability of the convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially by providing protection for Palestinian civilians as principle and important guarantee to ensure respect for human rights.

For More Information Contact:

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Tel/Fax: (+) 972 7 824776/ 825893 /

E-mail: [email protected]