Ref: 104/2007

Date: 26 August 2007

Time: 09:30 GMT

IOF Extra-Judicially Execute 2 Palestinians and Wound 3 Others in Jenin

PCHR strongly condemns the latest extra-judicial execution committed by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Saturday, 25 August 2007, which left dead 2 members of the al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of Islamic Jihad).

At approximately 06:10 on Saturday, 26 August 2007, an IOF undercover unit moved into Jenin traveling in two civilian vehicles with Palestinian registration plates. The two vehicles entered the town through Jenin – Nazareth road, northeast of the town. They stopped in front of Jordan Bank in the center of the town. In the meantime, a car (a grey Mazda), in which 5 members of the al-Quds Brigades, was heading towards the center of the town. The car stopped near a man who sells coffee. Immediately, members of the IOF undercover unit opened fire at the car. ‘Alaa’ Saleh Mohammed Sorour, 30, was instantly killed by several gunshots throughout the body. The other four Palestinians were wounded:

1)      Mustafa Nader ‘Ateeq, 21, seriously wounded by a gunshot to the head and was pronounced dead at noon;

2)      ‘Ali Hasan Abu Rmaila, 42, seriously wounded by a number of gunshots to the abdomen, the shoulder and the legs;

3)      ‘Ammar Fayez Abu Hatab, 20, wounded by a gunshot to the thigh; and

4)      Fu’ad Mustafa ‘Ateeq, 19, wounded by a gunshot to the thigh.

Since the beginning of the current Palestinian Intifada, 657 Palestinians, including 221 civilian bystanders, have been extra-judicially executed by IOF. The victims have included 73 children.

PCHR strongly condemns crimes committed by IOF in the OPT, and:

1)      Asserts that this latest crime is another one in a series of continuous crimes committed by IOF in the OPT in disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians.

2)      Reiterates condemnation for the policy of extra-judicial executions adopted by IOF against Palestinian activists, and asserts that this policy serves to increase tension in the region and threatens the lives of Palestinian civilians.

3)      Calls upon the international community to immediately intervene to stop such crimes, and calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War to fulfill their obligation under article 1 of the Convention to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under article 146 to search for and prosecute those who are responsible for perpetrating grave breaches of the Convention, as such breaches constitute war crimes according to article 147 of the Convention and the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I).