Ref: 44/2011
Following the
longstanding policy of using excessive force against peaceful demonstrations organized
by Palestinian civilians, the Israeli forces used force to disperse demonstrators,
who participated in peaceful demonstrations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank on
the 63rd anniversary of Nakba – the uprooting the Palestinian
people from the land in 1948 – on Sunday,
15 May 2011. As a result, 143
Palestinian civilians, including 47 children and 5 women, were wounded. In the
Gaza Strip 105 people were wounded, including 31 children, 3 women and 3
journalists. In the West Bank 38 were wounded, including 16 children and 2
women. The Palestinian Center for Human
Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the use of excessive force against peaceful
demonstrations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) and calls upon the
international community to immediately take action to compel the Israeli
government to stop its crimes against Palestinian civilians.
In another
attack in the evening, Israeli forces killed a mentally disabled child near the
border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Gaza City.
According to
investigations conducted by PCHR, the incident occurred as follows:
The Gaza Strip:
· At
approximately 10:30 on Sunday, 15 May 2011, dozens of Palestinians began gathering
approximately 1700 meters South of Beit Hanoun (Erez), the northern crossing in
the Gaza Strip. People had gathered to participate in the activities commemorating
the 63rd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba. At approximately 11:30, dozens of
Palestinians headed towards the border fence near Beit Hanoun (Erez)
crossing. Ten minutes later, Israeli
forces stationed at the border fired 4 arterially shells in the area where the
Palestinians were gathered. Simultaneously, Israeli soldiers in watchtowers
opened fire at the demonstrators. Israeli
forces continued intermittently firing until evening, while helicopters hovered
over the area also firing heavily at the area surrounding the
demonstrators. Additionally, dozens of
tear gas canisters and bombs which released a smoke were fired, causing
fainting and neurological symptoms. As a
result, 103 Palestinians were wounded and dozens suffered from gas inhalation.
Thirteen (13) were transported to al-Awdah Hospital in Jabalya, 6 were
transported to Balsam Hospital in Beit Hanoun, and 84 were transported to
Martyr Kamal Odwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. The wounded included 31 children and 3 women.
Journalists were also wounded. They are:
1. Hussein Abdul Jawad Karsou’, 36, from al-Thalathini Street in Gaza
City. He works as a freelance journalist
and cameraman for al-Shoroq Media Institution and also managing a page of Gazan
News Agency on Facebook. He was wounded
by a bullet to the left leg;
2. Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed Othman, 25, a freelance cameraman, from
Sheikh Redwan neighborhood in Gaza City. He was wounded in the chest; and
3. Aasem Mohammed Shihadah, 25, a cameraman of the National Media
Company. He suffered from suffocation
due to firing bombs which released the toxic smoke.
Additionally, three members of the Palestine Red
Crescent Society’s (PRCS) medical staff suffered from suffocation and fainted:
Ahmed Abu Foul, 30, Director of PRCS’s volunteers; ‘Atiyah Morad, 25; and
Ramadan Hoso, 28.
· At
approximately 15:00, Israeli forces stationed at the border fence, east of Khan
Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, opened fire near dozens of Palestinians
participating in a peaceful demonstration in the eastern part of ‘Abasan
village, located east of Khan
Yunis. As a result, two Palestinians
sustained moderate wounds and were transported to the European Gaza Hospital in
Khan Yunis to receive medical treatment.
The West Bank:
· In Ramallah,
at approximately 13:30, dozens of Palestinian civilians gathered at the
entrance of Qalandya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, and headed towards Qalandya
checkpoint, which separates Ramallah from Jerusalem. The demonstrators threw stones and empty
bottles towards Israeli soldiers, who had been heavily deployed near the
checkpoint beginning in the early morning. Israeli forces immediately fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound
bombs and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, 26 civilians, including 11
children and a woman, were wounded and were transported to Palestine Medical
Complex in Ramallah to receive necessary medical treatment. Medical sources stated that the majority of
injuries were in the upper parts of the body. Israeli forces, using undercover units, arrested 6 Palestinians; one of
whom had been wounded in the head.
· In
Hebron, Palestinian civilians organized peaceful demonstrations in central and
southern Hebron, at the northern entrance of Hebron, and at the entrances of
Beit Ummar, Bani N’eim, Zeef villages and the Fawwar refugee camp. As a result of clashes with Israeli forces,
12 civilians, including 5 children and a woman, were wounded. In addition, a
number of civilians fainted from tear gas inhalation and others sustained
bruises due to violent beating.
In
another crime, Israeli forces killed a mentally disabled child yesterday
evening near Nahal Oz crossing, east of Gaza City, by an artillery shell.
According
to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 16:30, Shifa Hospital
received the body of Khamis Salah Mesleh Habeeb, 17, from al-Shuja’iya neighborhood
in the east of Gaza City. In a statement
to a PCHR field worker, Adham Abu Selmiyah, Spokesperson of the Emergency
Department, said that they had received a phone call from residents of Nahal Oz
area, who stated there was a body near the border fence. Coordination was made through the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and an ambulance headed to the area where
they recovered the body of Habeeb at a distance of 300 meters to the west of
Nahal Oz crossing. The body was
transported to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. According to forensic sources at Shifa Hospital, Habeeb was wounded by
shrapnel in the chest and the head from an artillery shell fired at him. As a
result of which he was killed immediately. It should be noted that Habeeb suffered from a mental disorder.
PCHR reiterates
its condemnation of such crimes, and expresses utmost concern over them, and:
1. Stresses that using excessive force against peaceful demonstrations
organized by Palestinian civilians has been constituting a systematic policy of
Israeli forces, which reflects the Israeli disregard for the lives of
Palestinian civilians; and
2. Calls upon the international community to immediately take an
action to stop such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting
Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations under
Article 1 which stipulates “the High Contracting Parties undertake to
respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances,”
and 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.
