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Ref: 142/2005

Date: 16 November 2005

Time: 13:30 GMT

Ref: 142/2005
Date: 16 November 2005
Time: 13:30 GMT

Israeli Military Court Acquits Israeli Officer of All Charges Relating to the Killing of a Palestinian Girl

On Tuesday, 15 November 2005, the Israeli military southern command court acquitted an officer in the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) of charges relating to the killing of 13-year-old Iman al-Hams; the illegal use of his weapon; and the obstruction of court proceedings.

Iman al-Hams, 13, from Rafah, was killed on 5 October 2004, when IOF positioned in a military post on the Egyptian border, south of Rafah, opened fire at her, as she was walking with her schoolbag.  The case received wide-spread attention when an Israeli soldier, working in the aforementioned post, confessed that his officer had “confirmed the kill” and shot the girl multiple times from a close range, after she had already been hit by IOF gunfire and was lying on the ground.  Consequently, the Israeli military prosecutor initiated an investigation into the case.  Moshe Ya’lon, the former Israeli military Chief of Staff supported the officer’s claim that the shooting of the girl had coincided with shooting at the military post by Palestinian gunmen.  As the Israeli newspapers published more details about the case, however, the officer was arrested under charges of providing false testimonies.  On 22 November 2004, the Israeli military prosecutor presented a bill of indictment against the officer and the military court and extended his detention for two months in an open military post.  On 23 November 2004, the Israeli media showed a video tape in which the officer was seen moving towards the child, who was lying on the ground, and shooting at her multiple times.  On 9 December 2004, the officer was charged with the illegal use of his weapon.  The Israeli military court released the officer on 6 February 2005, when the witness and other soldiers held back their testimonies, which had stated that they saw the officer shooting at the child.  The witnesses and other soldiers claimed that they had lied during the investigation in order to get rid of this officer. 

This latest Israeli court ruling strongly evidences the lack of justice in the Israeli judiciary system, especially the military judiciary.  Investigations are usually conducted by IOF and cases are referred then to the military judiciary, thus undermining the credibility of investigations and court rulings on them.  Since the outset of the current Palestinian Intifada in September 2000, 2908 Palestinians, including 651 children, have been killed by IOF.  Hundreds of complaints submitted to the Israeli courts by human rights organizations, including PCHR, on behalf of victims have been ignored, and only a few cases have been seriously investigated.  In this context, B’Tselem, the Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, published on 27 June 2005 statistics which demonstrated that the Israeli police conducted investigations into 108 cases of killing and injuring Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) out of thousands of similar cases, and that bills of indictments were submitted in just 19 cases, which led to only two soldiers being convicted of killing Palestinians. 

One of the significant examples that prove the non-seriousness of investigations in cases of killing or injuring civilians in the OPT by IOF was a decision taken by an Israeli military judge in April 2005, acquitting an Israeli soldier of charges relating to the killing of James Miller, a British journalist, claiming that there was not “enough evidence to prove his connection to the killing.”  Miller was killed by IOF in May 2003 in Rafah, while he was working in the area. 

In 2003, an Israeli soldier was acquitted of charges related to the killing of Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist, who was run down by an IOF bulldozer in Rafah in March 2003, while she was attempting to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes by IOF.  The investigation into the incident conducted by IOF concluded that Corrie was killed “when she obstructed the operations of bulldozers” and that she was hit “when she attempted to climb the bulldozer.”  The investigation also concluded that Corrie’s death “was not a result of a direct action by the bulldozer rather because of a hill of sand pushed by the bulldozer, which covered her, so there is no reason to take disciplinary measures against the soldiers who were involved in the incident.” 

These cases are a clear indicator of the impunity afforded to Israeli soldiers in the OPT, which encourages them to perpetrate more crimes against Palestinian civilians and property and to act freely, without being accountable. 

The latest of such crimes took place in Jenin on 3 November 2005, when IOF fired at 11-year-old Ahmed al-Khatib when was playing with his friends on the first day of the Eid al-Futr.  He was wounded by two live bullets to the head and the abdomen.  The child died from his injuries in an Israeli Hospital on 5 November.  IOF claimed that the child was killed by mistake, as the soldiers thought that a toy gun he was holding was a real gun, and so they shot him.  The child’s father refuted this claim and asserted that his child was not holding a toy gun.  There is no indication that IOF have initiated a serious investigation into this case. 

Earlier, 13-year-old ‘Adli Tantawi, from ‘Askar refugee camp in Nablus, was shot dead by IOF on 2 October 2005, while he was near his home.  IOF claimed that they shot him because they suspected him of shooting at them.  However, preliminary investigations conducted by IOF proved that the shooting was in violation of instructions, which had stated that that the child was not armed and did not pose any threat to the lives of Israeli soldiers (according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, 2 October 2005).  The Israeli “Civil Administration” phoned the family and apologized for the death of the child, promising to initiate an investigation into his death.  However, there has been no indication that IOF have initiated an investigation into the child’s death. 

It is worth noting that the most severe sentence issued against an Israeli soldier, convicted of killing civilians during the Intifada, was that issued against a soldier who was convicted of killing Thomas Hurndall in Rafah in April 2003; the soldier was sentenced to 8 years in prison.  Sentences against soldiers are very rare in these cases. 

PCHR strongly condemns this latest court ruling to acquit the IOF officer of charges relating to the killing Iman al-Hams:

1.      PCHR calls for conducting fair investigations into all crimes committed by IOF against Palestinian civilians and property, some of which amount to war crimes under international humanitarian law. 

2.      PCHR believes that this latest court ruling proves the inadequacy of the Israeli judiciary in relation to such cases, as it is impossible to achieve justice when IOF constitute the judge and the accused together. 

3.      PCHR believes that a judiciary that provides a legal cover for torture, unlawful transfer, collective punishment and extra-judicial executions can never be credible and trustable. 

4.      Through its long experience, PCHR asserts that the Israeli military judiciary is used to provide a legal cover for crimes committed by IOF against Palestinian civilians. 

5.      PCHR asserts that the impunity afforded to Israeli soldiers encourages them to commit more serious crimes against protected Palestinian civilians.  

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