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Press Release
Ref: 1/2002
Date: 3 January 2002
Late at night on Wednesday, 2 January 2002, Israeli occupation forces handed the bodies of three Palestinian children killed by these forces in the northern Gaza Strip to Palestinian officials.
On Wednesday afternoon, PCHR sent a letter to the Legal Advisor of the Israeli military through lawyer Andre Rosenthal. The letter, which was authorized by the families of three Palestinian children whose disappearance coincided with a statement by the Israeli forces that they had killed three Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on 30 December 2001, included PCHR’s demands that the bodies of the three victims be handed over immediately and that the Israeli military immediately initiate an investigation into the incident. The three victims were identified as:
Mohammed Ahmed Lubbad, 17;
Mohammed ‘Abdel-Rahman El-Madhoun, 15; and
Ahmed Mohammed Banat, 15.
The three were from Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.
According to initial investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 17:40 on Sunday, 30 December, an Israeli occupation forces tank located in “Elli Sinai” settlement, southeast of Beit Lahia, fired four artillery shells at Beit Lahia and the Bedouin Village in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli occupation soldiers then opened fire from heavy and medium machine guns. Later, the Israeli forces thrust approximately 1200m into rural areas in Beit Lahia. They took up position on a hill, on which a site of the Palestinian National Security Forces had stood before it was destroyed by the Israeli forces. Thirty minutes later, the Israeli forces stated that they had killed three gunmen who were attempting to enter “Elli Sinai” settlement and that they had recovered the bodies. An Israeli radio station reported that Israeli soldiers fired at the three Palestinians, who were all children, and that knives were found near the bodies.
Specific details regarding this incident have not been made available. However, it seems likely that Israeli forces did not resort to less lethal action, nor attempted to arrest the three children. It seems likely that they used excessive force resulting in the death of the children.
PCHR considers this incident a probable willful killing in violation of international law. PCHR calls upon the international community to form an independent inquiry commission to investigate these and other similar apparent willful killings perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians
