Ref: 84/2021

Date: 13 June 2021

Time: 13:00 GMT

Yesterday in the afternoon, 12 June 2021, a Palestinian woman shot dead by an Israeli Security guard and was left bleeding to death at Qalandia checkpoint, north of occupied East Jerusalem, claiming she attempted to carry out a stabbing attack.  According to PCHR’s investigations, the woman did not pose imminent threat to the soldiers’ lives and could have been controlled without use of excessive force.

According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 13:10 on Saturday, 12 June 2021, an Israeli security guard opened fire at a woman approaching them at Qalandia checkpoint and wounded her immediately. She fell on the ground, and IOF left her bleeding to death without providing her first aid. They kept her body in custody, and she was later identified as Ibtisam Khaled Ka’abnah (28), a mother of a child and lived in Jericho.

In its statement, IOF claimed that a Palestinian woman approached the vehicles path at Qalandia military checkpoint and ran with a knife towards the Israeli forces stationed there; however, an Israeli civilian security guard realized what was going on and asked her to stop many times.  She kept walking towards them, and the guard fired several bullets at her.

Many videos showed how IOF blocked medics’ access to the wounded woman, who fell on the ground helplessly for more than half an hour.  Afterwards, IOF searched her clothes, covered her body and then took her away, amid complete closure of the checkpoint.

This incident is part of an Israeli constant policy of using excessive force, particularly the shoot-to-kill policy against the suspects at the checkpoints and near the Israeli position points.  Since the beginning of the year, other than the new incident, PCHR documented the killing of 10 Palestinians, including a child and a woman, at the Israeli checkpoints and position points; most of them were killed allegedly for attempting to carry out a stabbing attack without imminent threat to the soldiers’ lives.

PCHR also calls upon the international community to immediately take action to stop the Israeli crimes and reiterates it calls upon the High Contracting he High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances and their obligations under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, noting that these violations constitute war crimes according to Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions regarding the guarantee of Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the occupied territories.