May 14 , 2001

Five Palestinian Policemen Killed During Unprovoked Israeli Attack on a Palestinian Checkpoint

Over the past weeks Israeli forces have increasingly begun to take the initiative in attacking Palestinian targets. During the last few days Israeli has initiated more of what it has dubbed “proactive operations” escalating the conflict to a new level. These actions culminated in this mornings attack during which five Palestinian police officers were also killed by Israeli Occupying Forces at the checkpoint they were guarding in Betunia near Ramallah on the border of area “A”. 
Those killed were:

- Ahmed Musa Younis Abu Mustafa, 22, from Gaza City - Mohammad Mahmoud Ibrahim Dauoud, 21, from Gaza City - Lieutenant Ahmed Mohammad Suleiman Zakout, 26, from Inserat in Gaza - Staff Sergeant Salah Ahmed Abu ‘Amra, 32, from Rafah - Mohammad Ali Rajab al-Khalidi, 18, from Breij Refugee Camp in Gaza

A sixth policeman was stationed at the checkpoint, but was not harmed. The checkpoint that was attacked is located in the middle of one of the main streets in Betunia. The checkpoint was setup as in accordance with agreements reached during Oslo negotiations and is officially recognized by the Israeli authorities. Its purpose is to keep Israeli citizens from accidentally driving into Palestinian controlled areas and to control traffic between the Palestinian and Israeli controlled areas. The soldiers stationed there were members of the National Security Forces. They had standing orders from their commander to leave the location should shooting break out and not to involve themselves in conflict. Since the outbreak of the Intifada there has been no shooting from or at this location. 

An al-Haq fieldworker interviewed Fakhr Mahmoud Abu Zaid who was the first person on the scene following the incident. He gave the following account. At approximately 1:50 am he and his wife were watching TV in their living room when they heard shooting. He immediately gathered his family together in a safe location and waited for the shooting to end. The shooting lasted no more than two minutes and was not intensive. Abu Zaid is a former member of the Palestinian security forces with experience with weaponry. He said that the shots were fired from semi-automatic rather than automatic weapons, and that there were at least two types of weapons used. According to his report it sounded as if the shooting originated from two directions. The main source of fire was a building located southwest of the checkpoint that was occupied last month by Israeli forces. Additional shots sounded as if they were coming from the east where a bypass road and Ofer military camp are located. The occupied building is located approximately 150 meters from the checkpoint and the Ofer camp is 400 meters from the checkpoint.

Abu Zaid’s home is located directly across the street from the checkpoint, a distance of no more than 15 meters. He said that after the shooting ceased he went to a window to yell to the policemen at the checkpoint to find out what had happened. He initially got no response, but after calling again he heard the one surviving policeman yell for an ambulance. He quickly fulfilled this request, and then went to check if the policemen were safe. Outside of the soldiers shack he found the bodies of two of the policemen. One was located approximately three meters from the checkpoint and was wearing a walkman. The second body was lying next to the shack’s door. 
A third policeman was lying half in and half out of the shack, and a fourth was laying just inside. 
All of them had been shot in the head and chest. He proceeded to search through the shack and attached kitchen for others who might be injured. Inside he found a table set for dinner with warm food and tea, and a full package of bread, indicating that the men had been preparing to sit down for a meal. He then continued his search outside where he found the body of one more policeman in a two-meter deep hole that had been dug two days before for use as a latrine. He had also been shot in the head and chest. The sixth policeman was standing in the hole unharmed. 

Abu Zaid’s story was backed up by evidence gathered by an al-Haq fieldworker during a search of the area, and by testimony from a second neighbor. Al-Haq’s fieldworker counted 12 bullet holes in the shack. Differences in size and shape of the hole indicate that they were caused by two different types of bullets. Their location also indicates that the shots were fired from a both westerly direction and from the east of the checkpoint. 

The Israeli military has not denied knowledge of the killing, but has said that troops in the area only opened fire after seeing suspicious movement during an “operational activity” near where the incident occurred. They stated that nobody should have been in this area and that the suspicious figures did not identify themselves. The evidence collected by al-Haq contradicts these claims. 
The men killed were stationed at an established checkpoint that was known to the Israeli authorities. Eyewitness testimony also indicates that the men were preparing to eat prior to being killed. One was wearing a walkman. The locations where the men’s bodies were found would indicate that they were not taking part in any unusual activities when they were shot. No mistake could have been made as to their identity. Israeli’s claim that their forces could not identify those they were shooting at is further undermined by the precise nature of the killings. Each policeman killed was shot in the head and chest. 

Continued unprovoked attacks upon Palestinian targets, assassinations, and incursions into Palestinian controlled areas must be stopped. These killings follow several other Israeli initiated incidents this weekend including the killing of two Palestinians in Jenin of Saturday, one was assassinated and the other was listed as an “unfortunate civilian casualty”, and the extensive bombing of Palestinian areas in Gaza on Sunday night. Israel must comply with its obligations under international law and comply fully with UN Resolutions 194, 242, and 338. Until Israel takes actions to end its belligerent occupation of the Palestinian territories and complies with its legal obligations the international community should take all available steps to enforce respect for international humanitarian and human rights law. Al-Haq therefore calls upon the international community to:

1. Ensures that the Israeli authorities abide by provisions of international humanitarian and human rights law. 
2. Demand that the United Nations send a human rights monitoring force to the Occupied Territories to document all violations social, economic, cultural, civil and political that result from the continued Israeli occupation. 
3. Immediate action by the States Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to bear responsibility towards breaches and grave breaches committed against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, and to fulfill their legal obligations as High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention under Article 1 of the Convention that states that states must act “ to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances”. 
4. Ensure international protection for the Palestinian People by creating an international protection force to be deployed in the occupied territories.