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Three Palestinians were killed late last night in the second assassination carried out by Israeli
forces this week. The three were assassinated at 11:00 pm when an Israeli Apache helicopter
fired four missiles into their car. This attack is a clear indication that Israel has begun to act upon
the cabinet decision taken ten days ago to resume the use of assassination as a preventative
measure if it is deemed necessary for security reasons. The assassination occurred on the main
road between the villages of al-Zababda and Mesiliya near the village of Qabatya, south of Jenin.
Israeli sources claim that the attack was carried out in order to avert a planned terrorist attack,
yet no evidence has been offered to support this claim. The three men killed in the attack were
Mohammad Ahmed Basharat (27), Walid Rasmi Sadiq Bisharat (19), and Samah Nur Aldin Abu
Hnaish (23). According to information gathered by al-Haq the three were returning home from
Jenin to the village of Tamoun where Mohammad and Walid were from. The bodies of
Mohammad and Walid were burned beyond recognition causing great difficulty in identifying
them. Samah was killed when a missile struck him in the chest. Mohammad Basharat was
apparently the intended target of the assassination, although all three are reported to have been
wanted members of Islamic Jihad.
Haaretz reported today that Israeli Cabinet Minister Tzachi Hanegbi acknowledged Israels
responsibility for the assassination. He stated that the people who were liquidated were killed in
an act of self-defense, and that these things are carried out only when there is no alternative.
Israeli military officials claimed that the attack definitely averted a terrorist attack, stating that
Mohammad Basharat was responsible for past bombings and shootings attacks against Israeli
targets. Again evidence to back up these charges was not provided.
In a second incident yesterday morning two Palestinians were killed near the village of
al-Zababdeh, south of Jenin. According to Palestinian sources the two men who were killed,
accompanied by three companions, had stopped to buy gas at a gas station located just beyond
the Palestinian checkpoint that marks the entrance to al-Zababdeh, when Israeli forces stationed
in a military camp 450 meters away from their location opened fire. After the shooting started the
five men retrieved weapons from their car and returned fire towards the camp. During the ensuing
exchange of fire Jamal Daifallah Hassan Thlaji (33) and Mahmoud Musa Suliman Khalil (34)
were killed. It is not currently clear whether the other three men fled or were arrested. This case
is still being investigated by al-Haq. A statement by the Israeli military about the incident stated
that Israeli forces operating on pro-active operational activity in the area spotted the group of
armed men and an exchange of fire followed. During the ensuing firefight the two men named
above were killed. The statement goes on to say the several explosive devices were found in the
area where the men were killed. Both men killed are confirmed to have been active members of
the Izi al-Diin al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas.
These attacks come during a time when Israeli officials are insisting that Israel is doing everything
within its power to minimize its use of violence against Palestinians, and are also insisting that
Palestinians must bring about an absolute cessation of all violence before any political negotiations
can resume. Early yesterday evening Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reiterated his demand
that Palestinians halt their resistance when he told a group of settlers in the southern West Bank
that there will not be any beginning of any political process whatsoever before there is an
absolute halt not half, nor temporary but absolute halt to terrorism and violence and incitement.
However, the seven day period of calm called for by US Secretary of State Colin Powell and
agreed to by both the Israeli and Palestinian Authorities is not only applicable to the Palestinians.
Israeli violations of Palestinians basic human rights must stop. Al-Haq reiterates its stance, that in
addition to being a blatant violation of the ceasefire, Israels policy of assassination is a blatant
violation of international law and must be halted immediately. Israels continued closure of the
Occupied Territories and the curfews imposed on various cities and villages also constitute blatant
human rights violations and are a more subtle form of violence that must be stopped.
It is al-Haqs position that there can be no justification for Israels use of assassination. An
analysis of al-Haqs documentation shows that the lack of concrete proof that substantiates the
charges against individuals who have been assassinated is not unique to this case, but is a
reoccurring pattern. This is a clear violation of all international standards of justice that give an
accused person the right to defend him/herself in a court of law in order to challenge any potential
violations of their rights and ensure against a miscarriage of justice. In ordering assassinations the
Israeli authorities have failed to pay heed to this obligation, and have carried out the assassinations
without due regard for the basic guarantees provided by the relevant provisions of international
humanitarian law and human rights principles. There has been no attempt to arrest and detain
assassinated individuals, no credible evidence has been furnished to the public domain for judicial
scrutiny, those killed were not made aware of the charges against them, and they were not given
an opportunity to refute the allegations that sent them to their deaths. Israeli officials have given
themselves the authority to act as judge, jury, and executioner.
Assassinations such as the one carried out last night qualify as willful killings, which Article 147 of
the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibits. Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
qualifies willful killing as a grave violation of the convention, which are equivalent to war crimes
and must be prosecuted by States Parties to the convention. In this light the international
community must take action to stop Israeli aggression against unarmed Palestinian civilians and
must pressure the Israeli government to end its policy of assassination. The US government
should also take action by demanding that weapons that it has supplied to the Israeli military,
including Apache helicopters, not be used against the civilian Palestinian population.
Al-Haq therefore reiterates its calls for:
1. Dr. Asma Jahangir Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories
to fully investigate all cases of assassination that have occurred since the outbreak of the
Intifada and to report on his findings to the relevant international bodies.
2. States Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to act immediately under their
obligations as outlined in Articles 1, 146, and 147 of the convention to provide the
Palestinian people with protection from grave breaches of their rights, which qualify as war
crimes, and must demand an end to abuses committed by Israeli forces.
3. The United Nations to 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.
4. The United Nations to fully implement all resolutions related to the Occupied
Territories passed during the last two meetings of the Human Rights Commission be, and
press the Security Council to take action to end Israels systematic violation of international
humanitarian law. |