Press Release

26 October 1999

In a new incident of willful killing, a Palestinian, Mousa Faez Abu-Hlail, aged 26, from Beit Awwa village, Hebron district, was killed, and more than 25 were injured during the clashes that erupted later to protest his killing. According to affidavits obtained from eyewitnesses by Al-Haq directly after the incident, the soldier fired directly at the victims without any justification whatsoever.

The victim was walking towards Bethlehem, after he stopped to make purchases from a grocery shop 70 meters from the Israeli military guard post at Rachel's Tomb. When he arrived near the guard post the soldier present there began to shout at the victim to approach him in order to check his papers. It should be noted that this check point is for guarding Rachel's Tomb, which is located more than a kilometer inside Bethlehem from the permanent checkpoint at Bethlehem's borders, although this military guard post is also used by Israeli soldiers to check Palestinians for papers and to harass them.

The soldier who shouted at him was standing on a block one meter higher than the victim. The soldier once more shouted at the victim to give him his papers. The victim, while attempting to retrieve his papers from his back pocket, was shot once directly in the chest by the soldier. The victim fell down and bystanders gathered quickly to take him for treatment. The soldiers denied them access to the victim. A Palestinian ambulance that arrived on the scene minutes later was also denied access to the victim. Access to the victim was only given to the Israeli ambulance, which arrived a half hour after the incident. The victim bled to death before their arrival.

Directly following the incident, while the body was still lying on the street, the Israeli radio reported that 'the victim was attempting to stab a soldier and the soldier reacted according to his military rules by shooting the victim'. Two eyewitnesses reported to al-Haq that the victim was not carrying any knife or weapon and he is known in that neighbourhood for selling souvenirs and antiquities.

It should also be noted that soldiers at this guard post continually stop Palestinian cars and Palestinians on foot and provoke and harass them, asking for papers, although this is a guard post for Rachel's Tomb and not an official military checkpoint. This harassment is carried out daily in front of Jewish worshippers at the Tomb.

Al-Haq demands the following:

• A joint Palestinian-Israeli investigation be conducted consistent with international standards and humanitarian law based on Article 147 of the IV Geneva Convention regarding the killing of Mousa Faez Abu-Hlail;
• The soldier who shot him be prosecuted as well as the officer in charge of that unit as they both did not abide by the security procedures of carrying firearms and their use;
• Israel dismantle this military guard post and transfer it to the Palestinian National Authority as it is based inside the city of Bethlehem;
• Israel bring an immediate cessation of the willful killing of all protected persons by the IV Geneva Convention;
• Israel act in full conformity with all rules concerning the use of lethal force;
• The results of the investigation be publicized and measures taken against those responsible for this willful killing; and
• The international community give protection to the Palestinians by bringing international observers to the entrance of Palestinian cities and where the Israeli military have done similar violations.