Two More Palestinians Killed and a Twelve -Year Old Boy declared Clinically Dead
Two Palestinians civilians died this afternoon, October 21, 2000. According to information gathered by LAW, Faez Al Qeimari 30, from Hebron was standing by his car in Bab Azawyeh, in the heart of Herbon, when he was shot by a sniper positioned 200 meters from clashes that were taking place between Areas A and C. Medical sources stated that the Al Qeimari was hit in the head with live ammunition.
Omar Al Bahasei, 16, from Dir Ballah in Gaza was shot directly in the heart during clashes near the Kufar Darom settlement and 12-year-old Muhammad Najjar was declared clinically dead after being shot in the face.
As of 3 pm this afternoon, the number of injuries from today's clashes has risen to 127. Sixty-one were injured in Gaza, 12 in Hebron, 47 in Ramallah and Al Bireh, 5 in Tulkarem and 2 in Qualilya. Eighteen were hit with rubber-coated metal bullets and 5 were hit with live ammunition. The recent deaths bring the Palestinian death toll to 111, 33 of whom are children.
15 year old Majid Hawamdah, from Atirah, near Ramallah was killed this evening. He was shot in the head using live ammunition. Hawamdah was at a demonstration in north of Ramallah. The bullet tore through the front of his head entering from the left side of his temple traveling through the brain and exiting out of the right side.
Majid Hawamdah was unarmed and could not have posed a threat to require the use of live ammunition.
Majid Hawamdah killing bring the Palestinian death toll to 112, 34 are children.
LAW is pursuing the following:
In spite of a growing number of developments on the international level, including the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 1322 and the 19 October resolution of the UN Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/S-5/L.2/Rev.1), condemning Israel's disproportionate use of force, Israeli military forces have escalated their attack on the Palestinian civilian population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the period since the conclusion of the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit on 17 October, 17 Palestinians have been killed, including 4 children. Moreover, tens of Palestinians have been wounded, among them, 18 year old, Sa'ed Al-Tambour from Nablus, who was declared clinically dead yesterday after being shot in the head with live ammunition. Yesterday's casualties bring the total of Palestinian children martyred since the outbreak of clashes to 31, with 6 declared clinically dead. All of these children died after sustaining wounds to the upper part of the body. According to a random sample of injuries sustained by Palestinian children, and documented by DCI/PS, approximately 50% of the injuries are located in the upper body, indicating an Israeli policy to shoot to kill or seriously injure. Such practices not only contravene international standards, but also highlight the spurious nature of official Israeli claims that soldiers open-fire only when their lives are in imminent danger.
In addition to the increasing number of Palestinians killed or injured, the Israeli occupation authorities have maintained the internal closure on Palestinian areas at the same time as escalating their attacks against Palestinian residential areas. Yesterday, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles into the West Bank cities of Nablus, Beit Sahour, and Beit Jala, resulting in the forced evacuation of tens of Palestinian civilians from their homes. According to DCI/PS fieldwork, in Beit Sahour alone, at least 6 Palestinians were injured in yesterday's attack, among them, 3 children, ranging in age from 5 to 9 years. Among the children injured is Palestinian girl-child, Fadia Issam Al-Huwash, who was admitted to Al-Hussein Hospital after being struck in the neck with shrapnel. Moreover, 15 houses sustained severe damage, including shattered windows and partially destroyed walls, as a result of intense Israeli gunfire, affecting at least 90 Palestinian civilians, including 30 children. In addition, approximately 100 other houses in the area sustained mild damage.
Moreover, illegal Israeli settlers continue to attack Palestinian residents and their property, terrorizing Palestinian civilians, and inhibiting the carrying-out of daily activities, such as harvesting the olive crop and moving freely from one area to the next. Attacks are particularly intense in rural villages and isolated areas. These attacks continue to take place with the full knowledge, and frequently, under the protection of the Israeli military.
In response to the 19 October resolution of the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Israeli government publicly stated its refusal to cooperate with the international commission of inquiry, called for in the resolution.
DCI/PS views Israel's refusal to cooperate with the international commission of inquiry not only as an attempt to cover-up its gross violations of human rights, but also as yet another indicator of Israel's blatant disrespect for UN resolutions designed to ensure implementation of international human rights and humanitarian law.
In light of Israel's refusal to cooperate and the deteriorating human rights situation, DCI/PS demands the following:
Al-Haq drafted an open letter to the Secretary-General of the Arab league, Ismat Abdul Majeid and to all of the Arab leaders participating in the Emergency Arab Summit in Cairo on October 21 and 22. The letter was written in Arabic and below are key excerpts translated into English.
Since 1993 and the start of the Peace Process, Palestinians were optimistic that there would be an end to the human rights violations and an end to the violence and humiliation they had experienced but instead land confiscation, settlement construction, house demolition and willful killing continued. The latest move on the part of the Government of Israel, the provocative visit of the Likud Party Chairman Ariel Sharon to the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem, has led to 115 Palestinians killed by Israeli Military forces and Settlers, 32 of which were children, and 5000 Palestinians injured.
The Israeli Military actions constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Conventions. The excessive use of lethal and disproportionate force by the Israeli Military against Palestinian protestors is a violation of international humanitarian law and the principles of proportionality. The large number of injuries to the head and chest indicates the deliberate intention of the Israeli forces to inflict the highest number of casualties and unnecessary suffering among civilians. The Israeli forces' excessive force was used without distinction bystanders, journalists and medical personnel were deliberately targeted. The excessive use of disproportionate force, using live ammunition, deploying snipers, using anti-tank missiles, armored personnel carriers and assault helicopters to disperse Palestinian demonstrators is unjustifiable and an aggravation of the situation resulting in the escalation of violence.
The Sharm al Sheikh summit failed to address the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and portrayed the perpetrators and the victims as equals. Al-Haq urges the Arab League to implement the following: