there should be no business with Israel

In Occupied Palestine

Zionism in practice

Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Property

(Compiled by Leslie Bravery, Palestine Human Rights Campaign, Auckland, New Zealand www.palestine.org.nz) [If you have difficulty with the display of this report, it may be better viewed on our website]

NB: We shall always do our utmost to verify the accuracy of all items in these IOP newsletters/reports wherever possible – but please forgive us for any errors or omissions (not of our own making) that may occur! L & M.

IOP Report {3} | March 2016

Video: Israeli soldier shoots and kills

wounded Palestinian man

Israeli settlers threaten Palestinian

who filmed Hebron murder

The persecution of

Gaza doctor Mads Gilbert

Recent news updates:

Video: Israeli soldier shooting and killing wounded Palestinian man. By Dan Cohen | An Israeli soldier executed a wounded Palestinian man on the ground in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron’s Old City in the Occupied West Bank. In a B’Tselem video capturing the killing, the man can be seen semi-conscious on the ground, when a soldier cocks his rifle and fires, killing him on the spot. The Israeli military spokesperson said the filmed execution “contradicts the IDF's ethical code and what is expected from the IDF's soldiers and commanders” and that the soldier has been suspended while the military conducts a probe, but in fact the policy of summary executions has been ordered as a directive from top political and military officials. Read in browser

Brief article and video on the execution of Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif. The moral for soldiers in “the world’s most moral army” is clear: Before doing what is expected of you, be absolutely certain that no one is filming the scene.

Israeli officials who issued directive to execute Palestinians hang Hebron killer out to dry. Elor Azraya, the soldier who summarily executed Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif as he lay on the street immobile and unarmed yesterday, is suspected of murder. In his defence, his lawyer Eyal Beserglick said Azraya “acted in accordance with the rules of engagement as suggested by his superiors.” He’s right. It’s unclear which superiors the lawyer is referring to, but it could be any number of figures in the political and military echelon who have commanded Israeli soldiers to shoot dead, on-the-spot, Palestinians deemed to be attackers That’s precisely what he did. And now Israel’s top brass is hanging the killer out to dry. Since the video released by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem went viral, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ya’alon distanced themselves from the killing, however, stopping short of condemning the killer. But just a few months ago, they were inciting soldiers to kill and guaranteed them full legal backing. Here are the statements from October translated from official videos posted to Netanyahu’s Youtube account, and statements following the execution:

Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon:

9 October 2015: “Right now is it required to respond quickly to any local attack to eliminate the terrorist stabber or the perpetrator stone-thrower and the like, immediately, on the spot.”

24 March 2016: “Even as we are forced to fight our enemies and overcome them in battle, we are equally obligated to uphold our mores. To be human.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

14 October 2015, speaking to paramilitary border police units: “I know that it requires your discretion, but have no doubt: You have complete backing – complete! – from me, from the Israeli Government, and in my opinion from the nation in Israel.”

24 March 2016: “What happened in Hebron doesn’t represent the values of the IDF. The IDF expects its soldiers to behave level-headedly and in accordance with the rules of engagement.”

Israeli military Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot:

8 October 2015: “Our policy of use of force is very clear. The IDF has complete freedom of action in order to to fulfil the mission to restore security.”

25 March 2016: Israeli Army spokesperson speaking on behalf on Eizenkot: “The chief of staff views the incident with severity and has ordered a full probe. This is not the IDF, these are not the values of the IDF and these are not the values of the Jewish people.”

Other politicians who have backed the shoot-to-kill policy have been silent in the wake of yesterday’s killing. Yair Lapid, Member of Knesset and Chairman of the “centrist” Yesh Atid Party, did not make a public statement yesterday. But in October, he encouraged vigilante killings, telling the Israeli public, “Whoever takes out a knife or a screwdriver, or whatever it may be, the directive needs to be shoot in order to kill. Not to hesitate. There will be full legal backing. The state gives full legal backing.” Benti Sau, Israeli Police Acting Commissioner, has also refrained from comment. But on 8 October 2015, he said, “From my personal experience, I can tell you that at this time, we have received backing from the political level, full backing from the legal system.” Education Minister Nafatali Bennett, Minister of Science Ofir Akunis, MK Bezalel Smotrich and MK Oren Hazan, all publicly defended the soldier who executed a wounded, unarmed man. For its part, the New York Times dutifully focused on the fact that Israel detained the soldier, conveniently omitting the aforementioned official shoot-to-kill directives. New York Times correspondent Diaa Hadid even claimed that Israeli top brass were asking soldiers not to shoot-to-kill. I asked Hadid what statements she was referring to on Twitter, but she declined to respond. Perhaps she was referring to Israeli Army Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot’s January statement that he doesn’t want Israeli soldiers and police to unload their entire magazine into 14-year-old girls with scissors (this actually happened, and the cop who did it was found to have committed no wrong-doing). If that is the case, the irony of Eizenkot’s statement appears to be lost on Hadid, as it was, the Israeli right-wing who pilloried him for his statement. Eizenkot is the architect of the Dahiya Doctrine, which calls for disproportionate force to be used against civilians. Several other important details have come to light since yesterday. Azraya is a medic in the Kfir Brigade. While the fact that someone tasked with treating the wounded carried out an execution is abhorrent, it’s not surprising. The head of Magen David Adom in Hebron, which is officially recognised by the International Committee of the Red Cross, said that “terrorists should not be permitted to leave the scene alive.” I wrote here about the trend among Israeli medical professionals to abandon triage protocol, effectively ensuring the death of wounded Palestinians. The execution of Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif should be understood similarly. Azraya also claimed he shot al-Sharif because he thought he might have a bomb. “He wore a thick coat and therefore I feared that he would stand and detonate an explosive belt,” he told his family. “After I saw the terrorist moved, I shot him. I just feared that the terrorist would blow himself up.” But as journalist Marian Houk observed, a video released yesterday shows a soldier kicking over the body of Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, indicating soldiers had no fear of explosives. Photos of the body being loaded onto a stretcher also contradict Azraya’s claim. http://mondoweiss.net/2016/03/top-israeli-officials-who-issued-directive-to-execute-palestinians-hang-hebron-killer-out-to-dry/#sthash.Z1yIMpqh.TD6DCdY1.dpuf

Israeli settlers threaten Palestinian who filmed Hebron murder. Israeli settlers on Friday gathered outside the home of a human rights worker in Hebron to hurl abuse at him, a day after he captured on camera an Israeli soldier's killing of a wounded Palestinian that has sparked an international outcry. Emad Abu Shamsiya, a staff member with Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, told Ma’an after settlers threatened him: “I now fear for my life and the life of my family. I’m afraid they might attack my house and do me harm.” He added that he fears the possibility of suffering the same fate as the Dawabsha family, who were killed in an arson attack committed by settlers last year in the village of Duma in the Occupied West Bank. Palestinian residents of Hebron, Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif and Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, both 21 years old, were shot down on Thursday after allegedly stabbing and moderately wounding an Israeli soldier near a military checkpoint in Hebron’s Old City. Shamsiya recorded rare video footage of an Israeli soldier shooting al-Sharif in the head at point-blank range in plain view of the medical team, after he had already been shot at least once and left motionless on the ground. The release of the graphic video has called attention to what rights groups, international leaders and Palestinian officials call a policy of “extrajudicial executions” by Israel against Palestinians. UN Special Co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, said on Friday he strongly condemned the apparent “extrajudicial execution” of al-Sharif. “This was a gruesome, immoral and unjust act that can only fuel more violence and escalate an already volatile situation,” Mladenov said. Mistreatment of Palestinians in the Hebron area has been common since the city was divided in the 1990s after a US-born settler, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Palestinians inside the Ibrahimi Mosque. Most of the city was placed under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, while the Old City and surrounding areas were placed under Israeli military control in a sector known as H2. The area is home to 30,000 Palestinians and around 800 Israeli Occupation settlers. Hebron residents frequently report attacks and harassment by the settlers, carried out in the presence of the Israeli Army.http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770850

The persecution of Gaza. Little to no access to water, food, electricity, sanitation, proper healthcare – these are just some of the things that have resulted from the Israeli siege of Gaza. And Dr Mads Gilbert has got something to say about it.

NZ: Public meetings in Christchurch and Dunedin – Justice for Palestine. We are privileged to have Ali Abunimah speaking at public meetings across the country and, in addition, we have Ramzy Baroud and Samah Sabawi via Skype. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Abunimah http://www.ramzybaroud.net/

Behind the Wall

Rich Wiles is a photographic artist who has been living and working in Palestine for some years. His photographic work has been shown around Europe, the US, Australia and in Palestine itself. Since 2006 he has been writing from Occupied Palestine under the title Behind the Wall. Much of this work is based in and around the refugee camps in Palestine, highlighting daily life and memories of refugees who still live in forced exile for over 60 years since Al Nakba (The Catastrophe). www.richwiles.com

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