Amnesty International accuses Israeli armed forces of possible war crimes... Human rights group says soldiers have killed dozens of Palestinians with virtual impunity in West Bank

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/27/amnesty-international-israeli-war-crimes-palestinians-west-bank

• Agencies in Jerusalem
• theguardian.com, Thursday 27 February 2014 04.16 EST 

Israeli forces are using excessive, reckless violence in the occupied West Bank, killing dozens of Palestinians over the past three years in what might constitute a war crime, Amnesty International said.

In a report entitled Trigger Happy, the human rights group accused Israel of allowing its soldiers to act with virtual impunity and called for an independent review of the deaths.

The Israeli army dismissed the allegations, saying security forces had seen a "substantial increase" in Palestinian violence and Amnesty had revealed a "complete lack of understanding" about the difficulties soldiers faced.

According to UN data, 45 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between 2011 and 2013, including six children. Amnesty said it had documented the deaths of 25 civilians during this period, all but three of whom died last year.

"The report presents a body of evidence that shows a harrowing pattern of unlawful killings and unwarranted injuries of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces in the West Bank," said Philip Luther, the charity's director of the Middle East and north Africa programme...READ MORE

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TRIGGER HAPPY

27 February 2014

‘Trigger-happy’ Israeli army and police use reckless force in the West Bank

“The frequency and persistence of arbitrary and abusive force against peaceful protesters in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and police officers – and the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators – suggests that it is carried out as a matter of policy.”

 

Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International.

Case study: A child killed for protesting

In the West Bank, the tragic consequences of Israel’s policy of supressing Palestinian protest have become a familiar story.

Samir Awad, a 16-year-old boy from Bodrus, near Ramallah, was shot dead near his school in January 2013 while attempting to stage a protest with friends against Israel’s 800km-long fence/wall, which cuts through their village. Three bullets struck him in the back of the head, the leg, and shoulder as he fled Israeli soldiers who ambushed his group. Witnesses said the boy was directly targeted as he ran away.

Malik Murar, 16, Samir’s friend who witnessed his killing, told Amnesty International:“They shot him first in the leg, yet he managed to run away… how far can an injured child run? They could have easily arrested him… instead they shot him in the back with live ammunition.”...READ MORE

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Index NumberMDE 15/002/2014
Date Published27 February 2014
Categories Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories

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