Israel is repressing Palestinian protests in Gaza with “unlawful use of lethal force”, using “baseless legal interpretations” to justify this policy, an Israeli human rights group reported as thousands of Palestinians gathered in protest along the Gaza-Israel border on the third Friday of “Great Return March” protests.
B’Tselem, an internationally-respected human rights group, published its new position paper entitled " If the heart be not callous: On the unlawful shooting of unarmed demonstrators in Gaza," in which it provided its findings on the events of Friday, 30 March 2018 and analyzed the illegality of the open-fire orders issued to the soldiers.
In the paper, B’Tselem describes “Israel’s position that it may use live and potentially lethal fire against unarmed demonstrators who are endangering no one undermines every moral principle, contradicts the provisions of international law and is unlawful.”
The NGO adds that “the identity of the demonstrators and their organizational affiliation make no difference; blaming Hamas, as if it were Hamas operatives who shot the demonstrators, is baseless.”
None of these justifications, however, pass muster, B’Tselem asserts.
“The open-fire policy cannot be dictated by worst-case scenarios that may or may not materialize, nor can the existence of such scenarios justify the widespread shooting of persons who in no way participate in realizing them,” the paper states.
"About half an hour before evening prayers, my friend Shihab, who was standing next to me, headed west to buy a slushy from vendors who had come there with their carts. Suddenly I heard live fire and saw Shihab lying injured on the ground, about four meters from me... The minute I saw Shihab lying on the ground, I feared for his life and wellbeing. I also feared for myself, because I realized the soldiers were aiming directly at people, even onlookers or people standing and protesting peacefully," a B’Tselem researcher quoted Mahmoud Wishah, 19, from al-Bureij Refugee Camp as saying in the paper.
B'Tselem described the military’s announcement that the general staff investigation mechanism led by Brig. Gen. Motti Baruch will look into the incidents in which Palestinians were killed, focusing on civilian deaths, as "pure propaganda, intended – among other things – to prevent an independent international investigation."
It added: "This mechanism is part of the whitewashing toolkit that the MAG Corps uses to create a semblance of an efficient law enforcement system that works to uncover the truth and ensure accountability.
"Given the combination of local public opinion, which ranges from ardent support to indifference, and a judiciary skilled in draining moral rules of meaning and whitewashing crime, it is difficult to imagine the necessary substantive change coming from within Israel. True, many countries violate human rights. Yet Israel is unique in insisting that its unlawful actions are in keeping with international law. This challenges the very foundations of international law – unlike the conduct of states that make no attempt to lend a semblance of legality to their actions. If the international community does not come to its senses and force Israel to abide by the rules that are binding to every state in the world, it will pull the rug out from under the global effort to protect human rights in the post-WWII era. This is not a merely theoretical concern: Until Israel changes its policy, the Palestinians will continue pay for this state of affairs with life and limb."
Israeli troops have shot dead 31 Gaza Palestinians and wounded around 1500 since the protests began, drawing international criticism of the lethal tactics used against them. No Israelis have been killed during the demonstrations.
The planned six-week protest has revived a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages from which their families fled, or were driven out, when the state of Israel was created 70 years ago.
The protest began on March 30 and is expected to culminate on May 15.
