By Trend News Line 2024-05-08 04:00:00.
Human Rights Watch has called for governments to support the International Criminal Court’s probe into serious crimes committed in Palestine and impose targeted sanctions against those responsible for grave abuses. The United Nations reported that Israeli security forces have unlawfully used lethal force in fatal shootings of Palestinians, including deliberately executing Palestinians who posed no apparent security threat, based on documentation of several cases since 2022.
The research into eight deaths in four incidents between July 2022 and October 2023 concluded that Israeli forces wrongfully fatally shot or deliberately executed Palestinians who posed no apparent security threat. According to the United Nations, Israeli security forces killed more than twice the number of Palestinians in the West Bank in 2023 than in any year since systematic data collection began in 2005, and the rate of killings was even higher during the first quarter of 2024.
Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups have long documented the unlawful and excessive use of lethal force by Israeli forces in the West Bank and the Israeli government’s failure to hold those responsible to account. Richard Weir, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated, “Israeli security forces are not just unlawfully killing Palestinians in Gaza, but have been killing Palestinians without a legal basis in the West Bank, including deliberately executing Palestinians who posed no apparent threat. These killings are taking place at a level without recent precedent in an environment in which Israeli forces have no need to fear that their government will hold them accountable.”
Between May and November 2023, Human Rights Watch interviewed witnesses and family members of victims of fatal shootings by Israeli security forces in the West Bank. Human Rights Watch also spoke to medical personnel in the West Bank and reviewed medical records, verified videos posted on social media, and news reports. Despite attempts to seek clarification from the Israel Defense Forces, Human Rights Watch has not received a response.
Israeli forces in 2023 killed 492 Palestinians, including 120 children, in the West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The figure is more than twice as many as in any other year since the UN began systematically documenting fatalities. Palestinians have been at risk of being killed by Israeli security forces throughout the West Bank, whether traveling to and from work or in their own neighborhoods.
In response to the findings, Human Rights Watch has called for governments to suspend arms and other military support to Israel because of the risk of complicity in grave abuses in Palestine. They have also urged action to ensure accountability, including supporting the International Criminal Court’s probe into serious crimes committed in Palestine, and imposing targeted sanctions against those responsible for grave abuses.
“The Israeli government’s permissive and discriminatory practices on the use of force and endemic impunity are one facet of the apartheid and structural violence Palestinians face every day. The unlawful killings in the West Bank will continue so long as the Israeli authorities’ systemic repression of Palestinians continues,” Weir added.
Despite calls for accountability and justice, the lack of response from Israeli authorities and the continued use of unlawful lethal force against Palestinians raise concerns about the ongoing human rights violations in the region. Governments and international bodies have been urged to take action to address the situation and hold those responsible accountable for their actions..
1. Israeli Forces Unlawful Killings Palestinians West Bank
2. Israeli Forces Unlawful Killings Palestinians Gaza Strip.