Tag: Apartheid Wall

The willful killing of Aqel Srour following a Ni’lin demonstration against the Annexation Wall

Al Haq

30 June 2009

The Willful Killing of Aqel Srour Following a Ni’lin Demonstration against the Annexation Wall: a deplorable illustration of Impunity’s Slippery Slope

As a Palestinian human rights organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Al-Haq regrets once again having to draw attention to the deadly consequences of the pervasive culture of impunity among the ranks of the Israeli military establishment. The lack of accountability for Border Police who have employed excessive force to suppress civilian demonstrations against Israel’s illegal construction of the Annexation Wall in the OPT, is a scenario which has sadly become an archetypal example of this culture of impunity. The willful killing by an Israeli Border Police officer of an unarmed civilian in Ni’lin village after the conclusion of a demonstration just over two weeks ago is a regrettable illustration of impunity’s slippery slope.

Facts

According to Al-Haq’s field information, the circumstances surrounding this wilful killing are the following:

On Friday, 5 June 2009, at approximately 2:30 pm, unarmed Palestinian demonstrators were dispersing after participating in the weekly protest against the construction of the Annexation Wall in the centre of the West Bank village of Ni’lin. The demonstration had been characterised by the use of force by Israeli Border Police against demonstrators, some of whom had thrown stones but who were otherwise unarmed and in no way posed a lethal threat to the policemen. One demonstrator was injured by live fire during the course of the demonstration.

At the conclusion of the demonstration, the Israeli Border Police unit drove away through one of the northern gates in the Wall. Following the departure of the military vehicles, five civilians dispersing from the demonstration approached the area of the northern gate. Unbeknownst to the five, one Border Police officer remained in the area, hidden behind a stone formation (formerly a well). A sixteen-year-old child, Mohammad Misleh Mousa, unwittingly approached the remaining officer, who shot Mohammed in the abdomen from a distance of 40 metres. Thirty-five-year-old Aqel Sadeq Dar Srour ran to assist Mohammad and was also shot in the chest by the officer. Immediately following these shootings and without calling for assistance, the officer left Ni’lin on foot through one of the northern gates in the Wall. Mohammad and Aqel were rushed to Ramallah Hospital. Aqel was pronounced dead upon arrival. Mohammad was hospitalised and underwent several operations and may be permanently paralysed as a result of a bullet’s penetration of his spine.

Legal Analysis

Any claim that the use of force against Mohammad and Aqel was lawfully employed in the context of a policing operation to quell a demonstration against the Wall and restore law and order must be discounted. The use of force by the police officer in this case cannot be directly correlated to the demonstration. As can be discerned from the fact that all of the Border Police left the area, with one exception, the demonstration was over.

The circumstances also preclude any claim that the Israeli officer acted in self-defence. The use of lethal force against an unarmed person posing no threat and who was completely unaware of the soldier’s presence is unjustifiable and constitutes arbitrary deprivation of life in contravention Israel, the Occupying Power’s, obligations under international human rights law.

Regrettably, the Israeli military’s rules of engagement have promoted arbitrary deprivation of life in the OPT since the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada in 2000. As the result of an expansive definition of “life threatening”, the rules allow military and security personnel to open fire on Palestinian civilians in non-life threatening circumstances, including situations in which protesters throw stones. Hence, the death and injury of numerous civilians at demonstration flashpoints related to the Annexation Wall, such as the villages of Bi’lin, Biddo and Ni’lin, is a result of Israel’s refusal to reconcile its rules of engagement with its international legal obligations. In highlighting the above, Al-Haq recalls the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Güleç v. Turkey. The ECHR held that despite the demonstrator’s use of stones, firearms and sticks against police officers, these circumstances did not render the resort by Turkish police to powerful live fire absolutely necessary. The resulting death of one demonstrator was therefore found to amount to a violation of the right to life.

Finally, in the case of Aqel, where the unlawful use of force by the officer resulted in death, the fact that live ammunition was employed, targeting sensitive parts of the body and without issuing any warning, strongly suggests ‘willful killing’. Willful killing is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention for which the perpetrator is individually criminally responsible.

Al-Haq therefore joins the call by the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem for the Israeli Military Advocate General to initiate an independent and impartial investigation into the killing of Aqel Sadeq Dar Srour. Further, as a first step towards ending the culture of impunity, Al-Haq calls upon the Legal Advisor to the Israeli military to undertake a systematic review of the rules of engagement with a view to bringing them into compliance with Israel’s obligations under international law.

Ni’lin demonstrates against the Apartheid Wall

26 June 2009

Approximately one hundred and fifty Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters gathered in the hot sun for the weekly demonstration in Nilin. They marched together towards the separation barrier, chanting and waving Palestinian flags.

As the demonstrators reached the wall and started cutting the razor wire on the walls edge, Israeli armed forces opened fire with teargas. Their jeeps fired multiple rounds of teargas in an effort to blanket the whole area and they continued firing until the demonstration dispersed. Several of the protesters suffered from the effects of teargas, but no one was badly injured. The protest lasted for about one hour and a half and protesters succeeded in removing parts of the razor wire and damaging the fence.

Author Naomi Klein calls for boycott of Israel

AFP

26 June 2009

Bestselling author Naomi Klein on Friday took her call for a boycott of Israel to the occupied West Bank village of Bilin, where she witnessed Israeli forces clashing with protesters.

“It’s a boycott of Israeli institutions, it’s a boycott of the Israeli economy,” the Canadian writer told journalists as she joined a weekly demonstration against Israel’s controversial separation wall.

“Boycott is a tactic … we’re trying to create a dynamic which was the dynamic that ultimately ended apartheid in South Africa,” said Klein, the author of “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.”

“It’s an extraordinarily important part of Israel’s identity to be able to have the illusion of Western normalcy,” the Canadian writer and activist said.

“When that is threatened, when the rock concerts don’t come, when the symphonies don’t come, when a film you really want to see doesn’t play at the Jerusalem film festival… then it starts to threaten the very idea of what the Israeli state is.”

She briefly joined about 200 villagers and foreign activists protesting the barrier which Israel says it needs to prevent attacks, but which Palestinians say aims at grabbing their land and undermining the viability of their promised state.

She then watched from a safe distance as the protesters reached the fence, where Israeli forces fired teargas and some youths responded by throwing stones at the army.

“This apartheid, this is absolutely a system of segregation,” Klein said adding that Israeli troops would never crack down as violently against Jewish protesters.

She pointed out that her visit coincided with court hearings in Quebec in a case where the villagers of Bilin are suing two Canadian companies, accusing them of illegally building and selling homes to Israelis on land that belongs to the village.

The plaintiffs claim that by building in the Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit, near Bilin, Green Park International and Green Mount International are in violation of international laws that prohibit an occupying power from transferring some of its population to the lands it occupies.

“I’m hoping and praying that Canadian courts will bring some justice to the people of Bilin,” Klein said.

Her visit was also part of a promotional tour in Israel and the West Bank for “The Shock Doctrine” which has recently been translated into Hebrew and Arabic. Klein said she would get no royalties from sales of the Hebrew version and that the proceeds would go instead to an activist group.

Bil’in village holds press conference and demonstration against construction of the Apartheid Wall

For Immediate Release:

Friday, 26 June 2009: Bil’in village holds press conference and a demonstration against construction of the Apartheid Wall.

Palestinian residents, alongside international and Israeli activists gathered today in Bil’in to demonstrate against the Wall.

Before the demonstration, Naomi Klein, Basel Mansour, and Attorney Wisam Ahmad held a press conference.

Naomi Klein is visiting Palestine on the occasion of the publication of her latest book, the #1 international bestseller, “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism” in Arabic and Hebrew. Klein is an advocate for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign and spoke about her choice to respect the 2005 call for BDS from Palestinian civil society. She explained that the international community can actively support the Palestinian people in their non-violent resistance to the Occupation through BDS.

Explaining her role as a writer, Klein said, “We believe that art and culture are political… Bil’in has integrated art and culture into their resistance. ”

Basel Mansour; a member of Bil’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements spoke about Bil’in’s ongoing campaign to demonstrate against the theft of it’s land.

“We will continue our non-violent resistance to the confiscation of Bil’in’s land and incorporate using the legal system as a means of attaining justice. We hope that the Canadian court will decide to hear our case and hold Green Park International and Green Mount International accountable for their violation of international law.” – Basel Mansour

Attorney Wisam Ahmad; a program officer for Al Haq and speaker on behalf of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) will talk about Bil’in and the village’s current suit against two Canadian companies.

“The privatization of the settlement industry is an attempt for the Israeli government to hide behind the actions of companies such as Green Park International and Green Mount International. These companies and the Israeli government must be held accountable for violating the Geneva Conventions and Rome Statue.”

After the press conference, Palestinian, Israeli and international demonstrators marched from the village towards the site of the Wall. Chanting slogans against occupation, protesters arrived near the Wall. Israeli forces shot tear-gas at demonstrators, including the use of the cannon (which shoots off many gas canisters at once). Several suffered from heavy tear-gas inhalation and required medical attention from medical personnel.

Bil’in’s Court Case

Bil’in has charged that Green Park International and Green Mount International are illegally constructing residential buildings and other settlement infrastructure on village territory.

The Canadian court will first decide if it has jurisdiction to hear Bil’in’s case.

According to Emily Schaeffer, an Israeli attorney representing the village of Bil’in, both the articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute have been incorporated into Canadian federal law under the 2000 Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Statute, giving Canadian courts jurisdiction to hear Bil’in’s case.

Green Park International and Green Mount International have motioned to dismiss the suit. They claim that Canada is not the appropriate forum in which to try the case.

Bil’in plaintiffs are asking for three things in the lawsuit: a declaration that the companies’ construction is illegal under Canadian and international law; the demolition of the buildings and restoration of the land, and $2 million in punitive damages from the companies.

Bil’in is located 4 kilometers east of the Green Line and is adjacent to Modiin Illit, a large settlement bloc that sits on territory confiscated from Bil’in and several neighboring Palestinian villages. Since 2005, residents of this agricultural community have been organizing a nonviolent campaign against the construction of Israel’s Wall in the West Bank on village land.

Ni’lin residents demonstrate against the Apartheid Wall

19 June 2009

Following a relatively calm demonstration last week, and the unprovoked murder of Aqel Sror on 5 June, demonstrators marched towards the Apartheid fence with apprehension, unsure of what force would meet them. It was eerily quiet as demonstrators managed to reach the wall without the whistle of tear gas flying through the air.

The youths, well organized and prepared, were able to cut several sections of the razor wire fence that makes up this section of the ilegal Apartheid Wall. Contrary to the reaction of the Israeli army in all previous demonstrations which is generally disproportionate and excessive, these actions received no immediate reaction from the Israeli army, which permitted the youths to remove approximately 50 meters of the razor wire and damage several metal posts in the fence.

After perhaps an hour however, four jeeps began to drive back and forth below the area the youth were, provoking them to throw rocks in a symbolic gesture of refusing to be intimated.

After two and a half hours, the Popular Committe declared the end of the action, and all went home.