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Palestinians clashing with IDF forces in Hebron April 4. Photo by AP

by Palestinian Center for Human Rights - PCHR

On Wednesday evening, 03 April 2012, in an example of excessive use of force, Israeli forces killed two Palestinian civilians and injured a third from 'Anabta village, east of Tulkarm, northern West Bank.

The incident occurred when Israeli soldiers, stationed at 'Inab military checkpoint, east of Tulkarm, opened fire at a group of young Palestinian demonstrators in the area surrounding the checkpoint.

According to PCHR investigations, at approximately 21:30 on Wednesday, a group of Palestinian boys and young men made their way towards 'Inab military checkpoint on the main Nablus – Tulkarm road, east of 'Anabta, east of Tulkarm.

The boys threw stones and empty bottles at Israeli soldiers who were stationed inside military watchtowers.

The soldiers responded with live bullets and chased the demonstrators. As a result, 18-year-old 'Amer Ibrahim Naji Zarboul sustained a bullet wound to the chest, killing him instantly, and Fadi Abdul-Qader Ibrahim Nassar (20) sustained a bullet wound to his right hand.

A Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance arrived at the scene, but medical sources informed a PCHR fieldworker that Israeli forces prevented the ambulance from transferring Zarboul's body.

According to the same source, Zarboul’s body remained on the Israeli side of the checkpoint for approximately 20 minutes before paramedics were given access.

The injured man, Nassar was transported to Martyr Thabet Thabet Public Hospital in Tulkarm for medical treatment.

At approximately 04:30 on Thursday, 04 April 2013, the Israeli Liaison Office informed their Palestinian counterpart that the body of another Palestinian man was present at the checkpoint.

A PRCS ambulance went to 'Inab military checkpoint, retrieved the body and transferred it to Martyr Thabet Thabet Public Hospital. The deceased was identified as Naji Abdul-Salam Naji Bilbaisi (19).

Bilbaisi had sustained a bullet wound to the chest; medical sources could not confirm whether the deceased had died instantly or if he had bled to death.

PCHR strongly condemns this demonstration of the continued use of excessive force by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians.

PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective action to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfil their obligations under Article 1, i.e. to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons who allegedly committed grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Such grave breaches may constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Article 85 of Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions.
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Israeli troops shoot, injure 2 Palestinians in clashes near Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Two young Palestinian men were injured Thursday evening in clashes with Israeli troops in the Am Rukba neighborhood of al-Khader south of Bethlehem, medics said.

Director of ambulance and emergency services in Bethlehem district Abdul-Halim Jaafira told Ma’an that the two were hit by plastic-coated bullets. One of the young men, he explained, was hit by a plastic-coated bullet which cut through his chest, while the other was hit in the leg.

Jaafira highlighted that the leg injury was more serious than the chest injury as the bullet penetrated to the bone.

The two were evacuated to the public hospital in Beit Jala.

Clashes continued in the area with young Palestinians hurling stones at the Israeli soldiers who responded with plastic-coated bullets and tear-gas canisters.

Locals told Ma’an that several families suffered from tear-gas inhalation.

An Israeli army spokeswoman did not immediately return calls.

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IDF probe into death of two Palestinians in West Bank: No shots fired at army post
Army investigations reveals commander of unit set up ambush upon notification of four Palestinians approaching guard post, opened live fire when he felt his life was in danger.

By Gili Cohen for Haaretz

he continuing investigation into the deaths of two teenagers killed by Israel Defense Forces' gunfire Wednesday near the Einav settlement reveals that 30 minutes before the shooting, the IDF unit stationed in a fortified guard post at the spot received a report that a number of Palestinians were approaching the position.

However according to the probe, a report received that live shots were fired at the post were wrong, as no evidence was found.

An initial IDF investigation noted that the troops believed the Palestinians had opened fire on the post, but that no soldier was wounded. The IDF troops opened fire on the attackers, killing Amer Nassar, 17, and Naji Belbisi, 18, from Anabta.

The report, conveyed to the unit, which was from the Haredi Nahal Brigade led by a squad commander, came from the observation of four Palestinians from the village of Anabta.

After receiving the information, the commander of the unit at the post decided to set up an ambush outside the fortification. He took another soldier with him, whose weapon was loaded with rubber-coated steel bullets. Another soldier remained behind in the fortification, assigned the task of observation.

Despite the presence of the soldiers outside the post, one of the Palestinians managed to approach it and threw an incendiary device at it. The commander then took off in pursuit of the four Palestinians and at a certain point felt his life was in danger, at which time he opened live fire.

The investigation shows that both regular bullets and rubber-coated bullets were fired during the incident. According to the medical team called to the scene, one of the teens killed, Naji Bibisi, was shot in the back. The army is now investigating whether the rules of engagement were maintained. Filmed documentation by cameras on the site will assist the investigation.

A senior officer in the Central Command said: "This was a planned attack by four Palestinians on a guard post that has been attacked before."

Four other protesters were wounded, one of whom suggested in a conversation with Haaretz that Belbisi was shot while fleeing the troops' gunfire.

"We began throwing stones toward a unit a few meters away when a soldier turned up in front of us and opened fire," he said. "I saw Amer falling. He appeared to have a bottle in his hand.

"I saw Naji next to me and asked him to come with me," he added. "He was scared; he ran the other way and disappeared. I didn't see him getting hit. My concern is that he was shot while fleeing or that he was caught and shot, meaning that he was executed. There is no other way to explain why he disappeared and why his body was only discovered in the morning."

The bodies of Nassar and Belbisi, their blood-stained faces clearly visible, were carried on stretchers by through the packed streets of Anabta on Thursday, held aloft by uniformed members of the Palestinian security forces. Palestinian officials were in attendance.

"O martyrs rest, rest. We will continue the struggle," the crowds chanted as the lifeless teenagers passed by.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel's use of lethal force showed that it wanted to "provoke chaos" in the Palestinian territories and avoid any moves toward a peace deal.

The upsurge in unrest in the West Bank was triggered on Tuesday by the death of Maysara Abuhamdieh, a 64-year-old prisoner who was serving a life term in an Israeli jail for a 2002 foiled bombing. He succumbed to cancer in hospital.

Thousands of mourners turned out on Thursday for Abuhamdieh's funeral, and for the funeral of the two teenagers. Clashes between Meanwhile, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets at Israel for a third straight day.

The wave of violence erupted two weeks after U.S. President Barack Obama paid his first official visit to the region, urging the Israelis and the Palestinians to resume long-stalled peace talks but offering no initiative to break the deadlock. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to travel to Jerusalem again next week to review the stalemate.

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