{"id":4465,"date":"2018-04-11T14:51:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T05:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/?p=4465"},"modified":"2023-10-25T09:47:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T00:47:07","slug":"palestinian-killings-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/news\/2018\/04\/11\/palestinian-killings-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Now Protests the Recent Killing of Palestinian Civilians along the Gaza-Israeli border"},"content":{"rendered":"

Human Rights Now published the statement “Human Rights Now Protests the Recent Killing of Palestinian Civilians along the Gaza-Israeli border.”<\/p>\n

You can download it in PDF form from here<\/a>, or read the full text below.<\/p>\n

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Human Rights Now Protests the Recent Killing of Palestinian Civilians along the Gaza-Israeli border<\/strong><\/p>\n

Human Rights Now, a Tokyo-based human rights NGO, expresses grave concern over the recent killings of civilians in Gaza by the Israel troops. Israeli authorities must abide by their international obligations under international human rights law and humanitarian law and should immediately end the excessive use of force against Palestinian protesters.<\/p>\n

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  1. Clashes along the Gaza-Israeli Border <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The March 30 demonstration commemorated the events of 30 March 1976, called \u201cLand Day\u201d, when six unarmed Palestinian citizens were killed by Israeli soldiers during protests against massive expropriations of Palestinian-owned land by the Israeli government. [1]<\/a><\/p>\n

    The peaceful demonstration had started early in the day and devolved into violence at several locations across Gaza.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 The Israel Defense Forces(IDF) said its troops have only used live ammunition against people trying to sabotage the border security fence, some of them throwing rocks or rolling burning tires. However, Palestinian health officials said Israeli forces have used mostly gunfire, in addition to tear gas.<\/p>\n

    In the days leading up to the planned protest, the IDF announced they would deploy 100 snipers to the Gaza border with \u201corders to use a lot of force.\u201d On the morning of March 30, Israeli Defense Minister Lieberman tweeted in Arabic, \u201cAnyone who approaches the border puts his life in jeopardy.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

    Further, on April 6, the IDF fired live rounds against Palestinians along the border fence and killed at least 7 people and over 1000 people were injured.\u00a0 [4]<\/a>On April 7, IDF killed a Palestinian journalist, wearing a protective vest marked \u2018Press\u2019 while covering the protests. This brings the total death toll to 29 victims. [5]<\/a><\/p>\n

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    1. Excessive Use of Force and the Need for an Independent Investigation <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Israeli authorities are obligated to respect the rights to peaceful assembly and association, as protected by articles 21 and 22 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Freedom\u00a0 of expression and assembly are fundamental human rights.<\/p>\n

      The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law enforcement officials hold that preference should be given to \u201cnon-violent means\u201d when policing protests. In addition, these principles detail that when lawful use of firearms in unavoidable, officials should \u201cexercise restraint\u201d and \u201cminimize damage and injury.\u201d[7]<\/a>\u00a0 To date, no evidence has emerged that any of the protesters used firearms, crossed the border or presented a \u201cgrave threat\u201d to the well-equipped soldiers.<\/p>\n

      The killings of Palestinian protesters should be thoroughly investigated and the Israeli authorities must abide by their international obligations.<\/p>\n

      UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, called for an independent and transparent investigation of the incidents and appealed to all sides to refrain from actions that could lead to further civilian casualties.[8]<\/a>\u00a0 Members of the UN Security Council have also condemned the killings of civilians and expressed grave concern about the violence spiraling out of control. Many members have called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

      However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the army for \u201csuccessfully guarding the country\u2019s borders\u201d and sees no reason for Israel to cooperate with a UN inquiry into army actions.[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

      III. Recommendations \u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

      HRN expresses deep concern over the human rights violations of the Palestinian people and the excessively violent response of the Israeli authorities to recent clashes along the Gaza-Israeli border.<\/p>\n

      HRN echoes the call by UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, for an independent and transparent investigation and urges the following recommendation to be taken to address the situation.<\/p>\n

      HRN calls on the Israeli Authorities to: <\/strong><\/p>\n