Twenty minutes later, another aircraft attacked a vehicle in which other Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades members were traveling. They escaped harm by fleeing before missiles struck their car and destroyed it.
On March 1, Hamas reported that Israelis killed 91 Palestinians in February, 83 in
Haaretz first reported 34 deaths on Saturday, including five children and three women. Later in the day, it upped the total to 50, then 59 and by Sunday noon the total known killed was "more than 70." AP first indicated 33 deaths, then raised it to 45, then 50 late in the day and 66 by Sunday morning (plus about 200 wounded) and nearly 100 deaths since February 27.
The Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported 84 deaths since Saturday, 98 in total since February 27 and over 200 wounded, many with mangled bodies and serious life-threatening injuries. Throughout the weekend, Israeli aircraft struck many targets, including Hamas’ headquarters building (unoccupied at the time) that "completely collapsed" and injured five people, according to witnesses.
Reports continue being updated, and the latest 6PM
Under international law, these are crimes of war and against humanity. On March 1, the Palestinian human rights organization, Al-Haq, issued a statement saying: "Many of the recent Israeli attacks constitute war crimes which may amount to grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, for which (Israelis are) criminally responsible" and must face trial. Al-Haq called on the international community to act because "All states have criminal jurisdiction to try (the) accused….by virtue of the principle of universal jurisdiction….No excuse can therefore justify their inaction in view of the unlawful willful killing of (Palestinian) civilians in" occupied Palestine.
PCHR also reported that an Israeli aircraft bombed Abd El-Rahman Mohammad Ali Atallah’s home in
Palestinians in the
— in Hebron with live rounds and tear gas, killing a 14 year old boy and injuring 45 others, including 24 children;
— in Ramallah the same way injuring seven teenagers; and
— in Bethlelem as well injuring two boys, one from bullet wounds to the leg and the other from tear gas inhalation. Other demonstrations took place in Jenin,
Meanwhile for Jews inside
— a single civilian death,
— two soldiers killed by early evening Saturday,
— two others slightly wounded on Saturday and four others lightly on Sunday,
— seven lightly injured Israeli civilians on Saturday from nearby rocket explosions, and
— two others by shrapnel from an exploding Katyusha rocket on Sunday.
But it’s just the beginning according to Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He said a large-scale invasion is imminent with IDF forces massed on the border, awaiting orders to invade and attack. It won’t be the first time as assaults have gone on for decades. But they became especially frequent after the second Intifada began on September 29, 2000. From then through late January 2008, PCHR documented the extra-judicial killings alone:
— 705 in total;
— 478 of them targeted victims;
— 227 of them innocent civilians; and
— 68 of them (through June 2006) children.
Total Palestinian deaths and injuries from September 29, 2000 through late January 2008 are as follows, according to PCHR:
— 4419 Palestinians killed, including 794 children, 152 women, 25 medical personnel and 10 journalists;
— 11,700 Palestinians injured in
— 13,550 Palestinians wounded in the
Palestinians are attacked on any pretext, but February 28 wasn’t typical. A day after a Qassam rocket killed an Israeli in Sderot, Israeli aircraft killed 18 Palestinians in
In its June 4, 2001 issue,
This is official state policy, and
"The State of Israel is fighting against severe terrorism, which plagues it from the ‘area.’ The means at
This and comparable High Court rulings have stunning implications. They affirm
Executive Director, Hannah Friedman, of The Public Committee Against Torture in
Israeli Violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention
— Article 2 states that "the present Convention shall apply to all cases of declared war or of any other armed conflict which may arise between two or more of the High Contracting Parties, even if the state of war is not recognized by one of them. The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory….even if the said occupation meets with no armed resistance;"
— Article 3 prohibits all kinds of assaults on life or physical security;
— Article 27 refers to "protected persons" and states "They shall at all times be humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence….,"
— Article 32 prohibits murder, torture and corporal punishment, and
— Article 33 prohibits collective punishment and "all measures of intimidation or….terrorism."
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights documented its extra-judicial executions from September 29, 2000 through December 2007 and updates it weekly on its web site – pchrgaza.org. Below are examples, but first some background.
Some Brief History of Israeli Targeted Killings
Without cause, these executions target specific individuals with explicit government approval, and Israelis have done it for decades. During the Mandatory Palestine period, Stern Gang (later renamed Lehi) and Irgun members were underground terrorists with very committed aims – to drive out the British (seen as occupiers), allow unrestricted Jewish immigration, remove indigenous Arabs, and establish the Jewish state of
Two of their leaders became future prime ministers – Lehi’s Yitzhak Shamir (1983 – 84 and 1986 – 1992) and Irgun’s Menachem Begin (1977 – 1983), but they were wanted men before 1948. The New York Times called Irgun a "terrorist organization," and the World Zionist Congress in 1946 strongly condemned "the shedding of innocent blood as a means of political warfare." It was just beginning.
In the 1950s, targeted killings were common and were used to halt fedayeen resistance attacks from
— car and mail bombs,
— air attacks,
— commando raids,
— undercover operations,
— poisoning,
— snipers, and
— various other methods, including proxy forces to do Israeli killing.
General Ariel Sharon commanded an "anti-terror" detachment in the early 1970s that targeted Palestinian resistance fighters in
After Israeli athletes were killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics, Prime Minister Golda Meir and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan established "Committee X" that used Mossad operatives to find the kill the perpetrators. Thirteen deaths resulted, including a Moroccan busboy in
Throughout the 1970s, Palestinians in the Territories were targeted, especially its leaders, and in 1982 Israelis nearly killed Yasir Arafat with car bombs, air attacks and at least once when a sniper had him targeted but got no orders to shoot. His second in command, Abu Jihad (Khalil el-Wazir), was less fortunate. He was key to the first Intifada’s success, an irreplaceable leader, and had to be eliminated. Ehud Barak reportedly got the assignment and headed a commando operation that killed him.
Executions continued in the 1990s, including three major ones with mixed success. One killed Islamic Jihad leader, Fathi Shikaki, in
With the outbreak of the second Intifada, killings escalated markedly. Below are examples, including several high-ranking Palestinians:
— Abu Ali Mustafa – head of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP),
— Mustafa Zibri – the PFLP’s Secretary-General,
— Raed al-Karmi – a Lebanese Tanzim movement leader, and
— many mid-level resistance fighters from various Palestinian groups opposing the occupation.
Examples of Extra-Judicial Executions from September 29, 2000 Through December 2006
All three Israeli government branches support extra-judicial killings and require no evidence to justify them. Officials merely say those targeted are wanted, dangerous, and threaten State security. As a result, security forces kill with impunity and with no regard for the innocent, including women, children, the elderly or infirm.
Consider an egregious example. On July 12, 2006, IDF aircraft attacked the home of Dr. Nabeel Abu Silmiya in the Gaza City Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. The house was completely destroyed and Dr. Nabeel, his wife and seven children were killed – possibly in error, according to IDF. It claimed it targeted Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades leader, Mohammed al-Daif, and a number of his colleagues but struck the wrong house instead.
Multiple killings are common and are carried out against civilian homes, government buildings and structures, and by planting bombs in cars and targeted shootings on the ground. The death toll keeps rising, and PCHR documented specific examples below.
Examples of IDF Executions from January Through March 2007
Five targeted killings occurred in the period during which three others were injured.
On February 1, IDF soldiers killed Jaser Nader Ahmad Abut Zugheib in the Tulkarm refugee camp. In the same incursion, two Palestinians were wounded, one seriously with a bullet in the chest.
On February 21, an IDF undercover unit targeted the al-Bassatin area west of Jenin. It killed Mahmoud Ibrahim Qassem Obaid, an Islamic Jihad al-Quds Brigades leader, by shooting him in the head at close range.
On February 28, another IDF undercover unit executed three Islamic Jihad members as they tried to flee the Jenin refugee camp in a car.
In the examples above, arrests weren’t attempted, and victims were either wounded or unarmed when IDF soldiers executed them Mafia-style by point-blank shootings. PCHR stresses that with no due process and the absence of evidence, there’s no guarantee or even likelihood that targeted individuals committed crimes. They were simply Israeli vigilante justice victims targeting the innocent.
Selected IDF Executions from April Through June 2007
During the period, 25 killings occurred, but only 16 were actually targeted.
On April 21, an IDF undercover unit attacked a car in Jenin killing three Palestinians in it. Two were al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members and the other belonged to the al-Quds Brigades. On the same day, an IDF aircraft-fired missile killed an innocent civilian in his vehicle who had no affiliation with Palestinian resistance groups.
On May 4, Seilat al-Harthiya village, west of Jenin was attacked. Two al-Quds Brigades members and a mentally disabled Palestinian civilian were executed.
On May 20, an IDF aircraft missile struck a
On May 29, IDF undercover units killed two Palestinian activists in Ramallah and Jenin and wounded five others.
On June 1, the IDF assassinated an Islamic Jihad member in Khan Yunis.
On June 12, the IDF executed an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member in the north Tulkarm Saida village.
On June 24, the IDF killed three al-Quds Brigades members and wounded three civilians.
On June 30, IDF forces executed three al-Quds Brigades members in Khan Yunis.
Selected IDF Executions from July Through September 2007
On July 26, an IDF aircraft struck a vehicle south of
On August 4, an aircraft-fired missile struck a civilian car near the Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border. Three al-Quds Brigades members in it were seriously wounded but managed to survive. Moments later, two other missiles hit another civilian car killing the driver and a civilian bystander and wounding 12 others.
On August 20, IDF forces executed four Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades members and two additional Palestinian Ministry of Interior Executive Force members in central
On August 21, IDF air and ground forces killed three Palestinians in al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis.
On August 22, the IDF executed an Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades member and wounded another east of
During the last week of August, three children were extra-judicially killed in Beit Hanoun. There was no evidence they had any affiliation with a local resistance group.
On September 26, IDF forces executed five Army of Islam members in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of
Examples of IDF Executions from September through December 2007
On October 11, an IDF undercover unit killed one and wounded another al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member near al-Hamam Square in Jenin.
On November 25, IDF forces executed an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member in the Tulkarm refugee camp, east of the town. Witnesses said he raised his hands to surrender but was shot in the neck. Seriously injured, two IDF soldiers beat him violently and let him bleed to death in a coffee shop. A second man was also seriously injured in the attack.
On November 29, IDF aircraft attacked and killed two Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades members northeast of Khan Yunis.
Attacks continue unabated – by air strikes and on-the-ground Mafia-style executions in violation of sacred international law explained above. And a Haaretz February 29 article suggests they threaten to escalate. It quoted Defense Minister Ehud Barak blaming Hamas for the increased violence and said it will "bear the cost of our response….(it’s) necessary and will be carried out." On the same day, Knesset chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Tzachi Hanegbi, said IDF forces must "quickly….topple the Hamas terror regime and take over all the areas from which rockets are fired on
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai went further and threatened a "shoah," which is the Hebrew word for holocaust. On Israeli radio he said: "the more Qassam (rocket) fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, (the Palestinians) will bring upon themselves a bigger ‘shoah’ because we will use all our might to defend ourselves." The comment is outrageous, it incites genocide, and it’s a punishable crime in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Gregory Stanton’s Genocide Watch site has a mission: to "predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder (by) rais(ing awareness and influenc(ing) public policy concerning potential and actual genocide." Its aim "is to build an international movement to prevent and stop genocide," and it’s badly needed in Occupied Palestine where
International law expert Francis Boyle agrees and proposed in a March 20, 1998 article that "the Provisional Government of (
Genocide is hideous in concept and execution, and
1. Classification – Cultures or societies distinguish between "us and them" to categorize people by race, religion, nationality or other distinguishing characteristic;
2. Symbolization – Classifications are given names or other symbols, such as Jews, Latinos, blacks or Muslims.
3. Dehuminization – A dominant group denies another’s humanity and equates its members with animals, vermin, insects, diseases or, in the case of Palestinian resistance fighters, gunmen or terrorists;
4. Organization – Genocide is always organized; most often it’s by the state using militias, the military and/or other security forces to target victimized groups;
5. Polarization – Extremists incite hate through propaganda and other communication methods, and laws and other measures often target the victims;
6. Preparation – Victims are identified, separated out and targeted for elimination;
7. Extermination – Once it starts, it escalates to mass killing that’s legally defined as "genocide;" and finally
8. Denial – The final stage assures continued genocide will follow with evidence of it suppressed or destroyed. Some genocidal regimes are brought to justice like the Nazis at
Minister Vilnai affirms that killing may now escalate against a people who’ve been under a medieval siege for months. Talk of peace and ceasefire is hollow,
Stephen Lendman lives in
ZNetwork is funded solely through the generosity of its readers.
Donate