Army Closes Investigation Into The Killing Of 21 Members Of The A-Samuni Family In Gaza
B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
1 May 2012
The MAG (Military Advocate's General) Corps informed B'Tselem today that it has closed the Military Police investigation
file in the complaint submitted by B'Tselem into the killing of 21 members of the a-Samuni family in the Gaza Strip. The
file was closed without taking any measures against those responsible. In a letter sent to B'Tselem and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza (PCHR) that filed a complaint into the matter as
well, major Dorit Tuval, from the MAG Corps for operational matters wrote that the investigation completely disproved
any claim about deliberate harm to civilians, as well as haste and recklessness regarding possible harm to civilians, or
criminal negligence. The military's response does not detail the findings of the investigation, nor does it provide the
reasons behind the decision to close the file or any new information about the circumstances.
In response, Adv. Yael Stein, B'Tselem's head of research, said: it is unacceptable that no one is found responsible for
an action of the army that led to the killing of 21 uninvolved civilians, inside the building they entered under
soldiers' orders, even if this was not done deliberately. The way the army has exempted itself of responsibility for
this event, even if only to acknowledge its severity and clarify its circumstances, is intolerable. Shirking the
responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of other civilians and the immense damage caused by operation Cast Lead
demonstrates yet again the need for an Israeli investigation mechanism that is external to the army.
Removal of bodies from the house of Wa'el a-Samuni, in Gaza City. Photo: B'Tselem, 18 Jan. '09.
The a-Samuni Family
On 4 January 2009, soldiers gathered about 100 members of the extended a-Samuni family in the house of Wael a-Samuni, in
the a-Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. The next morning, at 6:30 A.M., when a few members of the family tried to leave
the house, the military fired a missile or shell at them, killing one person and wounding two other persons. A few
seconds later, the military fired two more shells or missiles that hit the house directly. The house collapsed on its
occupants, killing 21 persons, including 9 children and many women, and injuring dozens of other family members. Despite
repeated requests by the Red Cross, B'Tselem, and other human rights organization, the army prevented removal of the
injured people for two days, until 7 January. After the wounded persons were evacuated, the army demolished the house
with the dead bodies inside. It was only possible to remove them from under the debris after the army withdrew, about
two weeks later.
No accountability for the military’s actions during Operation Cast Lead
Three years after the end of the operation, the dozens of MPIU investigations opened into cases of harm to civilians
have yet to yield results. The Military Advocate General Corps has created a haze around them, preventing any
possibility of examining their effectiveness. The Corps' responses to B'Tselem, combined with media reports, indicate
that three indictments have been filed against soldiers who took part in the operation: for theft of a credit card from
a Palestinian civilian, for use of a nine-year-old Palestinian child as a human shield, and for “manslaughter of an
anonymous person.” In three other cases, disciplinary action alone was taken. Two officers were disciplined for firing
explosive shells that struck an UNRWA facility; three officers were disciplined for shelling the al-Maqadmeh Mosque, in which 15 Palestinians were killed, nine of
them civilians; and one officer was disciplined for the use of Palestinian civilian as a human shield,
These meager results are not surprising. The investigations were all opened at a very late stage – the first, to
B'Tselem knowledge, in October 2009, a full ten months after the operation had ended. At present, three years after the
operation, there is hardly a chance that investigations will lead to further indictments.
There has never been a serious investigation into the suspicions raised by B'Tselem and additional Israeli, Palestinian
and international organizations regarding breaches of international humanitarian law by the military during the
operation. Most of B'Tselem’s demands for investigation were not met. The investigations that were opened did not, to
B'Tselem's knowledge, address the responsibility of high-ranking commanders, but rather focused on the conduct of
individual soldiers.
ENDS