IDF Kills 3 Palestinians, Wounds 16 In Qalandya Refugee Camp

Israeli Forces Use Excessive Lethal Force Killing 3 Palestinian Civilians and Wounding 16 Others, Including 5 Children, in Qalandya Refugee Camp

In an excessive use of lethal force, on Monday morning, 26 August 2013, Israeli occupation forces killed 3 Palestinian civilians and wounded 16 others, including 5 children, in Qalandya refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem in the central West Bank.  The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) denounces this heinous crime, holds Israel fully responsible for the current escalation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and  demands the international community to assume its responsibilities and provide protection for the Palestinian civilians.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR and statements of eyewitnesses, at approximately 05:00 on Monday, 26 August 2013, Israeli forces in military vehicles and a 20-member infantry unit moved into Qalandya refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem.  They positioned themselves in the streets and then moved into al-Souq neighborhood in the centre of the refugee camp to carry out an arrest campaign. Israeli forces raided a house belonging to the family of Abdul Rahim al-Khatib near the Grand Mosque to arrest one of the family members.  In the meantime, dozens of young men and boys gathered and threw stones at Israeli forces that immediately fired live ammunition,  tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the stone throwers.  Israeli forces received backups that moved into the camp through its entrance and western side. They heavily opened fire at the stone throwers.  As a result, 3 Palestinian civilians were killed and 16 others were wounded, including 5 children; the majority of them were wounded in the upper part of the body. Moreover, Israeli forces arrested 2 brothers: Yusef Abdul Rahim al-Khatib (24) and Omar al-Khatib (27). Yusef was taken to an unknown destination while Omar was released at Qalandya checkpoint an hour after Israeli forces had withdrawn from the camp at 07:30. .

The civilians who were killed are:

1- Yunis Jamal Jahjouh (23), who was hit by a live bullet to the chest;
2- Jehad Mansour Aslan (21), who was hit by a live bullet to the chest; and
3- Rubin Abdul Rahman Zayed (33), who was hit by several live bullets to the chest as well.

As a result, the number of Palestinian civilians who have been killed in a week has mounted to 4, as Israeli forces killed a civilian in Jenin refugee camp, in the north of the West Bank, when they moved into the said camp on 20 August 2013.

PCHR is strongly concerned over this crime, which further proves the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against the Palestinian civilians in disregard for the civilians’ lives. Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill 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 alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.  These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions.

ENDS

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