The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR): Ref: 116/2022. Date: 15 September 2022: This morning, a Palestinian child was killed, and 3 other Palestinians were wounded, including a child, by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) fire during the latter’s incursion into Kafr Dan village, west of Jenin in the West Bank.
Investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) into this crime and others similar confirm IOF’s loose shooting standards and excessive use of lethal armed force against Palestinians despite no imminent threat or danger posed to IOF’s lives.
Simultaneously, IOF imposed collective punishment measures on Kafr Dan’s residents in Jenin and closed 2 crossings, perpetuating the collective punishment policy after a shooting attack was carried out and resulted in the killing of an Israeli officer near al-Jalamah crossing in Jenin.
According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 03:30 on Thursday, 15 September 2022, IOF moved into Kafr Dan village, west of Jenin, and cordoned off the family houses of Ahmad and ‘Abdulrahman ‘Abed, who carried out the attack at al-Jalama checkpoint in northern Jenin on Wednesday, 14 September 2022 and killed an Israeli officer.
The soldiers raided the houses and took their measurements, seemingly in a prelude to demolish them later. Meanwhile, the 2 families were interrogated by Israeli occupation intelligence officers.
Moreover, the soldiers topped the roofs of the residential buildings near the 2 houses and took their positions while Palestinians threw stones and empty bottles at the IOF in the vicinity of the houses.
Clashes broke out and spread to the village neighborhoods, where IOF heavily opened fire at the protestors. As a result, 4 Palestinians, including 2 children, were wounded, and taken to the city hospitals.
One of the wounded was identified as ‘Uday Trad Hesham Salah (17), who was wounded with a live bullet to the head at around 06:00 when he was on one of the village’s streets that is about 300 meters away from where IOF were stationed. After arriving at Dr. Khaleel Soleiman Governmental Hospital, he was pronounced dead by the medical sources, who also reported the injury of another as very critical.
Before their withdrawal at 08:00, IOF arrested 3 Palestinians, who were also Ahmad ‘Abed’s cousins.
So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 121 Palestinians, including 86 civilians: 26 children, 8 women; 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers and the rest were activists; 15 of them were assassinated. Also, hundreds were injured, including women and children, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
On the other hand, as part of their collective punishment policy, on Wednesday afternoon, 14 September, IOF declared that following a shooting attack near al-Jalamah crossing in Jenin, it was decided to rescind all permits, including work permits, except for those for humanitarian cases in Kafr Dan, where the attacker set out from. IOF also declared their decision to close completely al-Jalama and Salem crossings until further notice.
PCHR reiterates its call upon the international community to take immediate action to end Israeli occupation’s crimes and double standards when it comes to international law.
PCHR also urges the ICC Prosecutor in particular to act seriously with regard to the situation in Palestine. PCHR also demands the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention fulfil their obligations as per Common Article 1 of the Convention, “undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances.”
PCHR also calls upon the High Contracting Parties to uphold their commitment 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 regarding the guarantee of Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
