Updates

On 5 Oct. '08, two fishermen sailed from Rafah in a rowboat. One of them, Muhammad Musleh, told B'Tselem that an Israeli navy boat fired at them without warning, although they were in the zone permitted for fishing by the army. Musleh was severely injured in his leg and is being treated in al-Muqassed Hospital in Jerusalem. B'Tselem knows of numerous cases, in the last two years, of soldiers shooting and abusing fishermen on the Gaza shoreline.

Over the past year, settlers from Yitzhar and the surrounding area have sharply stepped up violent acts in nearby Palestinian villages. On 13 Sept., after a Palestinian stabbed a Jewish boy and burnt down a caravan in a settlement near Yitzhar, dozens of settlers raided the village of 'Asira al-Qibliya, rioted and widely damaged property. Soldiers were present at the time, yet did nothing to prevent the settlers' actions, and fired at the Palestinians.

On 1 August, after children threw stones at soldiers in the Jalazun refugee camp, a soldier fired a tear gas canister at a young bystander. Following B'Tselem's complaint, an investigation into the incident was opened. Soldiers often fire tear gas canisters directly at Palestinians, despite legal and military prohibitions.

Following a petition against the indictment for "unbecoming conduct", the Israeli High Court has obliged the JAG to justify his decision. The court also suspended military court proceedings until the petition is decided upon.

The demand follows the decision to charge the lieutenant colonel and the soldier with the relatively light offense of "inappropriate conduct". The High Court stated in 1988: "Harming a bound and helpless person is a shameful and cruel act, and calls for an appropriately severe response".

B'Tselem is publishing a video clip documenting a soldier firing a rubber coated steel bullet, from extremely close range, at a cuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainee. The shooting took place in the presence of a lieutenant colonel, who was holing the Palestinian's arm when the shot was fired.

In light of the recent escalation in violence around the Gaza Strip, including a Grad rocket strike on a mall in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem has repeated its demand that all parties protect civilians from the fighting.

Following a letter from B'Tselem, the Military Police has opened an investigation into an incident that took place on 14 March, in which an army officer fired a rubber-coated steel bullet at a demonstrator in the village of Bil'in, wounding him.

B'Tselem's investigation indicates that an Israeli aircraft fired two missiles at armed Palestinians, the second of which landed about one meter from the gate of the Abu Me'tiq family's house.