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Tel Aviv blast kills Israeli civilians | |||||||||||||||
B'Tselem strongly condemns yesterday's attack in the Tel Aviv promenade, in which many civilians were killed and injured. Attacks aimed at civilians undermine all rules of morality and law. Specifically, the intentional killing of civilians is considered a “grave breach” of international humanitarian law and a war crime. Whatever the circumstances, such acts are unjustifiable. B'Tselem demands that the Palestinian Authority do everything within its power to prevent future attacks and to prosecute the individuals involved in the attack, as well as in past attacks. |
The intentional killing of civilians is a war crime |
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Israel changes Separation Barrier's route | |||||||||||||||
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Palestinian family waiting for the gate in the Separation Barrier to open. Photo: B'Tselem |
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Background | |||||||||||||||
Testimonies | |||||||||||||||
B'Tselem to Abu Mazen: Revoke death sentences | |||||||||||||||
On 17 February 2005, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the president of the Palestinian Authority, approved the death sentences given to a number of Palestinians who had been convicted of collaboration with Israel and of other criminal offenses. B'Tselem sent a letter to the president requesting that he revoke the death sentences and put an end to capital punishment in the Palestinian Authority. Capital punishment is a violation of the most fundamental human right - the right to life - and has no place in an enlightened society, regardless of the nature of the offense committed. For this reason, B'Tselem flatly opposes capital punishment. In its letter, B'Tselem also pointed out that many of the prisoners given the death penalty were denied due process in the course of their trials. |
Capital punishment is a violation of the most fundamental human right - the right to life |
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Defense Minister orders punitive house demolitions stopped | |||||||||||||||
On 17 February 2005, Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz adopted an IDF committee's recommendation to cease demolition of the houses of Palestinians suspected of carrying out attacks against Israelis. Mofaz noted that the policy will not be reinstated even if the conflict worsens. The decision does not apply to houses that the army demolishes on grounds of military necessity or because they were built unlawfully. During the intifada, the IDF demolished 675 homes, which were home to 4,239 persons. Since 1967, the IDF has demolished or sealed more than 2,700 homes as punishment. In its report Through No Fault of Their Own, published in November 2004, B'Tselem pointed out that, regarding one-half of the houses that were demolished as punishment, Israel did not contend that assailants lived there. For every person who took part in, or was suspected of taking part in, attacks against Israeli civilians or armed forces, twelve innocent Palestinians lost their home. Furthermore, contrary to the state's contention that it gave prior notification of demolition except in exceptional cases, in ninety-seven percent of the cases, the occupants of the house were not given any prior notification that the army intended to demolish their home. The committee, which was appointed by Chief-of-Staff Moshe Ya'alon, did not relate to the human rights violations inherent in punitive house demolitions. Rather, it sufficed with its finding that the action does not deter potential attackers, but harms Israel's interests. In fact, the long-standing policy of punitive house demolitions severely breaches international law, and Israel should never have adopted it, even if the practice is effective as a deterrent. In any event, the findings of the committee undermine the argument, constantly raised by Israel over the years, that punitive house demolitions have a deterrent effect. B'Tselem welcomes the decision to stop the demolition of houses as punishment, and urges the Defense Minister to arrange the payment of compensation to Palestinians whose homes were demolished. |
The findings of the committee undermine the argument, constantly raised by Israel over the years, that punitive house demolitions have a deterrent effect |
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B'Tselem's report "Through No Fault of Their Own" | |||||||||||||||
Statistics | |||||||||||||||
Video clip | |||||||||||||||
IDF demolishes apartment building | |||||||||||||||
On 18 January 2005, while they were eating dinner at their home in Nablus, the Qababji family heard the sound of gunfire and explosions. IDF soldiers called on the building's residents to go outside. The mother, Randa Qababji, told B'Tselem what happened when she went into the street with the rest of their family: “There were lots of people who lived in the buildings in the area, and some people whom the soldiers had arrested… They were in shackles, and some were blindfolded. There were more than fifteen men and many more women and infants…. I was really scared. We had never undergone anything like that.” About an hour later, the soldiers gathered the local residents at a nearby school, where they separated the men from the women and the children. “The room I was in had around forty-five women and infants,” Qababji said. “My little daughter asked me, ‘When will we go home? I want to go to sleep.' Two soldiers stood at the door… We asked them when we could leave. They said, ‘in ten minutes'… We stayed there all night.” Around 5:00 A.M., the soldiers ordered the residents to cover their ears. “We understood that they were going to blow up something,” Qababji continued. “It was a gigantic explosion, which shook the room. We did not know what they blew up. I hoped it was all over, and that my family and I could return home… When the soldiers left, we went outside right away… One of the men said that the soldiers had blown up our building. I was shocked and lost consciousness.” |
“It was a gigantic explosion, which shook the room.” Randa Qababji, Nablus |
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Soldier kills 14 year-old boy who was playing with his friends | |||||||||||||||
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Salah a-Din Abu Muhsan |
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The complete testimony | |||||||||||||||
Testimony of a neighbor | |||||||||||||||
Other testimonies relating to shootings by soldiers | |||||||||||||||
Background on gunfire by soldiers | |||||||||||||||
Photos | |||||||||||||||
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