Amnesty International Accuses Israel of War Crimes

February 27, 2014

3 min read

Amnesty International Accuses Israel of War Crimes
Weekly demonstrations held at regular sites in the West Bank such as Bil’in and Ni’lin. (Photo: IDF)

According to a new report published by Amnesty International, “Israeli forces have displayed a callous disregard for human life by killing dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children, in the occupied West Bank over the past three years with near total impunity.”

The report, called “Trigger-happy: Israel’s use of excessive force in the West Bank,” accuses the IDF of “unnecessary, arbitrary and brutal force against Palestinians.” Amnesty International said it documented the deaths of 22 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank caused by IDF forces with at least 14 of those deaths in the context of protests. According to the U.N., between the years 2011-2013, 45 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank.

Amnesty International accused Israel of “war crimes”, arguing that “Israeli forces have repeatedly violated their obligation under international human rights law by using excessive force to stifle dissent and freedom of expression, resulting in a pattern of unlawful killings and injuries to civilians.”

The London based group has called on the international community, specifically the United States and European Union, to pressure Israel to change. The report urges the suspension of “all transfers and munitions, weapons and other equipment to Israel.”

“Without pressure from the International community, the situation is unlikely to change soon,” said Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International.

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Amnesty International failed to warn Israel about the release of the report. It comes as no surprise that the group would release the blasphemous report during Israeli Apartheid Week.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told the AFP that the report was released “without even bothering to ask for response and comment.” He said the report “smacks of bias, discrimination and racism.”

“Their trick is to disable our capacity to respond,” Palmor explained. “And that’s what this move is about: not to get responses, but to deprive Israel of its capacity to even take part in the conversation.”

The IDF responded to the report by saying that Amnesty International has failed, once again, to include other important evidence, such as Palestinian violence and aggression towards Israel.

Amnesty International has failed to take into account the radical increase of Palestinian violence against Israel over the last year, including the 132 injured Israelis by Palestinians in 2013, a doubling from 2012. The report also failed to mention the uptick of terror attacks in Israel the last year. The IDF noted that there was “no surprise, considering that over 5,000 incidents of rock-hurling took place, half of which were toward main roads.”

The IDF also pointed out that the report did not mention that “there were 66 further terror attacks, which included shootings, the planting of improvised explosive devices, blunt weapon attacks and the abduction and murder of a soldier.”

The IDF says it will not apologize for its self defense methods. The report showed “a complete lack of understanding as to operational challenges the IDF is posed with in the West Bank.”

“Where feasible, the IDF contains this life-threatening violence using riot dispersal means, including loud sirens, water cannons, sound grenades and teargas. Only once those tools have been exhausted, and human life and safety remains under threat, is the use of precision munition authorized,” the IDF said.

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