The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) deplores the recent killing of both the Israeli teenage settlers and Palestinians including children, and condemns Israel’s ensuing collective punishment against the Palestinians.
The wilful killing of civilians in the context of an armed conflict may amount to a war crime regardless of whether it is committed by armed group or the armed forces of a state. EMHRN calls on the EU and its Member States to strongly condemn all such acts and urges all parties to ensure that any conduct of hostilities and/or law enforcement is carried out in compliance with the rules of international law. The perpetrators of violations, especially those who unlawfully kill civilians, must be held accountable.
As an occupying power, Israel has obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, which it has utterly failed to comply with during “Operation Brothers’ Keeper”. The EU and its Member States should strongly condemn Israel’s disproportionate military response to these killings, which amounts to collective punishment, a serious breach of international humanitarian law.
Since the beginning of the operation, Israel has arrested more than 500 Palestinians across the West Bank and issued 147 new administrative detention orders raising the total number of administrative detainees to 343. Israel has also imposed sweeping and arbitrary travel restrictions on hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and has conducted wide-scale raids, which involved the ransacking of Palestinian homes, and the destruction and theft of private property. EMHRN is also concerned about the punitive measures taken against Palestinian prisoners, and Israel’s punitive home demolitions. The punitive demolition of Palestinian homes can be considered a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and is prohibited under international law.
According to Al Haq, 8 Palestinian civilians have been killed in the context of these operations, 6 by live ammunition. These figures include 15-year-old Mahmoud Dudeen, and most recently 18- year-old Yusuf Abu Zagher, who was killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp.
EMHRN is also concerned about the escalation of attacks, including attacks against civilians and civilian properties in the Gaza Strip.
As an occupying power, Israel is obligated to maintain public order and ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza. The significant increase in settler violence since the beginning of the operation and the surge in so-called ‘price tag’ attacks since the bodies of the three teenage settlers were found are particularly worrying. On 30 June, a child was hit by a car driven by a settler near Bethlehem. Several reprisal attacks have also taken place against Palestinians in Jerusalem. This morning, 2 July, the body of 16-year-old Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir, was found in a forest near Jerusalem, after his alleged abduction by settlers as an act of revenge.
EMHRN reiterates its call on the EU and its Member States to ensure that all parties to the conflict fully respect their obligations under international law.