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Human Rights Watch Condemns Israeli Excesses
CAIRO, Feb 1 (IslamOnline) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned what it called "Israel's openly declared policy of liquidation" of Palestinian civilians during more than four months of protests against Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
In a press release placed on the international human rights group's website, HRW said it was alarmingly concerned that Israel's criteria for targeting suspects actively resisting Israeli occupation violated human rights conventions.
"The lack of a transparent civil or military review of 'liquidation' decisions, as well as the [Israeli Defense Forces] IDF's policy of not investigating killings during 'warlike situations,' only reinforce our concerns," the press release said.
The group quoted the head of the IDF's International Law Branch, Col. Daniel Reisner, as saying that under Israel's "liquidation" policy, the army was entitled to eliminate Palestinian opponents.
"In the current situation, people who attack us have been identified by us as combatants," Reisner said. "As a result we view them as legitimate targets. That's what I mean by targeting. That specific individual falls under that category, therefore he was attacked and killed."
Human Rights Watch said that although Israel has not made public the names of those killed pursuant to this policy, at least nine such killings have taken place since early November.
The group said that according to Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations, and some press accounts, a list of one hundred potential targets for "liquidation" exists.
Human Rights Watch also called on Prime Minister Ehud Barak to order a full review of the policy in order to ensure that no civilians have been deliberately targeted.
HRW expressed concern that in several cases killings took place in areas under Israeli control, where it may have been possible to arrest suspects, rather than kill them. In at least one case where Israel claims its forces did attempt to arrest a suspect, he was gunned down in suspicious circumstances.
The group said the case of Ahmad Thabit, a senior official in the Palestinian Ministry of Health and secretary-general of Fateh's Tulkarem branch, both clearly civilian posts, was one example.
IDF snipers killed Thabit in cold blood while he was leaving his house in Tulkarem on December 31, 2000.
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