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Rights Groups Claims Israeli Army Cover-Up
GAZA CITY, Nov. 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Israeli army has decided not to prosecute soldiers who shot and killed an Arab boy while he was playing football (soccer), even though a military prosecutor ruled that they opened fire without justification.
The case has added to a mountain of evidence accumulated by human rights activists, who claim that Israeli troops have shot dead hundreds of unarmed Palestinians in the past year. They also claim the army is failing to take any serious measures to stop the killings, reported British daily newspaper,
The Independent.
Khalil al-Moghrabi, 11, died in July after he was shot in the head by Israeli machinegun fire.
The Independent reported that two of the boy's friends, aged 10 and 12, were also wounded.
The youths had been playing with a football (soccer ball) when Israeli troops opened fire from a gun mounted on a tank in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Documents from a military prosecutor, acquired by the Israeli human rights group B'tselem, stated that soldiers opened fire in breach of their own regulations, which allow troops to shoot only if their lives are at risk.
Although there is no evidence the troops aimed at the boys, the prosecutor contradicted statements given to the media by the army's spokesperson. He said the soldiers fired after dozens of Palestinians began rioting, placing their lives under threat, the paper said.
Despite the prosecutor's findings, the army cleared the soldiers. The Independent
reported that the incident was covered up and was not investigated by Israeli military police.
On it's website, B'Tselem said it obtained internal documents from the office of the Israeli Military Advocate General, which reveal how the military cleared the soldiers accused of killing al-Moghrabi. The documents also show how the incident was covered up, how the Military Police refrained from opening an investigation, and how a false statement was issued regarding the circumstances of the boy's death.
"The documents that B'Tselem received, which are included as annexes to the report, raise the grave concern that cover-ups and falsifications are considered acceptable practice by the Military Advocate General's office," said the group.
In the conclusions to its report, B'Tselem called for a Military Police investigation against those involved in the Palestinian boy's death and the wounding of his two friends.
The Israeli human rights watchdog also asked for action to be taken against those in the Military Advocate General's office who intentionally presented a false version of the events and to transfer the procedure of investigations from the military to an independent and objective body.
"This confirms suspicions we have held for a long, long time that the army is covering these cases up and not conducting serious investigations," said Lior Yavne of B'tselem.
Israeli chief military prosecutor Colonel Einat Ron has rejected the findings submitted by lower ranking officers saying the incident in question was "combat" in nature, reported the Israeli daily
Ha'aretz.
"Since the start of the al-Aqsa Intifada 14 months ago, Israeli and foreign media have reported dozens of incidents in which dozens of Palestinians - including children caught in crossfire - have been killed.
"From time to time, the media has published grim testimony on the deaths of civilians, including elderly persons, women and children, who needed urgent medical attention but were held up for hours at IDF roadblocks," said
Ha'aretz.
Ha'aretz added that in many cases the Israeli occupation army announced decisions to investigate and clarify the circumstances of the deaths but only one incident was tried in a military court of justice.
In the 14 months since the start of the Intifada, more than 750 Palestinians, mostly children and teenagers, have been killed, many while throwing stones at Israeli positions.
In a detailed examination of the first year of the Intifada, published this week, Amnesty International reports: "The killing and wounding of children has revealed a reckless disregard for life by Israeli soldiers."
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