Israeli Policy: Shoot To Kill

According to Health Minister Riyad Za'anoun, by November 22nd, the toll of Israeli shooting against the Palestinians since the beginning of the current Intifadah had reached the unprecedented number of 10,000 injured - 40% of whom had received head injuries; 20% were injured in the eyes; 20% in the chest, and 20 % in the limbs.

Several institutions have launched their own investigations to analyze the injuries. These investigations have concluded that Israeli practices in confronting the uprising show repetitive patterns that violate the Geneva Conventions prohibitions against murder, torture, and cruel and degrading treatment and other targeting of civilians, and its proportionality protection mandating that officials minimize civilian casualties.

Physicians for Human Rights, an organization concerned with promoting human rights and monitoring health related issues, conducted a medical and forensic investigation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank to investigate allegations of excessive use of force, including the use of prohibited ammunition, in the current conflict. The three-person physician team also collected information on attacks on ambulances, health professionals, and patients.

The PHR team included forensic pathologists Robert H. Kirschner, M.D., University of Chicago School of Medicine; Nizam Peerwani, M.D., Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office, Forth Worth, Texas; and James C. Cobey, M.D., M.P.H, an orthopaedic surgeon based in Washington, D.C.

The organization is a co-receiver of the Noble Peace prize for 1997 for co-founding the international movement against landmines.

The following are among the findings of their investigation:

• Nearly half the victims were shot in the head. There were several victims shot in the back or from behind and in one instance, evidence indicates the victim was probably on the ground when shot;
• In several of these cases, PHR was able to document that there was no imminent danger posed to the IDF in the context of the shooting;
• In addition, the IDF breached medical neutrality by shooting at ambulances, which led in some cases to the killing of ambulance drivers.
• The IDF improperly deployed rubber-coated steel bullets in a manner that caused the death of children.

In the clashes between Israelis and the Palestinians who live within the borders of Israel under Israeli citizenship (referred to by Israel as Israeli Arabs), especially the Nazareth clashes, PHR-Israel indicated that, according to reliable reports, virtually none of the Palestinian citizens had firearms; however, both steel-coated rubber bullets and live ammunition were used by police and border guards.

In conclusion, the report read: "The numerous head and eye injuries, the high proportion of thigh wounds and fatal head wounds, and the fact that similar patterns of such shootings occurred over a period of weeks demonstrate two disturbing patterns: 1) IDF soldiers are not firing only in life threatening situations, and 2) they are firing at heads and thighs to injure and kill, not to avoid loss of life and injury."

Attacks on Medical Personnel and Ambulances

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society mentioned that 70% of its fleet of 57 ambulance cars has been damaged.

Its record of Israeli forces obstructing the work of medical personnel as of November 26, 2000 accounted that: 39 PRCS ambulances have been fired at and hit, in over 82 separate attacks, by live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas, shrapnel, and/or stones thrown by Israeli settlers.

56 PRCS Emergency Medical Technicians have also been injured in these attacks, and one was killed. These medical personnel have resorted to the use of bulletproof jackets during their work.

PRCS has also logged 85 incidents of denial of access to ambulances at roadblocks. The emergency medical services continue to utilize vehicles that are in desperate need of repair due to a lack of replacements for vehicles and adequate personnel.

The records also show that in several cases, medical personnel have suffered inhalation of tear gas and nervous breakdowns.

Another investigation carried out by the Palestinian Law Organization found there had been several attacks on medical personnel working with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC). In many cases, they were not only prevented from reaching the injured, but were verbally harassed and spat at, and stripped of cell phones and mobile car phones that they used for communication.

This investigation also revealed that Israeli settlers also carried out attacks against medical units and paramedics:

• On October 3, 2000, in the villages of Kifl Harris and Bidia (West Bank), Israeli settlers attacked PRCS ambulances and their crews as they were on their way to Red Crescent clinics and emergency rooms. The paramedics sustained injuries in the face as some of the windows of ambulances were smashed.
• The PRCS office in Ramallah reported that on October 7, 2000, they received a call from the District Coordination Office (DCO) telling them that settlers had shot at an Arab vehicle near the Shilo settlement near Nablus. However, when the ambulance arrived, the crew found out that the story was false. Israeli soldiers present at the scene offered to drive behind the ambulance in order to protect it. At a certain point, settlers started shouting and throwing stones at the ambulance, blocking the road while the soldiers watched on without intervening. As a result, the ambulance was completely destroyed.
• According to the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC), on October 7, 2000, settlers destroyed two medical clinics in the village of Bourin.
• On October 14th, a PRCS and Red Cross convoy attempted to deliver medical supplies to the villages of Bidia, Salfit and Kifl Harris, but was forced to turn back when settlers blocked the road and threatened the Palestinian members of the convoy.

Numbers of Injured and Dead

According to records of the PRCS up to November 29th, 1,938 people had been injured by Israeli live ammunition, and 3,810 individuals had been injured by rubber/plastic-coated bullets.

The Israeli's discriminate use of force against Palestinian civilians and their continuous practice of denying proper medical care to the injured extended to their arrest of wounded persons.

Many cases documented by the PRCS show that Israeli forces "have dragged, beaten and arrested the injured from ambulances." For example, on the afternoon of October 26th, Emad Hussein Abu Sneihneh was being transported to the hospital. He was suffering from asthma and severe tear gas inhalation. About 30 soldiers threatened the crew at gunpoint and stopped the ambulance. The team tried to explain that the man in the ambulance was in urgent need of medical care, but the soldiers removed Mr. Abu Sneihneh from the ambulance, beat him in the face, and carried him to a military vehicle.

In another instance, the PRCS reported that on October 21st, one of its ambulances was delayed at the Allenby border crossing on the grounds that it was transporting Mohammed Abu Zai who was wanted by the Israeli military. In the end, the ambulance was allowed to cross the border with the patient. Mr. Abu Zai had been injured in the chest and was in critical condition.

Although the Israeli forces have not yet been able to curtail the uprising, their systematic excessive use of force may threaten to create a generation of many handicapped Palestinians, which could possibly impact their manpower and their economy in years to come.