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The Red Paper
“Murder in cold blood”
Facts and Chronology
Israel’s Policy
of Assassinations and “Extra-Judicial Killings”
The soldier boy obsessed with the kill
(Have you become an etched x on the nozzle of his gun?)
Perhaps his first
Daughter, heir, of ancient Abraham, your Hebron
Dowry is heavy, pregnant with history and horror
What exchange of fire caught you? Trapped, you cast a
Glance of anger, perhaps a look of contempt
(Disdain does not become you)
He fired back a bullet, and you’re
Eighteen forever,
“From the poem “Areej-the Scent of Youth and Death”, by Mrs. Hanan Ashrawi “ in memory of Areej Al-Jabali, 18 –years- old, assassinated in Hebron by the Israeli army on January 5, 2001.
Executive Summary
Israel’s Extra-Judicial Executions
No longer Secret
Since the outbreak of the current AL-Aqsa Intifada on September 29, 2000, the Israeli government (at its highest levels) and through directives given to its higher army command has been implementing and carrying out a policy of assassinations and extra-judicial murders (executions committed in cold blood). The first assassination in the most recent conflict took place on November 9, 2000, when an Israeli helicopter fired several rockets at Fatah’s field commander vehicle in Bethlehem (Hussein Ibayat, 37) , killing also two innocent elderly by-stander Palestinian housewives. Since that date, deliberate and well-planned mafia-style assassinations have been taking place against Palestinians almost on daily bases by members of the Israeli army.
So far, over 19 cases of deliberate murders against known Palestinian activists have been documented. In addition, and in the most recent days, we have been witnessing a new “lax open-fire policy” issued by the Israeli army command that allows Israeli soldiers to open fire with live ammunition, almost indiscriminately, for the mere suspicion of feeling a threat (without defining what constitutes a threat). This lax-open fire policy had resulted in the murder of several innocent Palestinians (most noted, the case of Areej Al-Jabali, and others).
By relaxing its open-fire orders against Palestinian civilians, the Israeli government is acting in violation of international law (specifically the Fourth Geneva Conventions that require the occupying force of protecting civilians in time of war). On the contrary, Israel is not only denying protection of Palestinian civilians as required to do so by international laws. In fact, Israel is acting as an irresponsible and Mafia state that adopts tactics of terror organizations which implement extra-judicial executions.
Now that the Barak government had openly admitted its adoption of lethal and systematic policy of willful murder; and now that it had been revealed that this policy is no longer secret, and in fact, it has become State-sponsored terrorism, and an operative arm of the Israeli policy; The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) believes that it is its duty, and its right to pursue a world trial of members of the current Israeli government (both as a group, and as individuals) on charges of committing extra-judicial killings and war crimes at the international war-crimes tribunal.
Chronology Of Assassinations and Murder in Cold Blood
Monday, January 8, 2001
Israeli soldiers at the Halhoul junction arrested Khalid Khalil Ghanem, 27, from Hebron. After handcuffing him, the soldiers forced him to sit on the roadside. Few minutes later, one of the soldiers opened fire at him from a close range. Ghanem was hit with several bullets in his stomach. Soldiers left him unattended while he bled for nearly 20 minutes; they also prevented a Palestinian ambulance that arrived at the scene from reaching him. Later, an Israeli ambulance transported him to an Israeli hospital in Jerusalem (Hadassah Ein Kerem). He suffered serious injuries and remains in critical conditions. (Sources, Wafa news agency, Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCR), and Haaretz (according to Israeli army sources)–Monday, January 7, 2001).
Monday, January 8, 2001
Abdul-Hamid Ahmad Al-Kharti, 34, a male nurse who works at Shifa hospital in Gaza was shot and killed almost immediately after he stepped out from an ambulance that drove him home after a day’s work at the hospital. Al-Kharti was still wearing his medic’s uniform when he was killed. Witnesses to the shooting (names available upon request) said that Al-Kharti was hit with bullets fired by soldiers stationed inside Israeli armored military vehicles posted at the railroad opposite from Al-Moghraqa mosque. According to hospital sources, 3 bullets hit him in the head, chest, and stomach. It is to be noted that Al-Kharti is also a painter, he was married to a French citizen when he lived in France for two years. (Sources, witnesses at the scene of shooting, Wafa news agency, and Al-Ayyam daily, January 9, 2000)
Sunday, January 7, 2001
At 10:30 am, a group of children were standing at the northern entrance of Al-Biereh (at the site where the confrontations usually take place); A single Israeli army vehicle was standing 200 meters away from the children near the City Inn hotel. According to a testimony by the child Ibrahim who was present with the group of children (full name available only upon request), the children were only watching and have not yet started throwing stones at the soldiers. Suddenly, the Israeli army vehicle drove off from where it was standing, and sped towards the children. The children started running away. As the army vehicle approached the fleeing children, it swerved and soldiers inside, opened fire toward the fleeing children. 10- year – old Omar Farouk Khalid who attempted to run away from the soldiers, only after the Israeli army’s vehicle swerved and also after soldiers have already opened fire was hit with a high velocity bullet in his right eye (according to Dr. Hosni Al-Attari from Ramallah hospital). He remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Ramallah hospital. Khalid’s family said that his brother was also injured in his eye by a rubber-coated metal bullet last week. (Sources, testimony by his friend Ibrahim who was with him when he was hit, Al-Hayyat Al-Jadida daily, January, 8, 2000)
Sunday, January 7, 2001
Fatima Abu Jeish, 24, from the village of Bet Dajan who works as a clerk at Nablus’s Specialized Arab Hospital (SAH) was riding in the vehicle of her brother-in-law with her sister. They were returning back to the village after a day’s work. At 4:25 PM, their car was stopped by Israeli soldiers at the entrance of the village (from the direction of a bypass road used recently and frequently by the village residents since the closing down by the Israeli army of the main entrance two and a half months ago). Upon their arrival, Israeli soldiers who were standing outside their military vehicles had already stopped three other Palestinian vehicles. Several other soldiers were also standing at approximately 150 meters from the spot where their vehicle was stopped. After waiting for around 40 minutes, soldiers in the patrols who were blocking the entrance drove away, and cars started moving into the village. One of the Israeli soldiers standing among the crowd of soldiers stationed at approximately 150 meters away suddenly opened fire at the car. Fatima, who was sitting in the back seat, was hit in the heart with a high velocity bullet and died immediately. Her brother in law immediately turned around and transported her to Rafidya hospital in Nablus.
Doctors at the hospital said that a high velocity bullet hit Fatima in the heart. Nine other shrapnel from the bullet also hit her lungs. (Sources, Testimony by Nasser Abu-Jeish (Fatima’s brother in law who was driving the car, testimony by her sister Rose Abu Jeish who was also in the car).
Friday, January 5, 2001
Areej Al-Jabali, 18, from Hebron was chatting with her sister-in-law Ahlam at the balcony of their home located at approximately 200 meters away from the settlement of “Bet Haggai”. Nearby, in the neighborhood, young children were playinwith firecrackers. Shortly after the sound of one of the firecrackers went off, several bullets were fired from a guard post at the entrance of the settlement. A high velocity bullet hit Areej in the chest and exited from her back only to hit also her sister-in-law Ahlam in the chest. Both of them were rushed to the hospital, but all attempts by doctors to save Areej’s life failed. She was declared dead at the hospital. Her sister-in-law Ahlam remains in serious condition. It is to be noted that Arij graduated from high school only last year. (Sources, testimony by Areej’s brother-in-law, and Al-Ayyam daily, January 7, 2001)
Sunday, December 31, 2000
Members of a special unit in the Israeli army assassinated Dr. Thabet Thabet, 50, a dentist, Palestinian peace activist, director-general of health inspection at the PNA’s health ministry, and Fatah’s secretary-general in Tulkarem, shortly after 10:00 AM. Dr. Thabet was assassinated moments after he entered his vehicle that was parked at the entrance of his home in Tulkarem. Israeli Shin Bet (Israel’s internal intelligence branch) officials confirmed that the Israeli army and security forces were responsible for Dr. Thabet’s assassination (Haaretz, January 8, 2001, Amos Harel, military correspondent). Dr. Thabet was among the most advocates of peace. He even attended the funeral of an Israeli soldier in sympathy with his mother, Yehudit Harel, an Israeli Peace Now activist. Mrs. Harel’s son was killed in a car accident in 1994. (Sources, widow of Dr. Thabet, Siham, and Washington Post, January 8, 2001).
Saturday, December 16, 2000
Samih Mala’bi, 29, resident of Qalandya refugee camp, north f Jerusalem, was killed by an explosive device at the outskirts of the camp at 11:30 PM. He had earlier received a telephone call at 11:15 PM at his home in the refugee camp from a person who posed as someone whom he knew very well and trusted. He asked to meet with him at the outskirts of the camp after fifteen minutes to discuss a serious manner. Mala’bi immediately left the house to meet his friend. 15 minutes later (at around 11:30 PM), a sound of an explosion was heard by residents of the camp at a close distance. Camp residents who rushed to the scene of the explosion found Mala’bi’s body at the scene of the explosion. A spokesman for the Israeli army did not deny Israel’s responsibility for the killing of Mala’bi (Israel’s Radio- Arabic broadcast- 10:30 AM, December 17, 2000). (Sources, Kol Israel Radio, Arabic broadcast, and testimony by Mala’bi’s cousin who was present with him at his home when he received the telephone call).
Wednesday, December 13, 2000
Abbas Othman Al-Uwawi, 26, a resident of Hebron, was assassinated by an Israeli army sniper who fired several bullets at him from the Israeli controlled area of Hebron as he was standing on the separating line on the Palestinian controlled side. (Source, Wafa News Agency, Voice of Palestine, VOP Radio broadcast, December 13, 2000)
Monday, December 11, 2000
Yousef Mohammad Abu Suway, 28, a resident of the village of Artas, near Bethlehem was assassinated by an Israeli sniper fired at him from the nearby Israeli settlement of Gilo near Bet Jala. On the same day, Anwar Ahmad Hamdan, 28, from Araba village near Jenin was also assassinated by an Israeli army sniper (Source, Wafa, VOP Radio broadcast, December 11, 2000)
Monday, November 27, 2000
Mohammed Udwan, 18, Mahmoud Al-Adel, 28, Qusai Zahran, 22, Mahdi Jaber, and Ziad Salmi, 17, all from Qalqilya were all killed in cold blood after Israeli soldiers opened fire at them near the by-pass road south of Qalqilya. (Source, Wafa, Al-Ayyam daily, November 28 issue)
Thursday, November 23, 2000
Ibrahim Abdul-Karim Bani Odeh, 33, a resident of the village of Tammoun in the district of Tubas, near Jenin, was assassinated at 10:00 AM by detonating an explosive planted in the head-rest of the car that he was driving. (The car belonged to his cousin Allan Bani Odeh, who was a collaborator with the Israeli Shin Bet and facilitated the murder of Ibrahim). (Sources, text of confessions given by his cousin Allan Bani Odeh and published after his trial at a Palestinian military court).
Friday, November 9, 2000
Hussein Mohammad Ibayat, 37, was assassinated along with two innocent by-stander Palestinian housewives. An Israeli helicopter fired rockets at a pickup truck carrying him and his friend. (Sources, Kol Israel Radio, Arabic service broadcast, VOP, Wafa, AP, January 5news report, 14:04 EST by Laura King)
Source: Palestine Media Center- PMC
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