By Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Press Release, 01 February 2015
In excessive use of force, on Saturday, 31 January 2015, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian boy and wounded and arrested another one in Burin village, south of Nablus. According to PCHR’s investigations and eyewitnesses‘ accounts, Israeli forces could have used less lethal means against the boy as they did with his friend.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 18:20 on Saturday, 31 January 2015, a number of Palestinian boys from Burin village, south of Nablus, went to „Yitshar“ settlement road, south of Nablus. The boys stopped near the tunnel between Burin village and the adjacent Madama village a few meters away from the aforementioned road and threw Molotov Cocktails at the settlers‘ cars that were traveling on the road. Israeli soldiers, who ambushed in the area, immediately opened fire at them. As a result, Ahmed Ibrahim Jaber al-Najjar(19) was immediately killed due to a bullet that penetrated the lower jaw and got out from the left side of the neck. The Israeli forces kept his corpse in custody until approximately 21:30 on the same day and then delivered it to a Palestinian ambulance. Moreover, Mohammed Ra’ed ‚As’ous (18) sustained a minor bullet wound to the abdomen and did not go to hospital to receive medical treatment. At approximately 02:30 on Sunday, 01 February 2015, Israeli forces moved into Burin village and arrested the aforementioned wounded boy together with ‚Abdel Rahman Dawoud al-Najjar (18) from their family houses in the village. They took them to an unknown destination.
PCHR strongly condemns this crime which is part of Israel’s policy of using excessive force against Palestinian civilians in disregard for their lives. Furthermore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to stop the israeli crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions.