October 2001: One year al-Aqsa Intifada, Fact sheets and figures

 

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One Year Al-Aqsa Intifada

Fact Sheets and figures

  • Assassinations

Much has been written already to denounce the Israeli policy of assassination, or killings of "wanted" persons who are purposely sought out by Israeli security forces. Certain facts however should be borne in mind when reading the list of assassinated Palestinians presented below:

¨ The enforcement by a State of a policy of assassinations is in direct contravention of international human rights law, and especially of the right to life and the right to fair trial. People suspected of illegal activities must be arrested and brought to trial, even in a situation of armed conflict. Moreover, international law regards resistance to occupation as a form of legal use of force, although the laws of war must be respected in any case.

¨ Equally unacceptable is the death of innocent bystanders, from which the Israeli policy of assassinations has been far from immune. Although Israeli spokespersons tend to refer to the assassination policy as "targeted killings" or "pinpoint operations," about 35% of the fatalities in these operations were probably not intentionally targeted.

¨ The assassinations were initially said by Israel to be carried out only if it were necessary to "stop a terrorist cell on its way to commit an attack" (so-called "ticking bombs"), a justification irrelevant under international law and open to very little scrutiny. The evidence collected by Israeli intelligence against the victims of assassinations is never reviewed by judicial authorities, let alone by the public.

¨ On 3 July 2001, new guidelines were issued by the Israeli kitchen cabinet to allow the killings of "known terrorists" even if they are not on the verge of committing a major attack. However, Israel has applied this term generously to most Palestinians fighting the occupation regardless of the target or the means used. There seems hardly any limit to who can become the target of an assassination.

¨ The Israeli policy of assassinations has contributed significantly to the escalation of violence. Since the inception of the policy, Palestinian factions have justified most attacks against Israeli targets - from shooting incidents to suicide bombings - as retaliation for some assassination. An opinion poll conducted by the JMCC reveals that Palestinians consider the policy of assassination to be the most harmful aspect of the al-Aqsa intifada, ranking higher than the closure, the shellings, the shootings, the incursions into Area A and settler violence 5.

¨ It also increased the level of violence inside Palestinian society by triggering a new chase of suspected collaborators. (see the section dedicated to collaborators)

¨ The Israeli public shows overwhelming support for the policy of assassinations. A poll published in Ha'aretz on 8 August 2001 shows that a staggering 70% of Israeli Jews support the government policy of assassinating "wanted" Palestinians as "an effective measure in the war against terrorism and a morally-superior method, since it prevents harming innocent Palestinians." Only 21% believe that the assassinations "increase Palestinian desire for revenge and that it is an immoral policy of extra-judiciary executions."

The table below lists all the cases of assassinations recorded by the PHRMG. 10 cases where the Israeli responsibility in the killing is not clear have not been included (an additional 5 bystanders were killed in these cases). Detailed information about all these cases is available on www.phrmg.org.

  • List of Palestinians who were assassinated during the al-Aqsa Intifada

  •  (5) Jerusalem Media and Communication Center (JMCC), Public opinion polls on Palestinian attitudes towards politics including the current intifada, Number 42, Question 8, September 2001 (available on www.jmcc.org)

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List of Palestinians who were assassinated during the al-Aqsa Intifada

No

Name

Age

Residence

Organization

Date of Killing

Description of Killing

Notes

1

 Hussein Obeyat

34

Bethlehem

Fatah movement

9/11/00

Missiles fired from helicopters in Beit-Sahour

2 women were also killed

2

Jamal Abdel Razek

30

Rafah- Gaza

Fatah movement

22/11/00

Israeli soldiers opened heavy fire at his car

3 other men were also killed

3

Ibrahim Bani-Odeh

34

Tammoun - Nablus

Hamas movement

23/11/00

A bomb exploded in the car he drove

his cousin ‘Allan Bani-Odeh was sentenced to death for collaboration

4

Anwar Mahmoud Hamran

28

Arraba- Jenin

 Islamic Jihad movement

11/12/00

Israeli soldiers opened heavy fire outside al-Quds Open University in Nablus

 

5

Yousef Ahmad Abu-Sway

28

Artas village- Bethlehem

Fatah movement

12/12/00

He was shot outside his family house in al-Khader

On 17/12/00 masked Palestinians killed ‘Adnan Shahin under suspicion of collaboration

6

‘Abbas Othman Al-Ewiwi

26

Hebron

Hamas movement

13/12/00

Was shot outside the family shop in the old city

 

7

Hani Hasan Abu-Bakra

32

Deir el-Balah- Gaza

Hamas movement

14/12/00

Was shot at Gush Qatif checkpoint after the soldiers ascertained his identity

1 bystander was killed

8

Said Ahmad Taha al-Kharouf

37

Nablus

 Islamic Jihad movement

14/12/00

Was shot at a bypass road near Nablus

 

9

Dr. Thabet Ahmad Thabet

50

Ramin- Tulkarem

Fatah movement

31/12/00

Was shot outside his house

Was the Secretary –General of Fatah movement movement in Tulkarem

10

Mas’oud Hussein Ayyad

60

al-Zeitoun neighborhood- Gaza

Fatah movement

13/02/01

Missiles were fired at his car on Salah ad-Din road

Was a member in the National Security Forces

11

Mahmoud Suleiman al-Madani

25

Balata camp- Nablus

Hamas movement movement

19/02/01

Was shot in Nablus after praying at the mosque

 

12

Mohammed ‘Atweh Abdel-‘Al

27

al-Salam neighborhood- Rafah

 Islamic Jihad movement

2/04/01

Missiles fired from a helicopter

 

13

Iyad Mohammed al-Hardan

27

‘Arraba- Jenin

Islamic Jihad movement

5/04/01

A bomb in a public telephone

 

14

Ahmad Ismail Ayesh

34

Artas village- Bethlehem

Islamic Jihad movement

5/05/01

Was shot outside his house

 

15

Mu’tassem Ahmad Sabbagh

28

Jenin camp

Fatah movement

12/05/01

Missiles fired from a helicopter

A Palestinian policeman was also killed

16

Osama fathi Jawabreh

29

Nablus

Fatah movement

24/06/01

A bomb in a public telephone in the old city of Nablus

2 children were injured in the attack

17

Walid Rasmi Bsharat

19

Tammoun- Jenin

 Islamic Jihad movement

1/07/01

Missiles fired from a helicopter

 

18

Muhammad Bisharat

28

19

Sameh Nouri Abu-Hneish

23

Beit Dajan- Nablus

20

Fawwaz Bashir Badran

27

Tulkarem

Hamas movement

13/07/01

A car explosion in the city

 

21

Omar Ahmad Sa’adeh

45

Bethlehem

Hamas movement

17/07/01

Missiles fired from a helicopter

3 other men were also killed

22

Mustafa Yousef Mohamed Yassin

 

Anin village- Jenin

Islamic Jihad movement

23/07/01

Shooting

 

23

Salah-Eddin Darwazeh

37

Nablus

Hamas movement

25/07/01

Ground-to-gound antitank missiles 

 

24

Jamal Saleem

42

Nablus

Hamas movement

31/07/01

Missiles fired from a helicopter at a Hamas movement office

6 other civilians including 2 children and 2 journalists

25

Jamal Mansour

41

26

Amer al-Hudeiri

22

Tulkarem

Hamas movement

5/08/01

Missiles fired from a helicopter

 

27

Naser Ismail Abu-Zeidiyeh

21

Qalandia camp

Fatah movement

13/08/01

Killed by Israeli soldiers after a car chase

 

28

Imad Suleiman Abu-Sneineh

25

Abu-Sneineh- old city - Hebron

Fatah movement

15/08/01

Shooting- by special squad outside his house

 

29

Mustafa Ali al-Zabri (Abu-Ali Mustafa)

63

Ramallah

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

27/08/01

Missiles fired from a helicopter

Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

               
This table does not mention a number of failed assassination attempts, which should nevertheless be mentioned. For example, on 4 August 2001, an Israeli military helicopter fired two missiles in Ramallah on a convoy carrying Marwan Barghouti, Secretary General of Fatah in the West Bank, and Muhammad Abu el-Halaweh, another Fatah activist. An Israeli spokesperson later denied that Barghouti had been the target of the attack. On 22 August 2001, a similar attack was carried out in Gaza against a convoy carrying Adnan al-Ghoul, a well-known Hamas movement figure, and (allegedly) Mohammed Deif, one of the main Hamas movement leaders. Al-Ghoul's 19-years-old son was killed in the attack. Then on 23 August 2001, an Israeli military helicopter fired a missile in Nablus against the car of Jihad al-Massimi, a colonel in the Palestinian police, who barely escaped death.