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Child
Fatalities in the Recent Clashes
Introduction
The protection of
civilians and children in situations of armed conflict is
one of the most basic and vital principles of international
and humanitarian law. It is a universally accepted principle
that children should not be the targets of military action,
and that their safety and welfare should be protected in any
situation of armed conflict.
The PHRMG has followed
with alarm the growing number of child casualties in the
recent clashes. Regardless of who is responsible for the
current clashes and violence being experienced, child
fatalities are a grave violation of human rights and simply
unacceptable. In issuing the following report, it is not the
intention of the PHRMG to express a political opinion on the
recent disturbances. Rather, this report is intended to draw
attention to the suffering experienced by children, the most
vulnerable members of our society, whose right are being
seriously and unacceptably violated. In addition, the PHRMG
wishes to express its deepest sympathies for the families
and relatives of the children who have tragically lost their
lives in the last few days.
International
Standards on the Protection of Children in Armed Conflict
International
standards state explicitly that children should never be the
targets of any armed action. The Additional Protocol to the
Geneva Convention, adopted in 1977, extends full protection
to children as civilian from all military actions. In
particular, Article 51: Protection of the Civilian
Population, states that:
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The civilian
population and individual civilians shall enjoy general
protection against dangers arising from military
operations.
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The civilian
population as such, as well as individual civilians,
shall not be the object of attack.
Children are also
given special protection in situations of armed conflict
under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child, adopted 2nd September 1990 and recognized by almost
every country in the world, including Israel. Of particular
note is Article 38, which deals expressly with situations of
armed conflict. Sections 1 and 4 of Article 38 state that:
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State Parties
undertake to respect and ensure respect for rules of
international humanitarian law applicable to them in
armed conflicts which are relevant to the child.
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In accordance
with their obligations under international humanitarian
law to protect the civilian population in armed
conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible
measures to ensure protection and care of children who
are affected by armed conflict.
Thus, it is clear that
under international humanitarian law, parties to armed
conflict must ensure that children's rights are respected
and protected, and that their safety and welfare, as well as
their right to life, are ensured.
Israeli Army
Firing Regulations
The regulations for
Israeli army firing procedures are contained in the
"Pocket Booklet for Soldiers Serving in the Central
Command", distributed to all soldiers. Under the
regulations, it is required that "firing at women
and children will be avoided as much as possible."
It seems questionable whether this "as much as
possible" provision is strong enough to fulfill the
standards set by international humanitarian law and meet
Israel's obligations as a signatory to the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Child
Fatalities in the Conflicts
The PHRMG has received
several reports of children who have been killed in recent
conflicts. The following cases represent a sample of the
child fatalities that have been reported.
Case #1:
Mohammed Jamal al-Dirreh, the child who died in his father's
arms in Gaza
The well-publicized
story of 12-year-old Mohammed Jamal al-Dirreh is perhaps one
of the saddest incidents of the clashes. Young Mohammed was
killed in his father's arms on Saturday 30th September after
they had taken shelter behind a cement block to avoid
Israeli army gunfire. Mohammed and his father were trapped
for over forty minutes by heavy gunfire before Mohammed was
fatally injured, while his father shouted and begged for
help. Mohammed's father was also shot numerous times and
seriously injured. It is worth noting that the ambulance
driver, Bassam Belbeisi, was also shot and killed when he
tried to cross the street to provide medical help to the
child and his father.
The PHRMG has attained
the following testimony on the events from Mohammed's uncle,
Na'el Mohammed Ahmad al-Dirreh:
"On Saturday
30th September, Mohammed's father didn't go to work in
Israel as usual. He took his son who had just come back
from school to the car market, south of Gaza city, to buy
a car. Mohammed hoped to come back home to Bureji camp in
a new car with his father. The father told his wife before
going out to prepare herself and the children for a ride
in the new car upon their return. But the father didn't
find a suitable car, so they took a taxi back home, which
stopped near the Netzarim (Martyrs) junction because of
the Israeli checkpoints. The father and his son got off
the taxi at the crossroads near Netzarim settlement. They
tried to escape the gunfire from the Israeli army [who
were there] because there were Palestinian youths throwing
stones protesting against the killing at al-Aqsa Mosque
the day before, following the provocative visit of the
extremist Ariel Sharon to the Mosque on Thursday 28th
September 2000.
So the father
took his son by the hand and crossed a piece of land to go
around away from the clashes, but suddenly found
themselves caught in the middle between the stone-throwers
and Palestinian troops from one side, and the Israeli army
from the other side. There was very heavy gunfire,
especially from the Israeli soldiers on top of the
military post. The father pulled his son behind a cement
block and tried continuously to protect him with his own
body. First the father was hit with a bullet in his right
leg. He shouted from the pain and the child cried with
fear. Then the father was shot again in his right thigh,
and he shouted for help. Then the child was shot in his
right foot.
They were both
bleeding and crying and holding each other. The child
assured his father that he was fine, but the gunfire
became heavier and heavier. The father shouted again and
again begging for help, but his voice and cries vanished,
and they remained there crying and bleeding for more than
forty minutes. No one dared to come near them inside the
circle of death. The shooting continued extensively like
rain. Eight bullets hit the body of the father, and one
bullet hit the heart of Mohammed. The father could no
longer protect his son, but there was no need for it
anymore. He gathered his remaining strength and shouted:
"My son has died, my son is dead, please help
me!" but no one heard him.
The father
managed somehow to use his mobile phone to call one of his
relatives (his brother in law, Sami) who was a journalist
covering the clashes at that site. Sami called an
ambulance from the Palestinian Red Crescent. But when the
driver of the ambulance, called Bassam al-Belbesi, 45
years, crossed the road to carry Mohammed to the
ambulance, he was shot and killed by the Israeli army. So
Mohammed is now a martyr, and his father has been
transferred to Amman for medical treatment. He is in
critical condition. Mohammed's mother is in total shock
and suffers from a nervous breakdown."
Case #2 -
Samer Tabenjeh, killed by an Israeli helicopter
12-year-old Samer
Tabenjeh died after being shot by an Israeli helicopter in
Nablus. Samer's family said that he loved airplanes of all
kinds, so that when he heard the sounds of an Israeli Cobra
military helicopter flying overhead, he rushed outside to
see it, like many other children in the area. Outside,
however, Samer was cut down by gunfire from the helicopter,
which struck him in the abdomen, killing him instantly. His
aunt, who had remained indoors, heard the cries of the other
children who had witnessed Samer's death.
Case #3 -
Iyad al-Khashashi, killed by an Israeli Sniper
17-year-old Iyad
Al-Khashashi was found dead in a building near Jerusalem
road in Nablus. It is likely that Iyad was shot by an
Israeli sniper who saw him hiding in the building. It is
obvious that the unarmed Iyad, from his position, could not
have posed a serious enough threat to warrant such
targeting, even if he was throwing stones. Iyad's body was
only discovered after his family spent the night searching
for him at all the hospitals and police stations in the
area.
Case #4 -
Mohammed Nabil Ali Hamed, 14 years old, killed by an Israeli
sniper
14-year-old Mohammed
Nabil Ali Hamed was killed by an Israeli sniper at the road
junction north of al-Bireh. Relatives of Mohammed said that
he had spoken to his father, who was traveling to Kuwait,
only two hours previously. Mohammed had asked his father on
the phone to bring him new pajamas from Kuwait.
Other
children and boys killed in the clashes:
- Khaled Adli al-Bazyan, 14
years old, from Nablus
- Hussam Naim Bakhit, 15
years old, from Balata Camp near Nablus
- Nizar Mohammed Eida, 15
years old, from Deir-Ammar near Ramallah
- Khaled Hamid
"al-Souri", 16 years old, from Rafah
- Mohammed Jaber Rabi, 10
years old, from Rafah
- Mohammed Nawaf Abu-Owemer,
13 years old, from Deir-el-Balah
- Sarah Abdel-Azim Hasan, 2
years old, from Qasra village near Nablus
- Wa'el Tayseer al-Qatawi,
15 years old, from Balata Camp near Nablus
- Amjad Maher al-Zarei, 17
years old, from Jenin
- Musleh Hussein Ibrahim Jarad,
16 years old, from Deir-el-Balah
- Sami Fathi Taramsi, 17
years old, from Gaza
Conclusion
Children are
particularly vulnerable in situations of armed conflict. As
such, special care must be taken to ensure their safety and
well-being. The number of child fatalities in the recent
conflicts, whether they have occurred by accident, or at the
hands of Israeli snipers, are a direct violation of
international human rights law and must be stopped. The
PHRMG calls for Israeli officials to recognize their
obligations to uphold the rights stated in the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other
international standards and take immediate steps to prevent
further child casualties.
PHRMG
Jerusalem, 4 October 2000
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