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One Year
Assassination Policy
One year ago, on Thursday 9 November
2000, Fatah commander Hussein Abayat was killed in Beit
Sahour when an Israeli military helicopter fired missiles at
his jeep in broad daylight. At the time the Israeli military
establishment congratulated its troops for a well-executed
operation – which also killed two women standing by the side
of the road – and rejected widespread criticism of this
extra-judicial killing.
This precision strike opened up a new chapter in the
confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli security
forces. To date, 59 Palestinians have been killed in
Israel’s policy of assassinations, including 38 targeted
victims and 21 bystanders or so-called “collateral damage,”
as Israel continues to ignore international condemnation of
the policy.
The PHRMG strongly condemns the assassination policy for the
following reasons:
• State enforcement 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.
Resistance to occupation in accordance with the laws of war
does not constitute illegal activities under international
law.
• Equally unacceptable is the death of innocent bystanders,
from which the Israeli policy of assassinations has been far
from immune. About 35% of the fatalities in these operations
were probably not intentionally targeted.
• The policy is 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 Israel’s
inner security cabinet allowing the killing of “known
terrorists” even if they are not on the verge of committing
a major attack. However, Israel has applied this term
liberally 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. The latest opinion poll conducted by the JMCC
(www.jmcc.org) reveals that Palestinians consider the
assassination policy to be the most harmful aspect of the
al-Aqsa intifada, ranking higher than closures, shelling,
shootings, incursions into Area A and settler violence.
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