JERUSALEM, February 3, 2016 (WAFA) – Three Palestinians have been fatally shot by Israeli police in Jerusalem, after they purportedly attacked with gunfire and knives Israeli policemen outside Bab al-Amoud Gate in Jerusalem, seriously injuring two Israeli policewomen, according to local sources.
An Israeli police report stated that two policewomen were seriously wounded in the gunfire and stabbing attacks carried out by three Palestinians identified as Ahmad Rajeh Zakarneh, Mohammad Ahmad Kmail, and Ahmad Najeh Abur-Rob.
The three are from the town of Qabatia, south of Jenin in northern West Bank.
WAFA correspondent said that, shortly after the incident, Israeli police sealed off Bab al-Amoud area, along with all the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City. Police reportedly attacked Palestinian locals present there with teargas canisters and stun grenades.
On January 26th, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it was "human nature" for Palestinians to react violently to Israel‘s nearly 50-year military occupation.
Speaking at the UN Security Council‘s Middle East debate, Ban said the new year had begun as 2015 ended, “with unacceptable levels of violence and a polarized public discourse across the spectrum in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.”
He added that Israeli security measures were failing to “address the profound sense of alienation and despair driving some Palestinians – especially young people.”
Today’s killings bring up the number of Palestinians who were shot dead by Israeli fire since the beginning of unrest in the occupied territories in early October 2015 to at least 168, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
On the 25th of November, the Israeli human rights center, B’Tselem, sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “demanding a cessation of the use of lethal force against people who either harmed, tried to harm, or were suspected of trying to harm others, once they no longer posed any danger. The letter demanded an end to the horrific string of summary street executions.”
In the letter, B’Tselem Executive Director, Hagai El-Ad, wrote, “During your term of office, a new pseudo-normative reality has effectively emerged, in which a “shoot to kill” approach must always be adopted, no matter the circumstances, even when the suspect no longer poses any danger whatsoever.”
“The wave of attacks against Israelis is appalling. Security forces must protect the public. They must use the force necessary under the circumstances to achieve this goal. However, police officers and soldiers must not act as judges and executioners. The person who actually pulls the trigger bears responsibility for his or her actions, but the prevailing “spirit” is determined by the commander. As prime minister, you bear ultimate responsibility,” said the letter.
The letter stressed that, [Netanyahu’s] government permits – and encourages – the transformation of police officers, and even of armed civilians, into judges and executioners.”
“It is impossible to bring back to life those who have already been shot and killed, but it is not too late to stop the moral bankruptcy that is embodied in the current reality.”
“You bear an obligation to clarify immediately that no one has the authority to carry out an execution, and that the function of the security forces is to protect the public’s wellbeing – no less, but also no more – and that police officers are not to be transformed into executioners on the street,” concluded the letter.
M.N./T.R.
