Israeli troops intentionally killing Palestinians in West Bank, says Amnesty International; Israel denies ...

Israeli troops intentionally killing Palestinians in West Bank, says Amnesty International; Israel denies claim - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Email Israeli troops intentionally killing Palestinians in West Bank, says Amnesty International; Israel denies claimThe World TodayBy Middle East correspondent Hayden Cooper UpdatedFebruary 28, 2014 00:57:42

Photo:A regular Friday clash between Israeli security forces and Palestinian youths, near Kedumim, in the West Bank.(Four Corners: Sylvie Le Clezio)Related Story:Israel accused of targeting Palestinian children in intelligence gatheringRelated Story:Israel acknowledges criticism of arrests of Palestinian childrenMap:Israel Amnesty International is accusing Israel of carrying out the wilful killing of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. A new report alleges that many of the 45 Palestinians killed in the past three years posed no threat to Israeli forces and that troops displayed a harrowing pattern of unlawful behaviour. Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa, Philip Luther, says the case of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy shot dead during a protest is one of the worst examples. He says the organisation's research shows the boy was running away when he was hit. "Medical reports, eyewitness accounts all point to Samir Awad, a 16-year-old, having been shot twice in the back as he was fleeing back to his village," Mr Luther said. "The evidence points to him having been wilfully killed. A wilful killing is a grave breach of international law and would amount to a war crime. "What this report documents is a really worrying pattern of unlawful killings." Amnesty said 22 Palestinians had been killed in the past year. Mr Luther said every case Amnesty had documented in the report showed that Israeli forces were using grossly excessive force when faced with protests. "We're acknowledging in the report that some of those protests are peaceful, some of those protests

become violent," he said. "The question is how the Israeli forces respond to that violence. "In the vast majority of cases when that violence happens it is stone-throwing youths and our analysis is that they have not been posing a serious threat to life and that grossly excessive force was used and therefore the killings were unlawful." Force in line with rules of engagement: Israel Israeli defence force chief spokesperson Peter Lerner says Amnesty's claims are inaccurate and misleading. "The situation that we face, we use the force in a manner that is in line with the rules of engagement [and] enables us to utilise all of the tools of riot dispersal. "[It] means we go through a whole procedure before we reach any sort of extreme measures," he said. "It's a huge challenge but as I said, the Palestinian violence, whether it's Molotov cocktails, these are fire bombs that if they hit you you're dead. "That's the reality and that is a clear and present threat that you have to take it out of the equation. That is what we are facing. "We do take this business seriously. Nothing is automatic, no automated machines, everything is run, reviewed and when required, when necessary, we carry out investigations quick ways to make money online and people do pay the price when they're wrong." Lieutenant colonel Lerner says he knows of two instances where soldiers have been demoted. Amnesty International says the Israeli system of internal investigations is inadequate and lacks transparency. Mr Luther wants an overhaul of the system. "Essentially the military who perpetrated the killing are investigating themselves and that's why we believe there is such a lack of accountability. The Israeli military says the Amnesty report ignores one crucial issue: the rise in Palestinian violence. It says its troops are acting in self-defence. Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, israel, palestinian-territory-occupied First postedFebruary 27, 2014 22:25:08