Mrs RADHIKA COOMARSASWAMY, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict,
Dr. YAKIN ERTURK, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women,
Your Excellencies,
I am writing to express my deep concern about the killings of Suhaib Yasser Ahmed Saleh, 14; Miriam Ahmed ‘Ali ‘Ayad, 56, by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
· On 20 September 2008, in the early morning, IOF shot dead a Palestinian child from Southern ‘Assira village, south of Nablus. They claimed that they shot a Palestinian who was about to set fire to a Molotov cocktail and throw it at IOF troops positioned near “Yitzhar” settlement.
According to investigations conducted by Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, at approximately 05:30, six gunshots were heard in the east of Southern ‘Assira village, south of Nablus. At approximately 08:30, Israeli media sources reported that a Palestinian had been killed near “Yitzhar” settlement. The body was moved to Rafidya Hospital in Nablus, where the victim was identified as Suhaib Yasser Ahmed Saleh, 14. According to medical sources, he was killed by a gunshot that entered the left shoulder and penetrated the chest, and another one to the right leg. The child was killed nearly 700 meters way from the settlement.
· On 20 September 2008, at approximately 22:00, IOF moved into Abu Dis town, east of Jerusalem. They besieged a 2-storey house belonging to ‘Abdul Karim Mohammed ‘Ayad. IOF troops broke into the building to search for allegedly wanted Palestinians. Miriam Ahmed ‘Ali ‘Ayad, 56, came out of her flat on the first floor to check what was going on. IOF troops ordered her to turn the lights on. IOF troops searched the flat. When they headed up to the second floor, ‘Ayad asked them to wait because her daughter-in-law and her 3 children were sleeping. When she took one of the children out of the apartment, IOF troops fired 2 gunshots at the stairs. She asked them to wait and not to shoot inside the house. An IOF soldier violently pushed her down the stairs. She fell, and hit her head violently. She lay bleeding and motionless. According to the woman’s daughter, IOF troops prevented her family from giving her medical aid. An IOF doctor later checked her. When he confirmed she was dead, IOF allowed her body to be evacuated to the hospital.
As you are well aware, Israel has equal obligations to protect human rights, including the right to life, under the terms of major UN human rights treaties which it has ratified and which it is obliged to uphold. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
I therefore
call upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their legal and moral obligations under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure Israel's respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The conspiracy of silence practiced by the international community has encouraged Israel to act as if it is above the law and encourages Israel continue to violate international human rights and humanitarian law.
call upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to convene a conference to take effective steps to ensure Israel's respect of the Convention in the OPT and to provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians.
call upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to comply with its legal obligations detailed in Article 146 of the Convention to search for and prosecute those responsible for grave breaches, namely war crimes.
Yours sincerely,
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