Annual Report - Palestinian Center for Human Rights

y IOF. The investigation into the incident conducted by IOF concluded that Corrie
was killed "when she obstructed the operations of bulldozers" and that she was hit
"when she attempted to climb the bulldozer." The investigation also concluded that
Corrie's death "was not a result of a direct action by the bulldozer rather because of a
hill of sand pushed by the bulldozer, which covered her, so there is no reason to take
disciplinary measures against the soldiers who were involved in the incident."
These cases are a clear indicator of the impunity afforded to Israeli soldiers in the
OPT, which encourages them to perpetrate more crimes against Palestinian civilians
and property and to act freely, without being accountable.
The latest of such crimes took place in Jenin on 3 November 2005, when IOF fired at
11-year-old Ahmed al-Khatib when was playing with his friends on the first day of
the Eid al-Futr. He was wounded by two live bullets to the head and the abdomen.
The child died from his injuries in an Israeli Hospital on 5 November. IOF claimed
that the child was killed by mistake, as the soldiers thought that a toy gun he was
holding was a real gun, and so they shot him. The child's father refuted this claim and
asserted that his child was not holding a toy gun. There is no indication that IOF have
initiated a serious investigation into this case.
13-year-old 'Adli Tantawi, from 'Askar refugee camp in Nablus, was shot dead by
IOF on 2 October 2005, while he was near his home. IOF claimed that they shot him
because they suspected him of shooting at them. However, preliminary investigations
conducted by IOF proved that the shooting was in violation of instructions, which had
stated that that the child was not armed and did not pose any threat to the lives of
Israeli soldiers (according to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz, 2 October 2005). The Israeli
"Civil Administration" phoned the family and apologized for the death of the child,
promising to initiate an investigation into his death. However, there has been no
indication that IOF have initiated an investigation into the child's death.
It is worth noting that the most severe sentence issued against an Israeli soldier,
convicted of killing civilians during the Intifada, was that issued against a soldier who
was convicted of killing Thomas Hurndall in Rafah in April 2003; the soldier was
sentenced to 8 years in prison. Sentences against soldiers are very rare in these cases.
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