B'Tselem report: Crowd Control: Israel's Use of Crowd Control ...

Crowd Control Crowd Control Weapons in the West Bankagencies in other countries use means of crowd control that do not involve thescattering and imprecision inherent to the rubber cylinders. 53Following the Commission’s recommendations, the Israel Police prohibiteduse of rubber-coated bullets within Israel, barring exceptional cases for whichthe Chief Police Commissioner’s authorization must be obtained. 54 No suchprohibition was imposed on the operation of Israeli security forces in the WestBank and the Gaza Strip. 55Regulations BreachedB’Tselem’s examination shows that military and Border Police personnelsystematically breach the existing orders and fire rubber-coated bulletseven under circumstances prohibited by these orders. B’Tselem hasdocumented incidents in which Israeli security forces fired rubber-coatedbullets from a shorter range than that permitted, an action that couldprove lethal, because when hit from a short range, the rubber coatingtends to split open, and the metal core can penetrate the body. B'Tselemalso documented firing at minors, at the upper torso, at passersbyor at demonstrators who had not been throwing stones and did not pose adanger to security forces. In some cases, commanders, including high-rankingofficers, knew of the unlawful firing and explicitly allowed it. 5653 Ibid., § 62.54 Police Procedure, § 3(d)g.55 Orr Commission Report, § 57.56 For more on the subject, see “B’Tselem to Attorney General Mazuz: Stop Reckless Firing of Rubber-Coated Metal Bullets,” 1 September 2008, http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/2008090125