Killing of Palestinians triples

Source: Aljazeera, 29-12-2006
From January to December 2006, the "Israeli" military killed 655 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, according to the "Israeli" human rights group B`Tselem - a huge rise on last year.
The defining moment was the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, on June 26, after which the number of Palestinian civilians killed increased greatly.
Sarit Michaeli, communications director of B`Tselem, said: "Following the kidnapping of Corporal Shalit, "Israel" staged several operations inside Gaza where "Israeli" forces killed 405 Palestinians over six months."
Over the same period, violations against "Israelis" dropped considerably.
One issue relating to the rise in the number of Palestinians killed has been the increased "Israeli" military activity against Qassam rockets fired from the Palestinian territories.
"Of the number of Palestinians killed during 2006, over half weren`t participating in any hostile activity at all," Michaeli said.
"The number of Palestinian deaths, in total, went up by over three times."
Last year, the number of Palestinians killed was 197 throughout the territories.
"Israeli" rocket fire
"Most Palestinians were killed during military operations related to hitting Qassam rocket launchers in the territories, which end up killing civilians (settlers)," Michaeli said.
Production of Qassam rockets began in September 2001, after the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada.
Michaeli also said: "There have been a couple of concrete cases where `Israel` attempted to assassinate Palestinian leaders, but ended up killing civilians.
"When a rocket hits an area, civilians naturally rush in to help the victims of the first missile, but end up dead from the second missile strike."
Disproportionate force
In the West bank, B`Tselem documents that many Palestinians have been killed by disproportionate force.
"Where `Israeli` soldiers are saying they're undertaking targeted killings (assassinations), they are actually using lethal force against non-combatants," Michaeli said.
"`Israeli` soldiers have killed people that present no danger to them. A 28-year-old labourer in the West Bank was shot dead while working his trade, for example.
"In Nablus, a group of children were throwing stones at `Israeli` tanks, and a group of soldiers shot directly at them. These are not primarily combat situations."
Attacks against non-combatants represent a clear contravention of international humanitarian law, he said.
Decline in Israeli deaths
The number of "Israelis" killed by Palestinians so far this year was 17. Last year the number was 41.
"This has more than halved for a number of reasons," Michaeli said.
Factors included "disengagement from Gaza in August, the evacuation of settlers, the barrier (Apartheid Fence), and the fact that that "Israelis" have developed a greater capacity for thwarting self-sacrifice attacks", he said.
Air strike phenomenon
A new phenomenon in Gaza this year was the demolition of homes from the air. About 80 homes were demolished using this method.
"Israel" demolished 292 houses during military operations in the territories, 279 of which were in the Gaza Strip. These were home to 1,769 people.
According to a number of sources, a 15- to 30-minute warning is given by telephone before homes are demolished by air-to-ground rocket strikes.
"`Israel` tries to justify these attacks by claiming that these houses are military targets," Michaeli said. "That there are weapons there, or attacks being planned there.
"But concrete evidence isn`t given due to fears of compromising intelligence."
As of last month, "Israel" held 9,075 Palestinians, including 345 minors, in custody. Of these, 738 (22 minors) were held in administrative detention without trial and without knowing the charges against them.