Press Release
Palestinian Human Rights NGOs Condemn Criminal Killings in Beit Hanoun and Call for International Investigation

8 November 2006

The Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) committed an appalling act of mass murder in Beit Hanoun today, one day after their redeployment inside the town. At dawn, the IOF fired 11 artillery shells on six homes in the town, killing 18 civilians, including seven children and six women. 53 others were wounded, including 25 children and 12 women. With this attack, the number of Palestinians who have been killed since the beginning of the IOF operation in Beit Hanoun on 1 November 2006 has reached 77.

Initial first-hand information obtained by the undersigned organizations indicates that at approximately 5:30 am today, Wednesday, 8 November 2006, the IOF fired 11 artillery shells, striking six houses while their inhabitants were sleeping. The houses were identified as being owned by Mas'oud, Sa'ad, Akram, Hussein and Ashraf Al Athamneh, all five of whom are brothers; Abdul-Hadi and Jamal Al Kafarneh, also brothers; and Saqer Udwan. All of the houses were located in Hamad Street in Beit Hanoun. It is notable that 16 of the victims come from one family the Al Athamneh family.

As Palestinian human rights organizations, we strongly condemn this outrageous crime and stress that it is but another example of the ongoing excessive use of force and the targeting of civilians and civilian objects by the IOF. Moreover, the human rights organizations stress that this brutality occurs in the general context of Israel's lack of respect for the principles of distinction, proportionality and military necessity. This crime illustrates the extent to which the IOF ignores the prohibition in international humanitarian law (IHL) on targeting civilians and civilian property, as well as the obligation to provide them with full protection.

The undersigned organizations emphasize that the silence of the international community, when such crimes have been committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in the past, has only encouraged the IOF to show even more disregard for its obligations under IHL and for civilian life, as illustrated by this crime.

The undersigned organizations also emphasize that the IOF's conduct in Beit Hanoun today constitutes a war crime under international criminal law. We warn against Israeli attempts to mislead and distract the international community and public in order to evade accountability. Hence, the undersigned organizations call on:
1. The UN Security Council to convene an emergency session to examine the situation in the OPT, and dispatch a mission to investigate crimes of the IOF since the start of its military operations in Beit Hanoun;
2. The UN General Assembly to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and take effective action to ensure protection for the Palestinian people in OPT;
3. The UN Human Rights Council to dispatch a fact finding team to inspect this outrageous crime and the breaches by the IOF of human rights law and IHL; to dispatch the relevant special rapporteurs to the OPT to investigate the recent human rights violations without delay.
4. The international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to condemn this crime and to undertake effective action to end the IOF violations of the basic rights of Palestinian civilians; to provide effective protection for them; and to call for an emergency meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention to look into mechanisms for the full implementation of the Convention in the OPT;
5. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to take action towards ending the gross violations of human rights in the OPT, in line with its mandate.
6. International human rights organizations to condemn this crime, investigate it fully, and apply pressure to ensure that it is submitted to an objective and in-depth international investigation.

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights
Jerusalem Legal Aid Center (JLAC)
Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling
Ensan Center
Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies
Defense Children International-Palestine
Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens Rights
Al Haq: Law in the Service of Man
Al Dameer Association for Human Rights
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights