Since Land Day of this year (30 March 2018), Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been regularly holding mass protests by the Gaza perimeter fence, with numbers of protesters ranging from hundreds of individuals to tens of thousands. During the demonstrations, which are usually held on Fridays, some protesters torch tires and throw stones at Israeli troops on the other side of the fence. The forces fire tear gas and live ammunition at the protesters. In just over six months since this wave of mass protest began, Israeli forces have killed at least 166 people, including 31 minors, and injured more than 5,300 with live fire. Most of the casualties were not endangering the forces, who were on the other side of the fence.
Such a high number of casualties is a direct outcome of the open-fire policy that Israel employs along the Gaza perimeter fence, including during demonstrations held near the fence. Although the lethal outcomes of this criminal policy are well-known, Israeli authorities refuse to change it, remaining indifferent to the lives and deaths of Palestinians. In fact, the prime minister and his government prefer to continue this hardline approach (with cabinet members arguing over the numbers – the minister of defense boasts of the many dead wounded while the minister of education demands even higher numbers). The military executes this political directive, even safeguarding it with whitewashing mechanisms that ensure that, with the exception of very rare cases, no one will be held accountable for killing Palestinians.
Following are a sampling of testimonies B’Tselem collected in its investigation of the deaths of four out of the 31 minors killed until 8 October 2018.
The killing of ‘Iz a-Din a-Samak (13) east of al-Bureij Refugee Camp, 14 May 2018
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‘Iz a-Din a-Samak, 13. Photo courtesy of the family
On Monday, 14 May 2018, at around 8:00 A.M., three boys – ‘Iz a-Din a-Samak (13), Hareth a-Samak (14) and Ibrahim al-Hur (14) – from al-Bureij R.C. headed to a demonstration held by the perimeter fence, east of the camp. They sat down on a dirt pile about 300 meters away from the fence, near the protest tents, and watched the demonstrators. ‘Iz a-Din was shot in the abdomen and died of his wounds in hospital.
Hareth a-Samak, a relative of ‘Iz a-Din’s, gave his testimony to B’Tselem field researcher Khaled al-‘Azayzeh on 16 May. He recounted what happened that day:
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Hareth a-Samak, 14. Photo by Khaled al-‘Azayzeh, B'Tselem, 16 May 2018
At about ten o’clock in the morning, the three of us headed out there and went over to a cart filled with stones that was standing about 200 meters south of the tents. We collected a bunch of stones, put them into a cloth sack and went back. We sat down by a dirt pile about 300 meters from the fence, the Jakar Road. ‘Iz a-Din sat on the sack of stones, in front of us. Two other guys were sitting with us. Suddenly we heard live gunfire. ‘Iz a-Din raised his right arm, lowered it and stayed still. Ibrahim and I tried to pull him towards shelter with us, and then I saw there was blood pouring down his back, all the way down to his knees. He was unconscious.
Ibrahim al-Hur related in a testimony that he gave B’Tselem field researcher Khaled al-‘Azayzeh on 16 May:
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Ibrahim al-Hur, 14. Photo by Khaled al-‘Azayzeh, B'Tselem, 16 May 2018
Suddenly I heard live gunfire. I looked at ‘Iz a-Din, who was sitting in front of me. He raised his right arm, lowered it and stayed seated. I reached out to pull him away and saw that he was bleeding from the back. I realized he’d been hit. He was losing a lot of blood and it was dripping down to his knees. He couldn’t talk. He had passed out. He was taken by ambulance to Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital. My friends and I went home to tell his family. About an hour later, we were told that he’d died as a martyr while the doctors were operating on him.
‘Iz a-Din loved to play soccer and swim in the pool. He was a good swimmer and a top student, and everyone liked him. He told us that his dream was to be a famous soccer player and he was a Barca fan. I still feel he’s alive. It’s a nightmare. I can’t believe he’s gone and won’t be back. I can’t eat or sleep properly. I can’t imagine my life without him.
The medical team found that a-Samak had been injured by a bullet that entered his abdomen and exited through his back. He died in surgery.
In a testimony that his mother, Suheila a-Samak (54), a mother of eight, gave B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 29 August 2018, she said:
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Suheila a-Samak. Photo by Khaled al-‘Azayzeh, B'Tselem, 29 August 2018
‘Iz a-Din was my youngest, my little boy. In primary school he was one of the best in his class, and in high school he got very high grades. The teachers always told me he was a top student, but he preferred to play soccer in the yard with his friends. He wrote the names of the Barca players he admired on a wall at home. He was crazy about that team. He also played on the team of a nearby mosque.
When the Return Protests began, ‘Iz a-Din started taking part in the processions east of al-Bureij R.C. along with his friends and other kids from the neighborhood. He was affected by the political situation and by the blockade that Gaza’s been under for so many years. He knew, from things that his father and I told him, that we own land in the city of Jaffa, from which we were expelled by the occupation in 1948. It was important to him that the world hear the message that he, and all kids in Gaza, are suffering under the blockade and in pain over the situation.
In the first two weeks after they killed him, I went into his room only once. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I started looking at his stuff. I saw his prayer mat. I made his bed and took his clothes out of the wardrobe to smell him, and put them away again. I hugged his pillow and started crying on his bed.
He’s never out of my mind, not even for a second. I sit outside the house and wonder, might he walk in? Sometimes, when I look at his picture on the wall, I can’t believe he was killed. I tell myself that he’s not dead. But then my head starts throbbing and I feel as if someone’s telling me that he really is a martyr now. When I go to sleep, I remember how he used to stroke my face and say: I want to sleep next to you.
Today was the first day of school. From 6:30 in the morning, I sat outside the house and remembered how he used to go off to school. I saw his friends go by and cried. My daughter asked me what was wrong and I said it was nothing, that I felt suffocated and stunned. Since they killed ‘Iz a-Din, I’ve stopped seeing people and hardly leave the house. I only go out to visit my son’s grave. When I go there, I stay about an hour and a half. I pray for his soul and recall all the phases of his development, from the time he was baby to the last few days before he was killed.
The killing of Yasser Abu a-Naja (11) north of the town of Khuza’a, 29 June 2018
On 29 June 2018, during a demonstration along the fence north of the town of Khuza’a, Israeli security forces shot Yasser Abu a-Naja, an 11-year-old from Khan Yunis, in the head while he was hiding behind a shelter improvised out of concertina wire, tires and a dumpster. According to the military, that day, Molotov cocktails were lobbed in the Khan Yunis area.
Madlen al-Aqra’, a 19-year-old journalist from Deir al-Balah, was reporting on the demonstration. She fainted after inhaling tear gas fired at the journalists and protesters, and was taken to the tent area. Some time later, she approached the fence again. In a testimony she gave B’Tselem field researcher Khaled al-‘Azayzeh on 1 July 2018, al-Aqra’ described what happened that day:
In a testimony she gave B’Tselem field researcher Khaled al-‘Azayzeh on 1 July 2018, Madlenal-Aqra’ described what happened that day:
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Madlen al-Aqra’. Photo by Khaled al-‘Azayzeh, B'Tselem, 1 July 2018
I went back out into the field to report and stood next a colleague of mine from the news agency. We were both standing behind the protesters. I looked towards the fence and saw several boys and young men taking cover behind a makeshift shelter made of a few tires and bits of barbed wire people had got hold of in previous demonstrations. They were a few dozen meters from the fence. I was a few dozen meters from their shelter. A few guys rolled tires over to another group, so they could torch them next to the fence.
At that time, around 6:50 P.M., I was looking at the shelter. I heard live gunfire and saw a kid hiding behind it fall down. He hadn’t done anything. A bunch of guys gathered around him and started shouting for an ambulance.
They helped the paramedics carry the kid on a stretcher to the ambulance. I ran over with the paramedics and filmed them live, on my cellphone, carrying him to the tent. He had been hit in the head. They tried to give him first aid and then quickly shifted him to a Red Crescent ambulance that took him to hospital.
Ahmad al-Qara (29) from Khuza’a, an administrative staff member of Al-Aqsa University in western Khan Yunis, described in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Khaled al-‘Azayzeh on 1 July 2018 what he saw at the time of the shooting:
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Ahmad al-Qara. Photo by Khaled al-‘Azayzeh, B'Tselem, 1 July 2018
At about 6:55 P.M., I saw three kids around twelve or thirteen years old hiding behind a dumpster and a pile of junk about 100 meters from the fence. There was a lot of tear gas so people were running west, but the three kids stayed put behind the dumpster with a few other guys. At the same time, I saw a soldier behind a small dirt pile. He climbed off it and onto a higher one, and then I heard a single shot. I saw one of the kids come out from behind the dumpster and walk towards me. He was checking his body. His clothes were bloodstained and I heard him shout: “Martyr… martyr”. I saw several dozen people run towards the dumpster and the guys pick up one of the two remaining kids and carry him away.
Abu a-Naja was taken to the European Hospital south of Khan Yunis, where he died of a bullet wound to the head.
The killing of ‘Othman Hiles (14) east of Gaza City, 13 July 2018
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‘Othman Hiles, 13. Photo courtesy of the family
On Friday, 13 July 2018, at around 2:00 P.M., three 14-year-olds from Gaza City – ‘Othman Hiles, ‘Abdallah al-‘Arej and Muaiad Jundiyeh – came to the protest area east of the city. Once there, they sat down at a spot about 200 to 300 meters from the fence. According to the military, that evening one of the protesters in the area hurled a grenade that moderately injured an officer.
At approximately 6:00 P.M., they decided to get closer to the fence, where several young men and two women were standing with Palestinian flags. In video footage posted on social media, Hiles is seen approaching the fence, starting to climb it and then being shot.
In a testimony that ‘Abdallahal-‘Arej gave B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 15 July 2018, he described how the incident unfolded:
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‘Abdallah al-‘Arej, 14. Photo by Olfat al-Kurd, B'Tselem, 15 July 2018
‘Othman told us to get closer to the fence so he could touch it. We got up to about twenty meters from it, where we found a few guys and some girls holding Palestinian flags. ‘Othman told me he wanted to go over to the two girls because he was stronger and braver than them, and that he would touch the fence. I told him that the military would shoot us because we’re boys, but wouldn’t shoot the girls. I said: “‘Othman, no, let’s go back, the army will snipe at us.” He didn’t listen.
A minute later, ‘Othman walked towards the fence, with me and Muaiad next to him. We got so close to the electronic fence that we could touch it. ‘Othman said to me: “I’ll touch the fence and go back, leave me be, I don’t want to go back.” I was about a meter away from him. He just managed to touch the fence and climb on to it, when the Israeli military shot live gunfire at him. He fell down. Tear gas canisters were fired and I choked up and couldn’t help him. Scared, I moved a back a little and I started shouting that ‘Othman had fallen as a martyr and that we needed a stretcher there to get him medical care. I couldn’t lift him. He was all bloody. The bullet went into his chest and out of his back.
Wael Hiles (30) from Gaza City is a relative of ‘Othman’s. In testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 24 July 2018, he described what he had seen:
At 6:00 P.M. I was about twenty meters from the perimeter fence. I saw a few girls waving Palestinian flags very close to it. A few kids went over to them. I saw them from behind and from a distance, so I didn’t recognize ‘Othman and or realize that he was one of the kids. I saw a kid climb the fence and then the Israeli military shoot him. He fell down and stopped moving. One of the bullets hit him in the chest, near the heart, and came out through the back.
As I ran over, one of the demonstrators told me that the kid who’d been sniped at was a relative of mine. I got close to ‘Othman but couldn’t get to him to help him, because he was surrounded by demonstrators trying to help him. There was a lot of blood and I immediately understood that he was dead.
The young men took Hiles to a-Shifaa Hospital in Gaza City, where he was pronounced dead.
‘Othman’s mother, Asmahan Hiles (39), a married mother of six, gave her testimony to B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 1 August 2018:
‘Othman was my third child. I didn’t like it that he went to the Return marches. He told me that he always stayed very far from the fence and that I shouldn’t worry. That evening, at exactly six o’clock, my husband Rami called and said ‘Othman had been injured at the demonstration and was being taken to a-Shifaa Hospital. I was visiting relatives and he asked me to go back home. I refused and went straight to the hospital to make sure ‘Othman was okay. On the way, I prayed to God that he wasn’t badly injured. I hoped I’d see him in bed, laughing and smiling, and then I’d say: “‘Othman, you had me so worried. See, you did get hurt.” When I got to the hospital, I heard people saying there was a martyr from the Hiles family, but I didn’t think it would be ‘Othman. I went into the ER to see him, but they wouldn’t let me near and a security guard talked to my brother-in-law who was there. I asked my brother-in-law and he said that ‘Othman was okay. Later, in the waiting room, I heard people say there was a boy martyr named ‘Othman Hiles.
I fainted. When I came to, I started crying and shouting. My brother-in-law asked me to go back home but I wouldn’t. I wanted to see ‘Othman. I went to the body refrigerator and saw his body. I cried and screamed. I told them that I wanted to stay with him and not leave him alone in the refrigerator. Then I fainted again. When I woke up, I was at home. All the women were around me, crying and keening. I asked them to take me back to ‘Othman. I told them that he was alive and that he hadn’t been killed. I started saying, “‘Othman is alone in that refrigerator now. ‘Othman is afraid of being alone. Take me there, I want to be with him. ‘Othman is a little boy. Why was he shot? How did he become a martyr?”
Ever since ‘Othman was killed, I’ve watched the footage over and over, asking myself, “What did he do that was so terrible?”. I watch the video and cry my heart out. I ask myself, how did he feel when the bullet pierced his body? Did it cause my little boy a lot of pain? How could he bear the pain of the bullet when it hit him?
It hurts so much. Saying goodbye to ‘Othman is so hard. The fact that he touched the fence had no effect on the Israeli military. He didn’t have any weapon to attack the military. He wasn’t holding a stone. He wasn’t masked. I pray to God to give me strength to carry on. My heart aches when I see his friends playing soccer in the street, and he isn’t there with them. They stole away my boy’s life and childhood. My husband and sons still can’t believe he’s gone, either. My husband says he keeps imagining that ‘Othman will open the door and just walk in any minute now. He says that without ‘Othman, our home means nothing.
I pray to God for the strength to continue without my son. I pray for his soul and hope that God will be merciful to him and take him under His wing.
The killing of Ahmad Abu Tyour (16) east of Rafah, 7 September 2018
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Ahmad Abu Tyour, 16. Photo courtesy of the family
On Friday, 7 September 2018, at approximately 6:00 P.M., a member of the Israeli security forces shot Ahmad Abu Tyour, a sixteen-year-old from Rafah, who was standing near concertina wire laid out by the military about ten to twenty meters away from the fence. At the same demonstration, protesters sent up a flaming kite that landed on an Israeli communications tower on the other side of the fence.
In video footage posted on social media and later removed, and in a video compilation posted on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Abu Tyour is seen waving to soldiers who were about ten meters away from the fence, on the other side of the fence. He is then seen picking up a stone, throwing it in their direction, waving at them again, and then getting shot in the leg.
In a testimony that Ahmad’s brother, Tamer Abu Tyour (28) – a married father of four from Rafah – gave B’Tselem field researcher Muhammad Sabah on 10 September 2018, he related what happened that day:
On Friday, 7 September 2018, at about 2:00 P.M., I walked over to eastern Rafah. When I got there, I met a few young guys and kids, including my brothers Haytham, Thaer and Munzer. My brother Ahmad was distributing tires by the fence so that when the other protesters arrived, at about 4:30-5:00, they’d set them on fire.
The protesters arrived at 5:00 and started torching tires and throwing stones at the soldiers, who responded with live gunfire and tear-gas canisters. There were soldiers on the red tower and behind dirt barriers. Some of them were snipers positioned to shoot at the protesters. There were also three jeeps with a device for firing tear-gas canisters. Some of the protesters cut the concertina wire and the fence.
I passed tires along and so did Ahmad. He also lit them. He was about twenty meters from the fence. Soldiers fired live bullets at us from the red tower. Ahmad was standing by the fence with his hands up in the air, about 25 meters away from me, when suddenly he fell down. Paramedics rushed over to him and took him away in an ambulance. I tried to get in but they wouldn’t let me. I forced my way in, and the ambulance took us to a field hospital. Ahmad said that it felt like an electrical shock. His leg was bleeding badly. He had a bullet hole above his right knee. He was carried out of the ambulance and given first aid. Our mother came to see him. I told her it was only a light injury, so she wouldn’t worry.
Then, Ahmad was taken to the European Hospital. My mother and I were with him. We stroked his face and tried to calm him down. He asked for water. When we got to the hospital, he was X-rayed and taken into the operating room. He only came out at midnight. Later, they operated on him again to suture the severed artery. We waited for him to come out. He was given several transfusions because of the bleeding. All this wasn’t enough. The next day – Saturday, 8 September, at 11:00 A.M. – he was declared a martyr.
Ahmad’s mother, ‘Aidah Abu Tyour (49), a mother of eleven, described the events of that day in a testimony she gave B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 7 October 2018:
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‘Aidah Abu Tyour. Photo by Olfat al-Kurd, B'Tselem, 7 Oct. 2018
Ahmad took part in the Return Marches from the beginning. He went there every Friday at 9:00 o’clock in the morning. I tried to stop him because I was afraid he’d get hurt, but he wouldn’t listen and said I couldn’t keep him from going. Because I was worried about him, I made a point of attending the processions every Friday.
On Friday, 7 September 2018, I didn’t see Ahmad in the morning. He had slept over at a friend’s house and come home in the morning while I was out. My daughter-in-law told me that he’d gone out to the march at nine. I had a feeling that something bad was about to happen. I kept asking about Ahmad. I decided to go to the march and got there at 4:30 P.M. I asked one of the young guys about Ahmad. He told me that he was by the fence and was fine. I couldn’t get closer because there were a lot of demonstrators and the soldiers were firing tear gas and live bullets. I prayed that Ahmad would come home safe and sound. I was very worried about him because of the intensive shooting.
At around 5:00 P.M., I was sitting with some other women when a young masked guy came up to me and said: “Your son Ahmad has been hit, he was in the ambulance that just drove by.” I rushed after the ambulance to the medical tent. I found Ahmad inside, lying on a bed, with doctors bandaging his leg. I said: “Thank God the bullet only hit him in the leg.” He was screaming and yelling in pain. I said to him: “Ahmad, thank God, it’s a light injury, it’s your leg.” He yelled and said: “There’s electricity going through my leg.”
On Saturday morning, I went home to pick up some things and then go back to Ahmad. I had a feeling he’d be in hospital for a long time. Suddenly, I got a call from my son Tamer. He asked me to come to the hospital. I asked him if Ahmad was okay and he said he was. At the hospital, I asked Tamer again and he said that Ahmad was all right. I said he was keeping something from me and that something was wrong with Ahmad. I asked his brother Iyad, and he told me that Ahmad’s heart had stopped twice during surgery and that he had fluid in his lungs. Just then I asked a doctor about Ahmad. He told me that they needed thirty blood units for him because he was bleeding heavily and it still hadn’t stopped. I immediately called Ahmad’s friends and asked them to come give him blood.
I sat down by the entrance to the operating room, hoping to get good news. At about 11:00 A.M., a doctor came out and called: “Abu Tyour.” I went over with my sons Iyad and Munzer. The doctor wouldn’t let me in the room. My sons came out of the room shouting: “Ahmad fell as a martyr.” I started shouting and begged the doctors: “Please, let me in, I want to see Ahmad.” I went in and saw Ahmad lying on the bed. His face and legs were pale. I hugged him and kissed him all over, crying all the time.
It was the hardest day of my life. I wish I’d seen Ahmad that morning, before he went to the demonstration. I so much want to say to him: “Take care, don’t go near the fence, I want to see you back home in the evening, and have dinner with you and your brothers. I want you to tell me what happened at the march.” He left me in sorrow and pain. I still can’t believe Ahmad was martyred and that I’ll never see him again. When I’m at home, I feel him laughing by my side. Ahmad loved to listen to dahiya dance music and dance the dabkeh. Since he died, I haven’t been able to hear dahiya songs because they remind me of him. I keep watching the footage of his injury over and over again, despite the pain. His crying out still pain me. I wish I’d taken the bullet instead of him.
‘Othman Hiles: On 21 August 2018, the IDF Spokesperson stated that a criminal investigation had been launched. On 28 October 2019, the media reported that on 26 October the shooting soldier was convicted of abuse of authority to the point of risking life or health as part of a plea bargain. He was sentenced to 30 days of military community work, a suspended prison sentence and a demotion to the rank of private.
‘Iz a-Din a-Samak: On 26 April 2020, the MAG Corps informed the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) that a criminal investigation had been launched.
Unwilling and Unable Israel’s Whitewashed Investigations of the Great March of Return Protests In a joint report published today, the Palestinian Centre for Human rights (PCHR) and B’Tselem analyze the investigations Israel claims to have conducted following the Great March of Return protests, which were held for about a year and a half in the Gaza Strip as of March 2018. The report shows how Israel worked to whitewash the truth and protect the political and military officials responsible – instead of taking action against the individuals who devised and implemented the unlawful open-fire policy, which resulted in the killing of more than 200 Palestinians and the injury of some 8,000 others. Israel was quick to announce it is investigating the protests, primarily due to the proceedings underway at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The reason for the announcement lies with one of the ICC’s guiding principles – the principle of complementarity, which means the Court will assert jurisdiction only when the state in question is “unwilling or unable” to carry out its own investigation. Once a state has investigated the incidents, the Court will not intervene. However, declaring an investigation is underway is not enough to stave off intervention by the ICC. The investigation must be effective, be directed at the higher-ranking officials responsible for devising and implementing the policy, and lead to action against them. Israel’s investigations in relation to the Gaza protests do not meet these requirements. They consist entirely of the military investigating itself and have not examined the unlawful open-fire policy regulations handed down to security forces or the policies implemented during the protests. Instead, they focus exclusively on lower-ranking soldiers and on the question of whether they acted contrary to these illegal orders. Moreover, while the protests were taking place, Israel’s Supreme Court heard petitions contesting the legality of the open-fire policy. The justices dismissed the petitions and allowed the military to continue employing this policy. However, it did not uphold the regulations being implemented in the field – as these were never presented to the Court. The Court only approved the regulations that the state claimed the military was following, ignoring the glaring disparity between the state’s claims and reality on the ground. By the time the petitions were heard, dozens of protesters had been killed and almost 2,000 injured. The military law enforcement system has fallen short of fulfilling even the limited role assigned to it – investigating “exceptional incidents” only. The military arbitrarily decided to investigate only cases in which security forces had killed Palestinians, providing no explanation for this decision. The thousands of incidents in which Palestinians were injured – some so gravely they were left paralyzed or had to undergo amputations – were left uninvestigated. The number of people wounded in these protests is almost unfathomable: a total of 13,457 Palestinians, 8,079 of them wounded by live fire, 2,424 by rubber-coated metal bullets, and 2,954 by tear gas canisters that hit them directly. Of the wounded, 155 suffered injuries resulting in amputation. None of these injuries is being investigated. According to figures the IDF Spokesperson supplied B’Tselem, as of 25 April 2021, the General Staff Mechanism for Fact-Finding Assessments had received 234 cases in which Palestinians were killed. This figure includes Palestinians who were killed during the period in which the protests were held, but with no connection to them. The Mechanism completed its review in 143 of these cases and transferred them to the Military Advocate General (MAG) Corps. The MAG ordered the Military Police Investigation Unit (MPIU) to investigate 33 of the cases, as well as three other cases not handled by the Mechanism. In four cases, the investigation was closed with no action taken. The MAG opted not to criminally investigate 95 cases in which the Mechanism had completed its review, and closed the files with no further action. All other cases transferred to the MAG are ongoing. Only one MPIU investigation – into the killing of 14-year-old ‘Othman Hiles – resulted in an indictment being filed against a soldier. He was convicted in a plea bargain of the minor disciplinary offense of “abuse of authority to the point of endangering life or health” and sentenced to one month’s military community service. Government-level officials, the Attorney General, the Supreme Court judges, the MAG and other senior military officials are responsible for devising the unlawful open-fire policy and for its implementation. They are the ones who should be investigated and held accountable for its lethal outcomes. The investigations conducted by Israel are no more than a smokescreen designed – according to Israel – to protect the officials responsible from the ICC. In fact, they prove the opposite: that Israel is unwilling and unable to investigate the human rights abuses carried out by its security forces during the Great March of Return protests in the Gaza Strip. Considering this, the responsibility to ensure accountability for these violations now lies with the ICC.
A joint report by the Palestinian Centre for Human rights (PCHR) and B’Tselem which analyzes the investigations Israel claims to have conducted following the Great March of Return protests, which were held for about a year and a half in the Gaza Strip as of March 2018. The report shows how Israel worked to whitewash the truth and protect the political and military officials responsible – instead of taking action against the individuals who devised and implemented the unlawful open-fire policy, which resulted in the killing of more than 200 Palestinians and the injury of some 8,000 others.
On Saturday, 21 August 2021, a demonstration was held near the perimeter fence east of Gaza city, marking the 52nd anniversary of the al-Aqsa Mosque arson attack. The barrier, which Israel has been expanding in recent years, is reportedly made of a concrete wall starting dozens of meters underground. Above ground, in that area, it consists of a concrete wall several meters high topped by a metal fence. During the demonstration, some of the protesters burned tires, threw stones, and hurled explosives at members of the Israeli security forces standing on the other side of the fence, who fired live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets, and tear gas canisters at them, injuring 41 protesters, including 22 minors, according to figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Two of the wounded died in the following days — Osama D'eij (31), a Hamas military wing operative from Jabalya Refugee Camp, died of his wounds on 25 August 2021, and ‘Omar Abu a-Nil (13) from Gaza City died of his wounds on 28 August 2021. Two days later, Bar’el Hadaria Shmueli (21), an Israeli Border Police officer from Be’er Yaakov who was shot during the demonstration by a Palestinian standing on the other side of the fence, died of his wounds. On the day of the demonstration, Abu a-Nil came to the area in the afternoon. At around 5:30 P.M., he went up to a distance of about 100 meters from the fence. While standing and watching the protest, he was hit by a live bullet in the neck. Abu a-Nil was taken by other protesters to an ambulance that took him to a-Shifaa Hospital, where he was treated until his death on 28 August 2021. Abu a-Nil is the 226th person killed in demonstrations near the Gaza perimeter fence since the March of Return protests began in March 2018, and the 48th minor. Israeli security forces' open-fire policy, which permits the use of live fire against protesters, the vast majority of whom are unarmed and who do not pose a risk to the well-protected forces on the other side of the fence, is unlawful and unjustified. Nevertheless, and despite the hundreds of people killed and thousands wounded by live fire, Israel continues to implement this lethal policy, which is likely to kill or injure many other Palestinian protesters. Abu a-Nil’s neighbor, Anas al-Ghafri (18), arrived at the demonstration at around 3:30 P.M. About an hour and a half later he advanced to a distance of about 100 meters from the fence, where Abu a-Nil joined him some 20 minutes later. In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Muhammad Sabah on 31 August 2021, al-Ghafri recounted: : About 20 minutes after I went towards the fence, my neighbor ‘Omar Abu a-Nil arrived at 5:30 and stood next to me. ‘Omar asked me, “Why are you afraid to go down?” I slapped him and told him to go back. He didn’t and even went a few more meters towards the fence while eating sunflower seeds. Suddenly, I saw him fall to the ground. I thought he’d tripped, but then I saw young guys and teens crowding around him and that he was bleeding. When they picked him up, I saw entry and exit wounds in his neck. About 20 minutes after I went towards the fence, my neighbor ‘Omar Abu a-Nil arrived at 5:30 and stood next to me. ‘Omar asked me, “Why are you afraid to go down?” I slapped him and told him to go back. He didn’t and even went a few more meters towards the fence while eating sunflower seeds. Suddenly, I saw him fall to the ground. I thought he’d tripped, but then I saw young guys and teens crowding around him and that he was bleeding. When they picked him up, I saw entry and exit wounds in his neck. The young guys took him to an ambulance, and I rode with him. On the way to a-Shifaa Hospital, he was resuscitated and given first aid. I called ‘Omar’s uncle and told him he’d been wounded. When we got there, they put ‘Omar in the ICU and tried to resuscitate him. Then his family arrived, and his father blacked out when he saw his son in the ICU. I stayed at the hospital until 10:00 P.M. and then went home. A.Z. (36), a resident of Gaza City, went to the demonstration in the afternoon to document it as part of his work as a freelance photographer. In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Muhammad Sabah on 28 September 2021, he described what happened: During the demonstration, hundreds of young men, teens, and children approached the fence to throw stones at the occupation forces. They pulled at the fence’s net and damaged it and then burned tires. The soldiers fired tear gas canisters, followed by warning shots in the air. When the stone-throwing intensified, the soldiers fired live rounds at the protesters. I saw two protesters wounded by the shooting and others suffocating from the gas. While I was standing and filming the protesters, I saw a teen fall to the ground in front of me, about 30 to 40 meters away from me towards the fence and about 100 meters from the fence. The young men picked him up right away and took him to an ambulance. I was in shock and didn’t manage to take his picture. He was hit in the neck and bleeding. I followed the young men who had taken him to find out how he was doing, and then he was taken to the hospital. I went back to the demonstration for a while, and saw my friend ‘Assem Shhadeh get hit in the right side of his jaw by shrapnel and fall. I took his picture. Meanwhile, I heard shots from our side towards the fence. It sounded like a handgun. Then I left the area. In a testimony she gave B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 31 August 2021, ‘Omar’s mother, Iman (40), spoke about her son and his time in hospital: When I heard ‘Omar has been injured at the demonstration, I was at home. I thought he’d gone to the club in the afternoon because he’d never gone to demonstrations by the fence before. I went up to my sister-in-law’s apartment and collapsed on the floor, screaming. My sister-in-law and her daughter hugged me and helped me get home. I got dressed and went to my parents’ house, and from there continued to a-Shifaa Hospital. When I got to the hospital, I asked about ‘Omar at the desk and was told he’d been hit in the leg and that he was having minor surgery. I went up to the operating rooms and found my husband Hassan there with red, teary eyes. He couldn’t tell me how ‘Omar was doing. I immediately realized he hadn’t been injured in the leg. My husband told me he’d been hit in the shoulder, and I told him the injury was more serious. I felt weak and couldn’t stand the bad news, and started praying to Allah for strength. I stood on the operating room steps and waited. I didn’t talk to anyone. I was in shock and couldn’t even cry. At around 10:00 P.M., ‘Omar came out of surgery and was transferred, unconscious, to the ICU. The doctor left the room with a grim, hopeless expression. I asked my husband to tell our children that ‘Omar was in a bad state, so the news of his death wouldn’t shock them. I went home, hoping that the next day I’d come and find ‘Omar awake and in a better condition. The next day, I came to the hospital around midday and found 'Omar in the same state. The doctors told me he could maybe wake up in two days. We were constantly on edge, afraid of any phone call that might announce his passing. On Tuesday, 24 August 2021, at 9:00 A.M., I got a call from the hospital asking me to come and be present while ‘Omar underwent a CT. I went happily, because I thought it meant there was good news about his condition and that he’d woken up. But the tests showed there was no blood flow to the brain and that ‘Omar was in a state of clinical death. I collapsed to the floor and prayed to Allah. On Saturday, 28 August 2021, at around 1:00 A.M., we were informed that Omar had passed away. I went back to the hospital to say goodbye to him and hug him after he was disconnected from the machines. I hugged him, kissed him and touched his little body as I cried. I didn’t shed tears, but my heart wept. I went home without ‘Omar, forever. ‘Omar was the pillar of our home. He was the living spirit of the house, and suddenly, we lost him. He was my pampered baby, and we were very close. He only managed to attend four days of ninth grade before he was injured. In my heart, he’s still with us in the house, and his soul doesn’t leave me for a moment. When we eat, I look at his chair and say to myself that he’s still with us. My daughter Malek (6) asks where he is, and I say he’s gone to heaven.
