Once again: Israeli military unlawfully shoots and kills Gazan protester and no-one will be held to account

21 December 2016

Muhammad Abu Sa'ed, 25 At about 5:00 P.M. on 18 November 2016, soldiers shot and killed 25-year-old Muhammad Abu Sa’ed of Nuseirat Refugee Camp from a distance of some 15 meters. He was shot during the weekly protest near the Gaza perimeter fence, to the east of al-Bureij R.C.

B’Tselem’s inquiries show that, like every Friday, a demonstration began at about 12:30 P.M. by the perimeter fence, east of al-Bureij R.C. At that time, there were several dozen protesters; two military jeeps were on the other side of the fence, and some eight soldiers were standing on an earth embankment nearby. By 2:00 P.M. more protesters had arrived, bringing their total number to some 300-400. Some, who were standing approximately 20 meters from the perimeter fence, carried Palestinian and Fatah flags. At that point, another military jeep arrived and another ten or so soldiers (male and female) joined the troops already on the scene. Some of the soldiers stood on an earth embankment situated some 10 meters east of the perimeter fence.

Some of the demonstrators, who were a few meters from the perimeter fence, threw stones at the soldiers. According to eyewitness accounts, the soldiers fired live ammunition in the air and at demonstrators’ legs, and also fired tear-gas canisters. At about 4:00 P.M., most of the demonstrators moved about 150 meters to the south. Most of the soldiers followed suit, moving to an earth embankment and an asphalt road located roughly 100-150 south of where they had been, at a point about 10 meters east of the perimeter fence. The protesters and soldiers were more exposed to one another in this new location. Some of the protesters continued to throw stones at the soldiers, and eyewitnesses said the soldiers threw several red and green smoke grenades as well as stun grenades, while also continuing to fire live ammunition into the air and at the demonstrators’ legs.

Shortly after 4:30 P.M., Abu Sa’ed and a few other demonstrators crossed over the barbed wire fence on the ground. They then went through an opening that had been breached in the perimeter fence, and threw stones at the 20 or so soldiers who were standing at a distance of 10-15 meters from them, on the earth embankment and on the asphalt road. The soldiers were firing at them. On 8 December 2016, S.D., 27, a resident of al-Maghazi R.C., recounted to B’Tselem field researcher Khaled al-‘Azayzeh what happened next:

While this was happening, a sniper there noticed us. He stood next to one of the jeeps, propped his rifle on the front of the jeep, and prepared to fire. The guys, including Abu Sa’ed, ran back into the Palestinian territory. I stayed on the asphalt on the Israeli side. Then I saw a solder running with something in his hand. He shook the object hard and then threw it toward me. The object landed near me on the asphalt and began to spin around itself. Colored smoke came out of it. The guys started shouting, calling to me to move away and go back to where they were. The smoke grenade let off a lot of thick smoke, and I could no longer see the soldiers. Actually I couldn’t see anything. Meanwhile the heavy shooting continued and I was hit in my left hand..

Palestinian protesters flee Israeli gunfire during protest near the Gaza Strip perimeter fence east of Gaza City. Photo by Mohammed Salem, Reuters, 20 Nov. 2015

Abu Sa’ed, who was standing by the opening in the fence, threw a large clod of earth at a female soldier who was standing a few meters away. It struck her in the shoulder. She moved back and hid behind a military jeep stationed close to the fence. The soldiers who were standing on the earth embankment began to fire live ammunition intensively. Abu Sa’ed was struck in the chest. On 20 November 2016, H.M., a 28-year-old resident of al-Maghazi R.C., described to B’Tselem field researcher Khaled al-‘Azayzeh the events that immediately followed:

The soldiers who were standing on the earth embankment began heavily firing live ammunition. Abu Sa’ed was hit in the chest. He said to me, “I’ve been hit, I’m sorry.” I was standing right next to him and said, “Are you kidding me?” He replied: “I’m serious.” He took a few steps toward me and then fell down beside me and the other guys who were there. He said he couldn’t breathe. I checked his body and found that his chest was bleeding. J. and I took off his clothes to see if he had any other injuries. We found a bleeding hole in his chest.

S.D. walked to an ambulance located about 300 meters west of the perimeter fence. Several protesters carried Abu Sa’ed to the ambulance, which took them to Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Abu Sa’ed was dead on arrival at hospital. S.D. was discharged from hospital after three days. Another protester was also injured during the demonstration after a tear-gas canister struck him in the head. He was treated at several hospitals in the Gaza Strip and then discharged.

B’Tselem’s inquiry indicates that the soldiers, who were firing live ammunition intensively at the demonstrators, killed Abu Sa’ed and injured S.D. They did so notwithstanding the fact that neither of these individuals nor any of the other demonstrators posed any tangible threat. The incident also raises concern that the use of live ammunition – which intensified after Abu Sa’ed threw the clod of earth that hit a soldier – was undertaken by way of revenge for his action. Abu Sa’ed was killed close to the spot where ‘Abd a-Rahman a-Dabagh had been killed on 9 September 2016. He is the twenty-first Palestinian to be killed in the Gaza Strip since demonstrations by the perimeter fence began in October 2015.

In the past, this type of incident would prompt B’Tselem to contact the military law enforcement system, demanding that it investigate and take steps against those responsible. However, about six months ago B’Tselem announced that it would no longer refer complaints to this system, which serves only as a whitewash mechanism and does not seek to uncover the truth or ensure justice. Naturally, B’Tselem’s decision does not exempt the system of its obligation to perform its function and investigate all those responsible for this incident. However, experience has shown that even when an investigation is launched, the chance that it will lead to any meaningful outcome is extremely slim.

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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. 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'Omar Abu a-Nil, shot in the neck by soldiers, being carried to an ambulance. Photo: 'Abd a-Rahim Khatib

The Gaza Strip

Israeli security forces fatally shoot ‘Omar Abu a-Nil (13) standing dozens of meters from Gaza perimeter fence during protest

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.

28 October 2021