On Friday, 10 August 2018, as part of the protests that have been taking place in the Gaza Strip under the slogan “Great March of Return” since Land Day on 30 March 2018, a demonstration was held close to the perimeter fence to the east of Rafah. Thousands of protestors participated in the demonstration, some burning tires and throwing stones at Israeli security forces stationed on the other side of the fence. The forces fired tear gas canisters and live ammunition, killing three residents of Rafah: Ahmad Abu Luli, 30, who was shot in the hip; ‘Abdallah Qutati, 22, a paramedic who was shot in the chest; and ‘Ali al-‘Alul, 54, who was also shot in the chest. All three men were killed close to the fence between 5:00 and 6:00 PM.
B'Tselem’s investigation found that Abu Luli and Qutati were not endangering the security forces on the other side of the fence in any way. B'Tselem was unable to undertake a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Al-‘Alul.
The Killing of Ahmad Abu Luli
At about 4:30 P.M., the number of demonstrators began to increase and they advanced toward the fence. Ya’qub Abu Sneimah, 38, a resident of Rafah and father of five, arrived at the demonstration together with his friend Ahmad Abu Luli.
In testimony taken by B'Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 13 August 2018, Abu Sneimah described what happened that day:
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Ya’qub Abu Sneimah. Photo by Olfat al-Kurd, B'Tselem, 13 Aug. 2018
Ahmad told me he wanted to get closer to the perimeter fence. At first there were only a few people there. I told him that there weren’t any demonstrators and that I didn’t want to get closer in case they shot at us. Then we saw a few demonstrators moving toward the fence, so we moved forward, too. We were on the southern side of the fence and there were also a few demonstrators on the northern side. Ahmad and I were standing next to each other, about 15-20 meters from the fence.
At about 5:30 P.M. we heard a shot. Ahmad threw himself to the ground and said, “I fell on top of you… what happened?” I checked myself and didn’t find anything. Then I looked at Ahmad and told him, “You’re injured.” I saw blood on the ground. Paramedics arrived and rushed Ahmad away because he was bleeding heavily.
Sabrin Qishtah, 28, a resident of Rafah who is married and has one child, is a volunteer paramedic. She was at the demonstration as part of a medical team.
In testimony taken by B'Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 12 August 2018, Qishtah stated:
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Sabrin Qishtah. Photo by Olfat al-Kurd, B'Tselem, 12 Aug. 2018
At about 4:30 P.M., demonstrators began to arrive in larger numbers. Then they went towards the fence. I also went in that direction, together with the paramedic ‘Abdallah Qutati and some other paramedics. We didn’t walk next to the demonstrators because we were afraid the Israeli army would shoot us and claim that they hadn’t deliberately fired at a medical team, or that we were providing protection for the demonstrators. At about 5:00 P.M., ‘Abdallah and I were about 20 meters from the fence. We were wearing paramedics’ uniforms with the well-known logo, with medical team tags pinned to them. At that point Israeli soldiers, who were positioned on the sand piles, opened fire. I saw about three soldiers on the sand piles and another one alongside them, with a sniper rifle.
I was standing about a meter behind Ahmad Abu Luli, who was hit by the gunfire. He fell to the ground and ‘Abdallah and I went up to give him first aid. He was lying on his injured side and ‘Abdallah turned him over. He’d been hit in the hip and we both bandaged the wound. ‘Abdallah and some other paramedics lifted him up and took him straight to the ambulance.
Abu Luli was taken by ambulance to a field hospital and from there to the European Hospital south of Khan Yunis, where entry and exit wounds were found in his hip. He underwent surgery and died the next day.
In his testimony, Abu Sneimah recalled:
The next day, at 4:00 A.M., Eli Suliman, Ahmad’s brother, called me to say that Ahmad had died. I went to their home to pay my respects and prepare his funeral. It was very hard for me to say goodbye to Ahmad. He was my friend. He was like a brother to me. We always hung out together. Suddenly I lost him, for no reason. He left behind a wife and five children. The eldest, Lama, is 11 and she’s blind. The youngest, Karim, is just six months old. The children have lost their father and his father lost a son. Ahmad’s mother was killed in the 2014 war. Ahmad was out of work and things were very tough for them financially. Who will care for his wife and children now? Ahmad didn’t go the demonstrations with a weapon. He didn’t do anything and wasn’t endangering the Israeli army.
The killing of paramedic ‘Abdallah Qutati
Shortly after Abu Luli was shot, some demonstrators and paramedics decided to go about 200 meters north to escape the heavy shooting. When they got there, however, the demonstrators saw not only soldiers but two tanks from machine gun rounds were being fired at the ground by the protestors.
Sabrin Qishtah stated in her testimony:
We were surprised to see two tanks and snipers on the northern side, on the sand piles and in the military tower. The tanks starting firing live rounds at the demonstrators. Some were injured and ambulances were also hit. Some of the demonstrators moved back, because of the injured people and because of the heavy fire.
At that point, bout 6:00 P.M., ‘Abdallah and I were standing with two other paramedics, Sabrin a-Satari and Raed a-Sharif, close to the demonstrators. We were about 10 meters from the concertina wire that was laid about 10 meters from the fence. Some wounded people by the fence were calling out to us for help. Sabrin and I started running towards them, with the tanks still firing. ‘Abdallah said, “Sabrin, go back! The tank’s firing in our direction!” I said: “You stay behind.” That was the last time I heard his voice.
We treated some people who’d inhaled tear gas and quickly went back. When I got back, my colleague Raed told me that ‘Abdallah was injured. Some demonstrators were standing around ‘Abdallah saying, “Martyr, martyr.” I shouted at them to lift him up quickly, because I thought that the bullet had entered his back and exited through the heart. He was bleeding very heavily.
Even while we were evacuating ‘Abdallah, massive fire continued from the tank and it was very hard for the guys carrying ‘Abdallah. They literally ran to the ambulance under a hail of bullets. Sabrin and I were stuck because of the massive fire. The ambulance took ‘Abdallah to the field clinic in the tents, where they gave him first aid and put him in an ambulance that took him to hospital. By that time I’d managed to get to the tents and went with him.
Raed a-Sharif, 19, a paramedic from a-Shaburah Refugee Camp, was standing next to Qutati when he was shot.
In testimony taken by B'Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd on 12 August 2018, he described what happened:
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Raed a-Sharif. Photo by Olfat al-Kurd, B'Tselem, 12 Aug. 2018
In the northern part there were two tanks firing heavily. Several people were injured and we went to rescue them. At that point we were 10 meters from the concertina wire. Sabrin Qishtah was ahead of us and ‘Abdallah started shouting to her to go back, because he was afraid she’d get hurt. I was standing next to him and then the Israeli snipers fired at us. One bullet hit ‘Abdallah directly. This was at 6:00 P.M. There was also heavy fire from the tanks.
When ‘Abdallah was hit, he grabbed my hand. I asked him, “What happened?” But he collapsed and fell. I realized he’d been hit and immediately saw he was bleeding. I started to look for the wound. Sabrin had got back by then and we were both in shock. We couldn’t believe that ‘Abdallah had been hit. All I could do was bandage the wound to stop the bleeding. After a few minutes, some young guys lifted him up and while the tank went on firing, took him to where the ambulances park, along the Jakar road.
My colleagues and I come to the area close to the eastern border of Gaza as volunteer paramedics. Why does the Israeli army harm us? We’re there in white uniforms, with the Ministry of Health emblem and identity tags. It’s clear that we aren’t endangering the army. All I have in my hands is first aid equipment. We’re there to help the wounded and nothing else.
Qutati, who was injured by live fire to his the chest, was taken to Yusef a-Najar Hospital in Rafah and from there to the European Hospital south of Khan Yunis, where the team attempted to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead about 40 minutes after arrival.
Since the protests by the fence began, at least 170 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 31 minors. The vast majority of those killed were not endangering the Israeli forces on the other side of the fence. In addition, more than 5,300 people have been injured by live fire. Qutati was the third paramedic to be killed by Israeli security forces during the demonstrations: Musa Abu Hasanein, 34, was shot and killed on 14 May 2018 during a demonstration east of Jabalya R.C., and Ruzan a-Najar, 20, was killed during a demonstration north of Khuza’ah.
These fatalities and injuries are a direct outcome of the open-fire policy that Israel has implemented since the protests began. The lethal results of this policy are well known, and further evidence the indifference shown by the Israeli authorities toward the killing and injuring of Palestinians. Were this not the case, Israel would long ago have amended its open-fire policy and stopped firing at unarmed demonstrators endangering no one, on the other side of the fence. This policy is proven unconscionable time and again, as the military continues to implement it without change. It is also supported by the military’s whitewashing systems, which ensure in almost every case that no-one is held accountable for the killing of Palestinians.
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.
