leahy submissions cases feb 2016

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Cases: Lafy Awad (20) killed by IDF soldiers on November 13, 2015; Ashraqat Qatnani

(16) killed by IDF soldiers on November 22, 2015; Hadil Awad (16) fatally shot by Israeli

police on November 23, 2015; Fadi Alloun (19) killed by Israeli police on October 03, 2015;

Yusef a-Shawamreh (14) ambushed and killed by IDF forces on March 19, 2015; Saad Al-

Atrash (19), shot and killed by IDF soldiers at a checkpoint on October 26, 2015; and

Hadeel Hashlamoun (18), shot and killed by IDF soldiers at a checkpoint on September 22,

2015

Overview:

The recent escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory has witnessed a

disturbing increase in incidents of apparent extrajudicial killings. The cases of Lafy Awad,

Ashraqat Qatnani, Hadil Awad, Fadi Alloun, Yusef a-Shawamreh, Saad Al-Atrash, and Hadeel

Hashlamoun, documented below, might constitute incidents of extrajudicial killings. Although

all of these cases and many others have been documented by reputable international and local

human rights organizations, there is no evidence of credible Israeli investigations that meet due

diligence standards.

A Washington Post article from January 4, 2016 states, “Over the past three months, Israeli

forces have shot and killed more than 46 Palestinians during clashes. Most were killed by a

single shot to the head or chest, suggesting lethal intent. A handful of others died from wounds

inflicted by tear gas canisters or rubber-coated steel bullets.”1 Besides the close to fifty fatalities

noted in the Post article, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that Israeli live fire wounded

1,887 Palestinians and that 3,105 were wounded by rubber-coated bullets.2 The increasingly

lethal use of force by the Israeli military against Palestinians coupled with the lack of

accountability is a disturbing trend in Israeli-Palestinian relations, one which appears only to be

growing.

We request that the United States State Department investigate whether the killings of Lafy

Awad, Ashraqat Qatnani, Hadil Awad, Fadi Alloun, Yusef a-Shawamreh, Saad Al-Atrash, and

Hadeel Hashlamoun constitute violations of the Leahy Law. Further, as stipulated by Section

620M(d)(6), we request that the State Department investigate and identify the units involved in

the killings of the seven individuals.3 If a Leahy Law violation occurred, then the units

responsible should be ineligible to receive future U.S. security assistance as stipulated by the

law.

Summary of Facts:

Lafy Awad—Budrus, Ramallah District, West Bank:

1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israeli-military-confronts-violent-protests-with-increasingly-

lethal-force/2016/01/03/c7ad8440-ae71-11e5-b281-43c0b56f61fa_story.html 2 Id.

3 http://legcounsel.house.gov/Comps/Foreign%20Assistance%20Act%20Of%201961.pdf at 620M(d)(6).

2

According to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, on Friday, November 13, 2015,

protestors in the Palestinian village of Budrus, Ramallah District in the West Bank, marched

towards the separation barrier.4 IDF soldiers and Border Police waited between the two fences,

which make up the separation barrier.5 As police fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators,

several protestors began throwing stones.6 Following the altercation the protests halted, as

demonstrators and police left the area.7

Later that day, approximately ten Palestinian youth including Lafy Awad approached the

separation barrier near al-Aq. Israeli soldiers lying in wait then ambushed the group, seizing

Lafy.8 Lafy attempted to free himself and the soldiers then “responded violently, kicking him

and hitting him with their rifles.”9 The rest of the group began shouting and throwing stones at

the soldiers.10

One soldier raised his weapon and fired in the air in an apparent attempt to

disperse the group.11

Lafy used the ensuing confusion to escape from the soldiers; however, an

Israeli soldier immediately shot Lafy in the back, causing him to collapse immediately.12

The

Israeli soldiers retreated and Lafy’s friends picked him up and carried him to safety.13

Friends

placed Lafy into a private car that attempted to drive him to the hospital in Ramallah; however,

an Israeli military checkpoint forced the car to turn around.14

Eventually, Lafy was transferred to

an ambulance, which took him to the hospital; however, Lafy died within five minutes of

arriving at the hospital.15

In the case of Lafy Awad, Lafy posed no threat to IDF soldiers, nor did he participate in the

throwing of stones. Nonetheless, IDF soldiers ambushed Lafy, beat him, and shot him in the

back at near point blank range causing his death. This “flagrant denial of life” appears to

constitute a gross human rights violation.

Ashraqat Qatnani—Huwara Checkpoint, West Bank:

On November 22, 2015, soldiers shot and killed Ashraqat Taha Ahmad Qatnani (16) after she

attempted to stab settlers at a hitchhiking post in the northern West Bank, close to Huwara

checkpoint.16

According to B’Tselem, an Israeli citizen hit Ashraqat with his car, and as she was

lying injured on the ground – rendering her neutralized – she was then “shot to death by

soldiers.”17

4 http://www.btselem.org/firearms/20151123_killing_of_lafi_awad_in_budrus

5 Id.

6 Id.

7 Id.


9 Id.

10 Id.

11 Id.

12 Id.


14 Id.

15 Id.

16 http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20151123_extrajudicial_killings

17 http://www.btselem.org/gunfire/20151216_cases_of_unjustified_gunfire_and_executions;

http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20151123_extrajudicial_killings

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In Ashraqat Qatnani’s case, she was clearly neutralized by being hit with a car before IDF

soldiers shot and killed her.18

Hadil Awad—West Jerusalem:

On November 23, 2015, two Palestinian high school girls, Hadil Awad (16) and Nurhan Awad

(14) attacked a 70-year old Palestinian man, lightly injuring him, in the center of West

Jerusalem.19

According to eyewitness accounts and security camera footage, a civilian knocked

Nurhan Awad to the ground with a chair.20

Thereafter, security footage shows a police sapper

“shooting ‘Awad and continuing to fire even after she had fallen down and was lying motionless;

he then went back and shot N.‘A. again as she lay motionless on the ground.”21

Hadil was killed

instantly, and Nurhan sustained severe injuries.22

On December 13, 2015, the Department for the

Investigation of Police (DIP), “launched an investigation against the sapper who shot the girls.”23

Fadi Alloun—Jerusalem’s Old City:

In the morning of October 4, 2015, a group of people chased Fadi Alloun (19) near Jerusalem’s

Old City,24

and an Israeli police officer shot Fadi at close range seven times, all of which was

captured on video posted to YouTube.25

According to police, Fadi stabbed and wounded a 15-

year-old Israeli boy.26

In the video, Fadi appears to be “trying to flee, with Israeli civilians in

pursuit and shouting ‘Shoot him!’”27

Thereafter, the video shows that Fadi “seemed to be

holding a knife when he was shot, but no one was near him.”28

The video footage then shows a

police officer firing seven times at Fadi, despite Fadi falling to the ground after the first shot.29

In the case of Fadi Alloun, video evidence shows Fadi running from both the Israeli police and a

mob of people. Moreover, the video clearly shows that his hands were visible to police and that

he posed no threat, as he did not lunge or attack the police. The police then shot Fadi seven

times even though it appears that Fadi was neutralized after the first shot.

Yusef a-Shawamreh—near Deir al-Asal al Fawqa, West Bank:

18

http://www.btselem.org/gunfire/20151216_cases_of_unjustified_gunfire_and_executions 19

http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20151123_extrajudicial_killings 20

Id. 21

http://www.btselem.org/gunfire/20151216_cases_of_unjustified_gunfire_and_executions 22

Id. 23

Id. 24

https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1526332015ENGLISH.pdf 25

http://imeu.org/article/interview-with-family-of-fadi-alloun-palestinian-teen-killed-on-camera;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj8gXqGh2V0 26

http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20151015_suspected_shooting_at_alun_and_sidr;

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/world/middleeast/dispute-over-a-burial-reveals-palestinian-

divisions.html?_r=0 27

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/world/middleeast/dispute-over-a-burial-reveals-palestinian-

divisions.html?_r=0 28

http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20151015_suspected_shooting_at_alun_and_sidr 29

Id.

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On March 19, 2014, Israeli military fatally shot Yusef a-Shawamreh, 14, in the thigh, as he and

two friends attempted to cross the Israeli-constructed wall inside the West Bank, near their

village of Deir al-‘Asal al-Foqa.30

An investigation by B’Tselem revealed that the Israeli

soldiers ambushed the boys, which video surveillance31

and WhatsApp messages confirm.32

The

report further states, “the three youths were crossing the barrier in order to pick gundelia [Arabic:

‘Akub], a thistle-like edible plant annually harvested at this time of year that serves as an

important source of income for local residents.”33

According to Yusef's friends, Zahi a-

Shawamreh, 13, and al-Muntaser Beallah a-Dardun, 18, Israeli soldiers fired three to four shots

at Yusef without advanced warning.34

Following the shooting, the soldiers provided first aid to

Yusef and detained Zahi and al-Muntaser.35

Israeli forces then transported Yusef via military

ambulance to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, where he was pronounced dead.36

Thereafter,

Yusef’s body was taken to Aliyah Hospital in Hebron, “where an external examination found a

single bullet wound to his left thigh.”37

Video and written evidence suggest that Yusef a-Shawamreh posed no threat when Israeli

soldiers ambushed him and two friends. According to B’Tselem, “material from the Military

Police Investigation Unit (MPIU) file indicate that the boy was shot in broad daylight, although

he posed no danger.”38

Despite such a finding, however, the Israeli Military Advocate General

(MAG) decided to close the case without holding anyone accountable. “On 10 July 2014,

roughly four months after the incident took place, Military Advocate for Operational Matters Lt.

Col. Ronen Hirsch notified B’Tselem that the Military Advocate General (MAG) had decided to

close the investigation without serving any indictments as there was ‘no suspicion that the open-

fire regulations had been breached nor that any military personnel were involved in criminal

action.’”39

Saad Al-Atrash—Old City in Hebron:

On October 26, 2015, Israeli forces shot and killed Saad Muhammad Youssef Al-Atrash in the

Old City of Hebron.40

According to an Amnesty International press release, Saad attempted to

retrieve his identification card at the request of an Israeli soldier at the time of his death.41

The

Israeli military classified the incident as an “attempted stabbing;” however, an eyewitness report

contradicts the Israeli story.42

According to the eyewitness, an Israeli soldier asked Saad for his

30

http://www.btselem.org/firearms/20140326_killing_of_yusef_a_shawamreh_deir_al_asal 31

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvvWeqywc6s 32

http://www.btselem.org/accountability/20141106_shawamreh_investigation_impunity 33

http://www.btselem.org/accountability/20141106_shawamreh_investigation_file_closed#Background 34

Id. 35

Id. 36

http://www.btselem.org/firearms/20140326_killing_of_yusef_a_shawamreh_deir_al_asal 37

Id. 38

http://www.btselem.org/accountability/20141106_shawamreh_investigation_impunity 39

http://www.btselem.org/accountability/20141106_shawamreh_investigation_file_closed 40

https://www.amnesty.org/en/press-releases/2015/10/israeli-forces-must-end-pattern-of-unlawful-killings-in-west-

bank/ 41

Id. 42

Id.

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identification card and when he reached into his pocket to retrieve the card, another Israeli

soldier standing behind Saad shot him in the right side.43

The witness further stated that the

soldiers shot Saad another six or seven times and failed to call for medical attention, as Saad lay

bleeding for forty minutes.44

IDF forces showed extreme disregard for life in shooting Saad Al-

Atrash as he reached for his identification card at the request of an Israeli soldier.

Hadeel Hashlamoun—Old City in Hebron:

On September 22, 2015, Israeli soldiers shot and killed 18-year-old student Hadeel Hashlamoun,

after stopping her at Checkpoint 56 in the Old City in Hebron.45

According to Amnesty

International, two eyewitnesses observed Hadeel arriving at the checkpoint around 7:40 am and

then being stopped by two Israeli soldiers, who ordered Hadeel to open her bag for an

inspection.46

Upon opening her bag, the soldiers began yelling at her, causing her to freeze,

according to an eyewitness.47

One eyewitness, Abu Aisheh, attempted to translate between the

soldiers and Hadeel, as Hadeel did not understand Hebrew.48

Four more soldiers then

approached the group and pointed their rifles at both Hadeel and Abu Aisheh.49

One soldier then

shot at Hadeel’s feet, forcing her to step backward.50

The Israeli soldier advanced towards

Hadeel and shot her at near point-blank range.51

He then proceeded to shoot her another four or

five times while she lay on the ground.52

Amnesty International found the use of force by Israeli

military personnel against Hadeel constituted an extrajudicial killing, as she posed no threat to

either Israeli citizens or military.53

According to the military’s account of the incident, Hadeel set off the metal detector.54

The

soldiers told Hadeel to stop and then fired warning shots at the ground around her feet.55

The

soldiers claim that Hadeel then took out a knife, which she concealed under her niqab, at which

point the soldiers then fired first at her legs.56

The soldiers opened fired a second time after

Hadeel tried to raise the knife again.57

However, according to an Israeli Defense Forces inquiry,

“the death of a Palestinian woman [Hadeel] at a checkpoint in Hebron last month was

unnecessary and could have been avoided.”58

The inquiry conducted by Col. Yarvin Ben Erza

“found that ‘the incident could have ended differently.’”59

Moreover, the inquiry stated that “the

43

Id. 44

Id. 45

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/2529/2015/en/ 46

Id. 47

Id. 48

Id. 49

Id. 50

Id. 51

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/2529/2015/en/ 52

Id. 53

Id. 54

http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20150922_hadil_al_hashlamun 55

Id. 56

Id. 57

Id. 58

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.683193 59

Id.

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incident was the first involving the company of soldiers from the Givati Brigade stationed at the

checkpoint, who felt that their lives were in danger.”60

Human Rights Violations:

Section 620M(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 provides, “No assistance shall be

furnished under this Act or the Arms Export Control Act to any unit of the security forces of a

foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a

gross violation of human rights.”61

Furthermore, section 502B(d)(1) defines “gross violations of

internationally recognized human rights,” as including “flagrant denial[s] of the right to life,

liberty, or the security of person.”62

This definition is interpreted to include extrajudicial killings

as a gross violation of human rights.63

Moreover, the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (28

U.S.C. 1350) defines extrajudicial killing as, “a deliberated killing not authorized by a previous

judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which

are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”64

The cases of Lafy Awad, Ashraqat Qatnani, Hadil Awad, Fadi Alloun, Yusef a-Shawamreh,

Saad Al-Atrash, and Hadeel Hashlamoun appear to constitute extrajudicial killings. Although

Lafy Awad, Ashraqat Qatnani, Hadil Awad, Fadi Alloun, Yusef a-Shawamreh, Saad Al-Atrash,

and Hadeel Hashlamoun posed either no threat initially to Israeli forces or were neutralized,

nonetheless Israeli forces shot and killed Lafy, Ashraqat, Hadil, Fadi, Yusef, Saad, and Hadeel.

Recommendations:

The shooting of Lafy Awad, Ashraqat Qatnani, Hadil Awad, Fadi Alloun, Yusef a-Shawamreh,

Saad Al-Atrash, and Hadeel Hashlamoun are instances where there is credible information of

gross violations of human rights. The U.S. Department of State should investigate whether these

cases constitute violations of the Leahy Law and seek to identify the responsible units. Any

units that have committed gross violations of human rights should be ineligible to receive future

U.S. security assistance as stipulated by the law, unless Israel undertakes “effective steps to bring

the responsible members of the security forces unit to justice.”65

60

Id. 61

https://legcounsel.house.gov/Comps/Foreign%20Assistance%20Act%20Of%201961.pdf at 620M(a). 62

https://legcounsel.house.gov/Comps/Foreign%20Assistance%20Act%20Of%201961.pdf at 502B(d)(1). 63

Applying the Leahy Law to U.S. Military and Police Aid, SECURITY ASSISTANCE MONITOR, available at

http://securityassistance.org/publication/applying-leahy-law-us-military-and-police-aid 64

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-106/pdf/STATUTE-106-Pg73.pdf 65

http://legcounsel.house.gov/Comps/Foreign%20Assistance%20Act%20Of%201961.pdf at 620M(B).