“SHAMS” Center strongly condemns the crime of murdering Adel Ibrahim Adel Daoud (14 years old, from Qalqilya); Mahdi Muhammad Ladado (17 years, from Al Mazraa Al Gharbia village in Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate) in cold blood by the Israeli occupation army on Friday the 7th of October, 2022 . In fact, they executed Ahmad Muhammad Hussein Daraghmeh (17 years, Tubas) and Mahmoud Muayyad Al-Sous (17 years year old , Jenin camp) on Saturday the 8th of October, 2022.
In doing so, Israel violated its obligations to provide guarantees for children’s safety according to the international humanitarian and human rights law related to children’s rights of being protected in dignified life.
“SHAMS” center stresses that the Israeli occupation violated the provisions of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war, which is the basic legal framework for human rights and humanitarian standards in the occupied territories. It also stresses that the Israeli occupation is not free to use whatever force, procedures or policies it wants in its management of the occupied territories.In other words, it must take full accountability of the life and interests of the civilian population and protect their property without changing the legal status of those territories.
“SHAMS” Center confirms that the murdering of Daoud, Ladoda, Al-Sous, reached the level of premeditated murder that it is classified as a grave violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, especially Article (147) on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, dated August 12, 1949. In fact, it is a war crime in accordance with the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court, based on Article 8 (a) (1) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Therefore, the killing of the two children by the Israeli occupation army is a crime that entails individual criminal responsibility for its direct perpetrator and for all those who participated in it. Thus, the shooting of the two children did not take place in a circumstance that posed an imminent danger to the soldiers’ lives and that would prompt them to act in self-defense.
In both cases, the Israeli occupation army acted in contravention of the “Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials”, which prohibits the use of force except in the case of extreme necessity and within the limits necessary for the performance of his duty. Furthermore, resorting to firearms is an extreme measure, and every effort should be made to avoid the use of firearms especially against children.
“SHAMS” Center confirms that the Israeli occupation army continue to commit crimes against Palestinian children by arresting, injuring and killing, is due to the negative attitude of the international community, the absence of accountability and prosecution, and the impunity of the occupying officers and soldiers. This gives the occupying forces the green light for the continued targeting of Palestinian children in particular by the occupation forces and Palestinian citizens in general.
“SHAMS” Center concludes thatit is necessary to demanding the international community to work to provide the necessary protection for Palestinian children. It exposes the practices of the occupation against Palestinian children through the media and international forums concerned with human rights. Thus, it calls for the prosecution of war criminals who violated the rights of the Palestinian child giving a great care for children affected by the oppressive occupation practices against them and working to rehabilitate them through specialized social and cultural institutions.
End