Israel/OPT
19.02.04
Urgent Interventions
Israel: extra-judicial execution of Samer Jaser Arrar and Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal
Case ISR 190204
Extra-judicial execution
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Al-Haq, a member of the OMCT network, of the extra-judicial execution of Samer Jaser Arrar and Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal in Ramallah and Qabatia respectively, in the Occupied Territories.
According to the information received, Samer Jaser Arrar, a 27-year-old father of three and "wanted" member of Hamas, was extra-judicially executed in Qarawa-Bani-Zeid, near Ramallah on 12 February 2004. Approximately 10 members of the Israeli Special Forces as well as an additional 10 soldiers came to his house and found him unarmed. The special forces shouted "stop" in Hebrew, and immediately started shooting. As Mr. Arrar tried to flee, he was shot twice in the upper part of the back and three times in the hips. When a Palestinian ambulance arrived, it was prevented from giving him first aid. Soon after, an Israeli ambulance arrived and took him away; he died on his way to the Halmish settlement. Mr. Arrar is the 33rd "suspected militant" to be extra-judicially executed in the West Bank since January 2003.
Separately, Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal, a 28-year-old farmer from Qabatia, was killed on 13 February 2004 while going to his land. He died as approximately 50 M16 bullets pierced his body. No warning was given to him to stop his vehicle nor was he armed or on Israel's "wanted list" of suspected militants.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the use of extra-judicial executions by the Israeli authorities and calls on them to immediately halt the use of such means. OMCT further urges the Israeli authorities to launch prompt, exhaustive and impartial investigations into the extra-judicial executions of Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal and Samer Jaser Arrar, in order to identify those responsible and bring them to justice and to guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victims’ families.
OMCT has on numerous instances denounced Israel's clear policy of "pre-emptive operations" targeting "suspected militants." OMCT recalls that these “targeted assassinations” are carried out without recourse to even the most basic judicial procedures and no attempt is made to arrest the individuals in question. These extra-judicial killings constitute a gross and systematic violation of the right to life, the right to a fair trial and other human rights laws and standards. Not only are they clearly in violation of several of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but, as wilful killings, they also constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. immediately halt the use of extra-judicial executions;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the extra-judicial executions of Samer Jaser Arrar and Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the families of Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal and Samer Jaser Arrar;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street, PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem 91919, Israel, Fax: +972 2 6512631/6705475, E-mail: rohm@pmo.gov.il, pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
· Minister of Justice, Yosef Lapid, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91010, Israel, Fax : +972 2 628 5438, E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il
· Attorney General/Legal Adviser to the Government, Elyakim Rubinstein, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91010, Israel, Fax: +972 2 6285438
· Judge Attorney General, Major General Menachem Finkelstein, Israeli Defence Forces, Fax: +972 3 5694370
· Colonel Shaul Gordon, President of the Military Appeal Court, No address available, Fax: +972 2 588 4458
· Colonel Daniel Reisner, IDF Legal Department, No address available, Fax: +972 3 5693320
· Ambassador Yaakov Levy, Av. de la Paix 1-3, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, E-mail: mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il, Fax: +4122 716 05 55
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, February 19th, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Extra-judicial execution
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Al-Haq, a member of the OMCT network, of the extra-judicial execution of Samer Jaser Arrar and Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal in Ramallah and Qabatia respectively, in the Occupied Territories.
According to the information received, Samer Jaser Arrar, a 27-year-old father of three and "wanted" member of Hamas, was extra-judicially executed in Qarawa-Bani-Zeid, near Ramallah on 12 February 2004. Approximately 10 members of the Israeli Special Forces as well as an additional 10 soldiers came to his house and found him unarmed. The special forces shouted "stop" in Hebrew, and immediately started shooting. As Mr. Arrar tried to flee, he was shot twice in the upper part of the back and three times in the hips. When a Palestinian ambulance arrived, it was prevented from giving him first aid. Soon after, an Israeli ambulance arrived and took him away; he died on his way to the Halmish settlement. Mr. Arrar is the 33rd "suspected militant" to be extra-judicially executed in the West Bank since January 2003.
Separately, Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal, a 28-year-old farmer from Qabatia, was killed on 13 February 2004 while going to his land. He died as approximately 50 M16 bullets pierced his body. No warning was given to him to stop his vehicle nor was he armed or on Israel's "wanted list" of suspected militants.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the use of extra-judicial executions by the Israeli authorities and calls on them to immediately halt the use of such means. OMCT further urges the Israeli authorities to launch prompt, exhaustive and impartial investigations into the extra-judicial executions of Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal and Samer Jaser Arrar, in order to identify those responsible and bring them to justice and to guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victims’ families.
OMCT has on numerous instances denounced Israel's clear policy of "pre-emptive operations" targeting "suspected militants." OMCT recalls that these “targeted assassinations” are carried out without recourse to even the most basic judicial procedures and no attempt is made to arrest the individuals in question. These extra-judicial killings constitute a gross and systematic violation of the right to life, the right to a fair trial and other human rights laws and standards. Not only are they clearly in violation of several of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but, as wilful killings, they also constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. immediately halt the use of extra-judicial executions;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the extra-judicial executions of Samer Jaser Arrar and Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the families of Ahmad Abd-el-Qadar Nazzal and Samer Jaser Arrar;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street, PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem 91919, Israel, Fax: +972 2 6512631/6705475, E-mail: rohm@pmo.gov.il, pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
· Minister of Justice, Yosef Lapid, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91010, Israel, Fax : +972 2 628 5438, E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il
· Attorney General/Legal Adviser to the Government, Elyakim Rubinstein, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91010, Israel, Fax: +972 2 6285438
· Judge Attorney General, Major General Menachem Finkelstein, Israeli Defence Forces, Fax: +972 3 5694370
· Colonel Shaul Gordon, President of the Military Appeal Court, No address available, Fax: +972 2 588 4458
· Colonel Daniel Reisner, IDF Legal Department, No address available, Fax: +972 3 5693320
· Ambassador Yaakov Levy, Av. de la Paix 1-3, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, E-mail: mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il, Fax: +4122 716 05 55
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, February 19th, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.