War between Israel and Gaza, live | Amnesty International condemns Israel’s “brutal violence” in the West Bank international

Amnesty International condemns Israel’s “brutal violence” in the West Bank

The NGO Amnesty International (AI) warned this Monday that Israeli forces have taken advantage of the fact that “the eyes of the world” are on Gaza to carry out “brutal violence” against the Palestinian population in the West Bank, where they were the first Have already done it. Committed twenty crimes. “Unlawful killings” and illegal arrests. The organization condemns Israel’s “chilling disregard” for Palestinian lives.

“Over the past four months, Israeli forces have unleashed a wave of brutal violence against the Palestinian population in the West Bank,” Amnesty condemned in a latest statement. minor.

As of 2023, at least 507 Palestinian civilians, including 81 minors, have been killed by Israeli forces. It is the “deadliest year” since the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began recording such deaths in 2005. From the beginning of the current crisis following Hamas attacks on 7 September to December 31, 2023, OCHA has counted 299 deaths at the hands of Israeli soldiers or settlers. Additionally, it counted another 61 deaths between January 1 and 29.

The AI ​​investigated “four representative cases” in which Israeli forces used unnecessary lethal force, leading to the deaths of twenty Palestinians, seven of whom were children, and prevented medical teams from providing aid. One of them is that of 15-year-old Taha Mahamid, who was shot by Israeli soldiers in front of his house when he went out to check whether they were safe during a military attack on the Nour Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem last October. The latter had already left. 19. According to witnesses and video examined by AI, “Taha was unarmed and posed no threat to the soldiers” when he was shot three times. When his father came to the door to help him, he too was seriously injured.

According to Erica Guevara, Amnesty International’s director of research, action and global policy, the Israeli military is “demonstrating an appalling disregard for Palestinian life” by maintaining an “institutionalized regime of oppression and domination of Palestinians”.

Guevara has defended that, given the “shameful lack of will” of the Israeli authorities, including the judicial system, to guarantee justice for the victims, it is necessary for the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate these events as much as possible. . war crimes. Guevara said, “The situation in Palestine and Israel is a decisive test for the ICC’s legitimacy and reputation that it cannot afford to fail.”

NGOs have also condemned that Israel has prevented medical treatment of Palestinians injured in its operations and attacked their infrastructure, including health centers and ambulances. He condemned, “The obstruction of medical aid by Israeli forces during their operations in the occupied Palestinian territories is a common practice that Amnesty International has been documenting for years and is part of the Israeli system of ‘apartheid’.” (agencies)