The International Commission (I.C.S.P.R): The Israeli snipers again show the true color of the Israeli occupation and its brutal behavior with the peaceful demonstrators in the Gaza Strip

Ref#: 33/2018

Date: 06 April 2018

Press Release

The International Commission (I.C.S.P.R): The Israeli snipers again show the true color of the Israeli occupation and its brutal behavior with the peaceful demonstrators in the Gaza Strip

The International Commission to Support Palestinian rights (I.C.S.P.R) condemns in the strongest possible terms the Israeli occupation forces and its snipers deployed along the border fence to commit more killing and shedding of the blood of Palestinian civilians, especially peaceful demonstrators, on the second Friday of the return marches.

According to primary information, until 18:00 local time in Palestine, Israeli occupation forces killed 4 Palestinian civilians, including one child, and injured almost 252 more, some of them with seriously dangerous injures , including 5 journalists, a number of ambulance personnel and medical service providers. Friday afternoon, 06 April 2018.

Since the afternoon, thousands of Palestinian demonstrators have begun to gather in the five return camps, which are located at a distance of about 700 meters from the border fence, in order to demonstrate peacefully, protest and renew their desire to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced 70 years ago. Some of them burned a few rubber tires to express their refusal to continue the occupation of their lands and homes by the Israeli occupation, the international community was unable to guarantee their rights, especially their right to self-determination and return.
None of the peaceful protesters, even the ones who burned rubber tires were a threat to the lives of the occupation soldiers and their military establishment. However, for the second Friday in a row the Israeli military forces purposely used excessive force, which led to the death of 4 citizens until the moment of writing this press release, and the injury of hundreds demonstrators, which proved again that the Israeli crimes came in accordance with a systematic plan reinforced by political decision and protection from the Israeli political level.
First: it aims to reap the lives of participants in the return marches and camps, and second: terrorize and intimidate the Palestinians in order to dissuade them from participating in the peaceful demonstrations.

The way that the Israeli occupation forces treat Palestinian civilians and demonstrators in Gaza Strip for the second week in a row is likely to increase  the number of victims who have declared their intention to continue their peaceful protest to its climax on 15 May 2018, especially in light of the weakness of the international role to force Israel to stop this policy, and the failure of the Security Council last weekend to issue a position to condemn the Israeli crimes against peaceful demonstrators in Gaza Strip.

The International commission to support Palestinians’ rights (I.C.S.P.R)  express its condemnation of the Israeli deliberate targeting of peaceful demonstrators, which raise to the level of war crimes in accordance with article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols  of 1977.
ICSPR warns the Israeli occupation state and its military forces against the policy of continuing to target civilians and demonstrators and hold it responsible for that. Thus, we demand the following:

(I.C.S.P.R) insists that the Israeli occupation forces deliberately kill the demonstrators is a war crime according to the Rome Statute establishing the permanent international criminal court.
(I.C.S.P.) warns the international community against the continuation of the conspiracy of silence over the Israeli crimes committed against the demonstrators, and this is a green light for the occupation forces to continue to shed the blood of unarmed demonstrators.
(I.C.S.P.R) Urges the international community (states – organizations) to exert sufficient political and diplomatic pressure on the Israeli occupation state to stop the commission of any crime or international violation against participants in the great return march.
(I.C.S.P.R) Urges the Palestinian diplomacy to exert more efforts to inform the Prosecutor of ICC the facts about these crimes to encourage them to move further towards opening an international investigation about the international crimes committed by the occupation forces, which can guarantee that the Israeli criminals are punished.
(I.C.S.P.R) Invites the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under article 1 of the agreement, which assures that they the agreement in all circumstances, as well as their obligations under article 146 of the agreement to pursuit the accused of committing grave breaches of the agreement.
(I.C.S.P.R) encourages the international solidarity movement with the Palestinian people to take urgent action at all legal, political, diplomatic and human rights levels to ensure the support of the return marches and camps and to contribute effectively to guarantee the right of return to the Palestinian refugees and end their 70 years suffering.

Done…