A/HRC/16/71 village and set up a roadblock, while soldiers searched homes. A minibus arrived in the western section of the village and Osayd Abdelnasser Mohammad Qadous and Mohammad Ibrahim Abdel Qader Qadous, two youths from the village, left the minibus in the section of the village that was not targeted by the search operation – approximately 70–100 metres from the roadblock. Shortly thereafter, according to witnesses, an IDF soldier at the roadblock opened fire in the direction of the two boys. Osayd was shot in the head and Mohammad was shot in the chest. Mohamed was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital and Osayd died a few hours later. In another case, which occurred on 21 March, two boys from Awarta were tending the land outside the village when they were detained by IDF and then shot and killed. IDF alleged that the boys attempted to attack the soldiers. In a third case, on 4 October, a group of men scaled the Wall separating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank in order to reach their places of work. The Israeli Border Police discovered them and, during the ensuing chase, Izz Al Dein Saleh Abdel Kareem Kawazbeh, who was unarmed, was shot and killed. 41. In the first two cases, an investigation was initiated by IDF, which according to information received by OHCHR included on-site observations and interviews with witnesses and medical staff. According to media reports, the preliminary investigations concluded that “tactical failures” had led to the death of the four Palestinians.47 In the case of the killing of the two men from Awarta, media reported that the squad commander had been dismissed and would no longer be authorized to serve as a commander. It was also reported that the Chief Military Prosecutor had ordered an investigation into the incident.48 In relation to the 4 October case, according to media reports49 and information received from witnesses, the Ministry of Justice initiated an investigation. 3. Violence committed by private Israeli citizens and response by the Israeli authorities 42. Violence committed by Israeli settlers escalated. There was an increase both in the number of attacks on Palestinians and their properties and the types of violence. Since March, several attacks by settlers on Palestinian mosques, schools, farms, houses, and agriculture were reported. Acts of violence committed by settlers or related to the protection of settlements resulted in the killing of two Palestinians, cases which were documented by OHCHR. 43. On 13 May, four boys from Al Mazra’a Ash-Sharqiya went to an olive grove near Route 60, a road regularly used by settlers to travel to Jerusalem. The boys threw stones at cars. According to information received by OHCHR, a car, allegedly driven by Israelis from a nearby settlement, stopped and two or three passengers stepped out of the vehicle and opened fire. Aysar Yasser Fawwaz Razzaq was shot and died at the scene. On 22 September, Samer Mahmoud Ahmad Sarhan was shot and killed by a private security guard employed by the Ministry of Housing to provide security for settlers living in Silwan. Conflicting reports exist with regard to the circumstances surrounding this incident, namely whether the victim had been throwing stones at the vehicle of the guard implicated. According to information gathered by OHCHR, it took 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive and more than 45 minutes for the police. Media reports indicated that the police organized a re-enactment of the incident, with the assistance of the guard involved, and that 47 48 49 12 Anshel Pfeffer, “Report: Probe concludes that IDF failures led to killings of 4 Palestinians”, Haaretz, 5 April 2010. Chaim Levinsom, “IDF to open probe into shooting deaths of two Palestinian farmers in the West Bank”, Haaretz, 15 September 2010. Melanie Lidman, “Border Police kill Hebron man climbing barrier in J’lem”, Jerusalem Post, 4 October 2010.