A/HRC/28/45
Excessive use of force by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, including
East Jerusalem
21.
Palestinian fatalities in incidents involving the Israeli security forces in the West
Bank, including East Jerusalem, soared during the reporting period. There were 67
Palestinian fatalities, compared to 22 in the same period in 2012/13.25 During 2014, as at 31
October, there had been 48 fatalities.26
22.
The Secretary-General and the High Commissioner have frequently raised concerns
about the excessive use of force by Israeli authorities, particularly as casualties have
spiked.27 Concerns that the rules of engagement are either not compliant with international
human rights law, or are not being respected or enforced, are heightened by the dramatic
increase in injuries from live ammunition. During the reporting period, 1,276 Palestinians
were injured by live ammunition out of 5,799 injured in total, compared with 175 out of a
total of 4,884 in the equivalent period for 2012/13.28
23.
Those incidents are both a cause and consequence of the conflict and of further
human rights violations. They fuel violence and foster distrust and hostility between the
Israeli security forces and the Palestinian population they are in the Occupied Territory to
protect. In many cases monitored by OHCHR, the funeral of someone killed in that manner
was followed by clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli security forces in which more
people were injured and some sometimes killed, in a seemingly endless cycle of violence
and tension. Examples include a series of incidents documented by OHCHR involving
injuries from live ammunition, the victims of which were Palestinians from al-Jalazun
refugee camp in the West Bank in September and October 2013,29 and the case of a 13year-old boy who was allegedly beaten by the Israeli security forces on 8 September 2014
after attending the funeral of Mohammad Sonnokrot in East Jerusalem. 30
Attacks by Palestinian armed groups and individuals on Israelis
24.
Violent attacks by Palestinians on Israelis also continue to occur throughout the
West Bank, including East Jerusalem. During 2013, the Internal Security Agency of Israel
recorded 5 fatalities, including 3 soldiers, and 44 injured persons, including 29 security
personnel, in attacks on Israelis in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 31 Violence
against Israelis has also been notable with the abduction and murder of three Israeli
teenagers in June 2014,32 but also the shooting of a 46-year-old man near Idhna, in the
southern West Bank33 and an alleged car attack on a light rail station in Jerusalem on 22
October 2014 which resulted in the death of one Israeli infant and an Ecuadorian woman. 34
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
8
Source: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)/OHCHR.
Sources: OHCHR/OCHA. Fatality figures do not include one Palestinian killed in Mea Shearim in
Jerusalem on 4 August 2014 and one Palestinian child killed by unexploded ordnance in Tubas on 11
August 2014; A/HRC/28/80/Add.1.
A/69/347, paras. 44–51; A/HRC/25/40, paras. 6–14.
Source: OCHA.
A/HRC/25/40, para. 8.
Mr. Sonnokrot died as a result of injuries sustained in an incident involving the Israeli security forces
in Wadi Joz, East Jerusalem, on 31 August 2014. OHCHR has expressed concerns about the legality
of the use of force in that incident.
www.shabak.gov.il/English/EnTerrorData/Reports/Pages/2013AnnualSummary.aspx.
A/HRC/28/80/Add.1, paras. 6–22.
www.btselem.org/israeli_civilians/20140415_israeli_civilian_killed_by_palestinian_gunfire_
near_idna.
Source: OHCHR.
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