A/HRC/43/70 vest, when the Israeli security forces shot him in the abdomen at a distance of 25m with live ammunition. 28. East of Bethlehem, on 18 April 2019, the Israeli security forces twice shot a 16-yearold Palestinian boy in the leg, from behind, with live ammunition, at a distance of 50m. The boy, who was trying to escape the Israeli security forces, was handcuffed and blindfolded. On 31 May 2019, the Israeli security forces shot in the chest and killed an unarmed 16year-old boy with live ammunition from a distance of 3–4m, as he was climbing a fence attempting to enter East Jerusalem. 29. On 20 February 2019, in Bethlehem Governorate, the Israeli security forces broke into the home of a 47-year-old visually impaired man. While the man was in bed, one soldier repeatedly punched him in the face and hands for several minutes, fracturing one hand and dislocating his jaw. The Israeli security forces, who had searched the apartment above for a wanted man, left without arresting anyone. The case raises serious concerns about the unwarranted use of force against a person with disabilities. The victim filed a complaint; his case was closed by the Israel Defence Forces on 18 November 2019 without further action having been taken. 30. Under international law, the use of force in law enforcement operations must be limited to situations in which it is strictly necessary and in accordance with the principle of proportionality. Lethal force should be used only in situations of last resort, specifically in response to an imminent threat of death or serious injury. Use of force that does not comply with those principles and that results in death amounts to arbitrary deprivation of life. Under international humanitarian law, this may also constitute an act of willful killing. 31. The High Commissioner reiterates that Israel has an obligation under international law to conduct prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all use of force by its security forces that results in death or injury. 3. Gender-based violence 32. United Nations experts have in the past observed that femicide threatens Palestinian women’s right to life and that legislation to tackle gender-based violence remains inadequate.31 Although a high number of gender-based violence cases are reported to service providers, it is likely that such violence is significantly underreported. In November 2019, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics published its 2019 violence survey, in which it was found that 29 per cent of women across the Occupied Palestinian Territory had experienced some form of violence by their husbands at least once.32 According to a recent study published by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),33 the increasingly fragile and stressful situation in Gaza was likely to increase the vulnerability of women to violence. During the reporting period, the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling registered 22 cases of gender-related killings in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: 17 in the West Bank and five in Gaza. Of grave concern is the insufficient response by the responsible authorities in terms of preventive action and of investigating, prosecuting and bringing to justice those responsible for violence in the private sphere. 33. In Gaza, one women’s centre reported having received around 1,250 new cases of gender-based violence, with victims requiring services such as legal aid, shelter, and psychosocial support.34 Serious gaps remained in addressing the increasing need for protection and services, with one women’s shelter in Gaza reporting it had received approximately 10 cases of violence against women daily.35 Another organization 31 32 33 34 35 A/HRC/35/30/Add.2, paras. 24–25, 29, 66 and 69, and CEDAW/C/PSE/CO/1, paras. 26–27. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, “Preliminary results of the violence survey in the Palestinian society” (November 2019). Available from http://pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2480.pdf (in Arabic and English). Eugenie Reidy in cooperation with UNRWA, How Does She Cope? Women Pushed to New Limits in the Gaza Strip (October 2019). Information provided by the Centre for Women’s Legal Research, Counselling and Protection. Ibid. 7