A/HRC/7/76 page 12 40. The Israeli policy of targeted killings of Palestinian militants and security personnel continued. According to Palestinian human rights organizations, a total of 18 Palestinian militants and security personnel were killed while they were not directly taking part in hostilities; of these, 16 were allegedly killed in Gaza and 2 in the West Bank. In different incidents, on 5 February, seven police officers of the de facto Hamas authorities in Gaza were killed and eight others injured when a ground-to-ground missile was fired at their station in Abassan village in the Gaza Strip. On 23 February, three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army missile strike in the northern Gaza Strip. No militant group immediately claimed them as members. An Israeli army spokesman stated that ground forces had attacked a squad that was on its way to fire mortar shells into Israel.17 During the reporting period, at least three Palestinian civilians were allegedly killed as an indirect result of such operations. 41. According to Israeli media sources, the Government of Israel was working towards the establishment of a panel to investigate targeted killing operations that involved the death of civilians. The same sources reported that that decision was in line with the Israeli High Court ruling of December 2006, which called on the Government of Israel to investigate any incident leading to the death of civilians, under the condition that the incidents occurred after the date of the ruling. In spite of this, the Israeli State Prosecutor’s Office and the Military Advocate General recently rejected a request by an Israeli human rights organization to investigate six such incidents in the Gaza Strip in the past two years.18 42. With regard to Israeli military operations, it should be noted that, while Israel has a right to defend itself, disproportionate use of force is prohibited under international humanitarian law. Israel, as the occupying Power, bears a special responsibility under international human rights and humanitarian law to protect the civilian population and civilian installations in Gaza. Other incidents, including intra-Palestinian violence, during the period from 24 January to 24 February 2008 43. The violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict added to the already critical situation in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank that had resulted from the closure imposed by Israel and the breakdown of law and order. Several incidents were reported involving unidentified armed groups in Gaza. The state of institutions continued to deteriorate, especially in Gaza, as the population increasingly relied on informal mechanisms of dispute resolution. Local clans and families have formed militias and vigilante squads to protect their affiliates. 44. On 3 February, a 16-year-old Palestinian was killed by a stray bullet while he was travelling with his father in Gaza City. On 15 February, unidentified militants broke into the building of the Young Men’s Christian Association in the centre of Gaza City. The militants damaged the administration office and blew up the library. According to different sources, as at mid-February, 23 violent incidents had been recorded during operations by the Palestinian security forces against Hamas affiliates in the West Bank. One incident resulted in the death of 17 Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, 24 February 2008, press release ref. 12/2008. 18 See Haaretz on 20 January 2008, at www.haaretz.com.