Commandants of the Israeli Occupying Forces have been authorized to use armed drones to kill PalestiniansIn the occupied West Bank, with approval from Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi
Hamas called the order “a dangerous step” and urged Palestinians “to continue resisting the Israeli occupation with all means possible until they regain their legitimate rights.”
The authorization to expand the use of killer drones coincides with “a significant rise in shooting attacks and massive gunfire during arrest raids, specifically in the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus,” according to The Jerusalem Post. On September 28, the IOF killed four Palestinians and injured dozensMore during protests in Jenin
As early as 2008The Israeli Air Force has been killing Palestinians in Gaza using drones. They have also been used to fire gas bombs and live roundsIn occupied Jerusalem. While drones have been used for surveillance, this will be the first time that armed drones are being used in the occupied West Bank. Drones comprise 80 percent of the total flight hoursThe Israeli Air Force.
Israel justifies targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad “terrorists” with drones for “counter-terrorism” operations if armed gunmen are thought to pose an imminent threat to Israeli troops. Israel cannot defend the land it occupies. The Fourth Geneva Convention states that an occupying force has a legal obligation to protect the occupied. Israel cannot use force against the occupied Palestinians as an occupying Power.
Under international law, the Palestinians have a lawful right to resist Israel’s occupation of their lands, including through armed struggle. 1982 the UN General Assembly “reaffirmed the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle.”
Shireen Abu Akleh’s Family Files Complaint Against Israeli Leaders in ICC
In May, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, known as the “voice of Palestine,” was reporting on an illegal IOF mass arrest raid on the Jenin refugee camp when she was assassinated by an Israeli sniper. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, (ICC) defines the killing or physical assault of war correspondents or journalists reporting in war zones or occupied territories as a targeting of war correspondents. war crime.
Although Israel initially denied that an Israeli shot Abu Akleh, it later said there was a “high possibility” that she was “accidentally hit by [Israel Defense Forces] gunfire.”
September 20th, Al-Haq Palestinian Human Rights Organization and Forensic architecture, a London-based research organization, published an announcement a report finding that Israeli forces repeatedly and deliberately targeted Abu Akleh with a “well aimed” bullet. Her vest that said “PRESS” was clearly visible to the IOF shooter, as shown by the detailed digital reconstruction from Al Jazeera footage.
Al-Haq and Forensic Architecture both released their reports on the same day. The International Federation of Journalists and Forensic Architecture filed their reports simultaneously. a complaintIn the ICC for the Abu Akleh Family and journalist Ali Al Samoudi. Ali Al Samoudi was also shot at the same moment by IOF troops.
Al-Haq is one of six Palestinian human rights groups that Israel baselessly designated “terrorist organizations” and one of seven raided by the IOF in August.
Israel’s assassination of Abu Akleh occurred just days after a coalition of Palestinian journalist organizations and leading human rights lawyers filed an initial complaint in the ICC,Protest against the targeting of journalists from Palestine
“The killing of journalists is an attempt to cover up and prevent their work in documenting human rights abuse and fosters impunity for the injustices that they are seeking to cover,” said Jennifer Robinson, a lawyer for Abu Akleh’s family.
The Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) “effectively legalizes almost every act committed by Israel’s security forces,” Ishai Menuchin, executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, wrote in my book, Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral and Geopolitical Issues. “One can only conclude that Israel’s HCJ is one of the primary enablers of the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
Another enabler of Israel’s illegal occupation is the U.S. government, which provides Israel with $3.8 billion annually in military assistance. The Biden administration refused to condemn Israel for its illegal terrorist designations, raids against Palestinian human rights organizations, or unlawful assassination Abu Akleh. U.S. President Joe Biden has twice refused to meet with Abu Akleh’s family face-to-face.
Those who speak out against Israel’s illegal occupation face serious consequences. Progressive journalist Katie Halper was “censored and fired” by The Hill for defending Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s description of Israel as an apartheid state. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem have all characterized the system in Israel as apartheid. The Hill is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which calls itself “America’s largest local television and media company.”
Journalists who report the truth about Israel’s crimes incur the risk of being fired or even assassinated. Any criticism of illegal Israeli occupation will not be tolerated by Israel or the U.S. government or its corporate media.
