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Ahmad Erekat 26, june 23 2020 |
14 july 2020
More than 80 Palestinian, regional, and international civil society organizations from across 16 countries submitted yesterday a joint urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Procedures on the extrajudicial execution and willful killing of Ahmad Mustafa Erekat, 26, by the Israeli occupying forces, in cooperation with the Erekat family, urging international justice and accountability for Israel’s shoot-to-kill policy targeting Palestinians.
Erekat, a resident of Abu Dis, near Jerusalem, was shot dead by Israeli forces at a checkpoint near Bethlehem on 23 June.
“Ahmad was shot with lethal force by Israeli soldiers in the absence of necessity and without posing a threat to life or serious injury. He was then left to bleed to death for an hour and a half, while the Israeli occupying forces denied him access to medical care, despite the presence of an Israeli ambulance at the scene. They also prevented a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance from reaching Ahmad,” said the organizations.
“Under international law, the killing of Ahmad Erekat amounts to an extrajudicial execution and a willful killing, giving rise to individual criminal responsibility as a war crime at the International Criminal Court (ICC),” they said.
Erekat was the 21st Palestinian killed by the Israeli forces throughout the occupied Palestinian territory during the first half of 2020. Less than a month before his killing, the Israeli forces killed Iyad Hallaq in occupied East Jerusalem while he was on his way to a day center for persons with disabilities in the Old City, “in what amounts to an extrajudicial execution, a willful killing, and war crime,” said the organizations.
“The killings of Ahmad Erekat and Iyad Hallaq, as well as countless Palestinians, must be understood within the context of Israel’s widespread and systematic shoot-to-kill policy targeting Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line,” they said.
Al-Haq human rights organization said it has documented an escalation in Israel’s use of lethal force against Palestinians over the past five years, resulting in the killing of 754 Palestinians by the Israeli occupying forces in the occupied Palestinian territory since October 2015. “Israel’s pervasive impunity must be seen as part and parcel of its institutionalized regime of systematic racial oppression and domination over the Palestinian people, which constitutes the crime of apartheid,” said al-Haq.
Since the killing, Erekat’s body has been punitively withheld by the Israeli occupying authorities, as unlawful collective punishment, thereby prolonging his family’s suffering and denying him a dignified burial. The Israeli occupying forces continue to withhold the bodies of 63 Palestinians, under the pretext of using them as “bargaining chips.” In addition, the bodies of at least 253 Palestinians have been languishing, yet to be identified, in Israel’s “cemeteries of numbers.”
In 2016, the UN Committee against Torture considered that the practice of withholding Palestinians’ bodies amounts to prohibited ill-treatment, and called on Israel, the Occupying Power, to “take the measures necessary to return the bodies of the Palestinians that have not yet been returned to their relatives as soon as possible so they can be buried in accordance with their traditions and religious customs, and to avoid that similar situations are repeated in the future.”
Accordingly, the organizations urgently called for international justice and accountability to put an end to Israeli impunity and urged the UN human rights experts to publicly condemn the killing of Ahmad Erekat, to call for the unconditional release of Ahmad’s body as well as the bodies of all Palestinians punitively withheld by the Israeli occupying authorities, and to call on Israel, the Occupying Power, to revise its rules of engagement for the use of live fire.
The organizations also called on the Special Procedures to “Recognize Israel’s systematic shoot-to-kill policy as contributing to the maintenance of Israel’s apartheid regime of systematic racial oppression and domination over the Palestinian people as a whole, which, embedded in a system of impunity, prevents Palestinians from effectively challenging Israel’s apartheid policies and practices.” As stressed by the Erekat family, “These killings are taking place in a broader context of apartheid and settler-colonial expansion.”
Overall, the organizations endorsed calls by the Erekat family for international justice and accountability, including for Israel’s shoot-to-kill policy. They requested that the UN Special Procedures urge third States to activate universal jurisdiction mechanisms to try suspected perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in their own jurisdictions, and to call for “the immediate opening, without any further delay, of a full, thorough, and comprehensive ICC investigation into the Situation in the State of Palestine.”
Finally, the groups urged “Member States and the UN at large to address the root causes prolonging Palestinian oppression, including by bringing an end to Israel’s prolonged occupation and illegal annexation of Jerusalem, lifting the Gaza closure with immediate effect, and dismantling Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people as a whole, in order to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to return to their homes, lands, and property, as mandated by international law.”
The organizations addressed their appeal to five UN Special Rapporteurs, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism.
Erekat, a resident of Abu Dis, near Jerusalem, was shot dead by Israeli forces at a checkpoint near Bethlehem on 23 June.
“Ahmad was shot with lethal force by Israeli soldiers in the absence of necessity and without posing a threat to life or serious injury. He was then left to bleed to death for an hour and a half, while the Israeli occupying forces denied him access to medical care, despite the presence of an Israeli ambulance at the scene. They also prevented a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance from reaching Ahmad,” said the organizations.
“Under international law, the killing of Ahmad Erekat amounts to an extrajudicial execution and a willful killing, giving rise to individual criminal responsibility as a war crime at the International Criminal Court (ICC),” they said.
Erekat was the 21st Palestinian killed by the Israeli forces throughout the occupied Palestinian territory during the first half of 2020. Less than a month before his killing, the Israeli forces killed Iyad Hallaq in occupied East Jerusalem while he was on his way to a day center for persons with disabilities in the Old City, “in what amounts to an extrajudicial execution, a willful killing, and war crime,” said the organizations.
“The killings of Ahmad Erekat and Iyad Hallaq, as well as countless Palestinians, must be understood within the context of Israel’s widespread and systematic shoot-to-kill policy targeting Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line,” they said.
Al-Haq human rights organization said it has documented an escalation in Israel’s use of lethal force against Palestinians over the past five years, resulting in the killing of 754 Palestinians by the Israeli occupying forces in the occupied Palestinian territory since October 2015. “Israel’s pervasive impunity must be seen as part and parcel of its institutionalized regime of systematic racial oppression and domination over the Palestinian people, which constitutes the crime of apartheid,” said al-Haq.
Since the killing, Erekat’s body has been punitively withheld by the Israeli occupying authorities, as unlawful collective punishment, thereby prolonging his family’s suffering and denying him a dignified burial. The Israeli occupying forces continue to withhold the bodies of 63 Palestinians, under the pretext of using them as “bargaining chips.” In addition, the bodies of at least 253 Palestinians have been languishing, yet to be identified, in Israel’s “cemeteries of numbers.”
In 2016, the UN Committee against Torture considered that the practice of withholding Palestinians’ bodies amounts to prohibited ill-treatment, and called on Israel, the Occupying Power, to “take the measures necessary to return the bodies of the Palestinians that have not yet been returned to their relatives as soon as possible so they can be buried in accordance with their traditions and religious customs, and to avoid that similar situations are repeated in the future.”
Accordingly, the organizations urgently called for international justice and accountability to put an end to Israeli impunity and urged the UN human rights experts to publicly condemn the killing of Ahmad Erekat, to call for the unconditional release of Ahmad’s body as well as the bodies of all Palestinians punitively withheld by the Israeli occupying authorities, and to call on Israel, the Occupying Power, to revise its rules of engagement for the use of live fire.
The organizations also called on the Special Procedures to “Recognize Israel’s systematic shoot-to-kill policy as contributing to the maintenance of Israel’s apartheid regime of systematic racial oppression and domination over the Palestinian people as a whole, which, embedded in a system of impunity, prevents Palestinians from effectively challenging Israel’s apartheid policies and practices.” As stressed by the Erekat family, “These killings are taking place in a broader context of apartheid and settler-colonial expansion.”
Overall, the organizations endorsed calls by the Erekat family for international justice and accountability, including for Israel’s shoot-to-kill policy. They requested that the UN Special Procedures urge third States to activate universal jurisdiction mechanisms to try suspected perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in their own jurisdictions, and to call for “the immediate opening, without any further delay, of a full, thorough, and comprehensive ICC investigation into the Situation in the State of Palestine.”
Finally, the groups urged “Member States and the UN at large to address the root causes prolonging Palestinian oppression, including by bringing an end to Israel’s prolonged occupation and illegal annexation of Jerusalem, lifting the Gaza closure with immediate effect, and dismantling Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people as a whole, in order to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to return to their homes, lands, and property, as mandated by international law.”
The organizations addressed their appeal to five UN Special Rapporteurs, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism.
27 june 2020
Executive Committee for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), on Saturday, condemned what it termed immoral Israeli withholding slain bodies of Palestinians, killed by Israel, the latest of which was the body of Ahmad Erekat, who was shot dead by Israeli troops, at a checkpoint near the West Bank southern city of Bethlehem.
In a statement, the PLO’s Executive Committee called on all relevant international organizations to pressure the Israeli government to release those corpses, from what the PLO described as the ‘Numbers Graveyard’.
The statement maintained that the latest cases of slain Palestinians placed in this graveyard, were those of Eyad Al Halaq, 32, a disabled Palestinian young man killed by Israeli troops in East Jerusalem and Ahmad Erekat, 26, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers, while he was en-route to a hairdressing salon to pick up family members, shortly before a family wedding.
It noted that the Palestinian people and all other free nations, worldwide, are waiting for the moment of justice, when Israeli officials stand trial for all the crimes that they have committed against the Palestinian people.
The Committee, which the signed peace accords with Israel in 1993, and then recognized Israel’s right to exist, stressing the point that the Palestinian people must be protected from all Israeli practices and crimes, as a people under Israeli occupation.
In its press release, issued this weekend, the PLO’s Executive Committee, called on the international community to facilitate the return of Palestinian refugees to their Palestinian homeland and curb all, what the committee termed ‘conspiracies’ that are aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause, once and for all.
The press release referred to the US-envisioned peace plan, the so-called ‘deal of the century’, which Palestinians rejected for they believe it would only allow a dismembered Palestinian state, without the occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.
The PLO reiterated its long-held position that the Palestinian sacrifices along the path towards freedom and statehood, will not go unrewarded and that Palestinian resistance will continue unabated, until the Israeli occupation is removed and Palestinian legitimate rights are attained.
Noteworthy, over the past several decades of conflict, Israeli occupation authorities, have held dozens of corpses of Palestinians, whom Israel killed throughout course of the occupation.
Palestinian statistical figures suggest that Israel continues to withhold 260 Palestinian corpses.
In a statement, the PLO’s Executive Committee called on all relevant international organizations to pressure the Israeli government to release those corpses, from what the PLO described as the ‘Numbers Graveyard’.
The statement maintained that the latest cases of slain Palestinians placed in this graveyard, were those of Eyad Al Halaq, 32, a disabled Palestinian young man killed by Israeli troops in East Jerusalem and Ahmad Erekat, 26, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers, while he was en-route to a hairdressing salon to pick up family members, shortly before a family wedding.
It noted that the Palestinian people and all other free nations, worldwide, are waiting for the moment of justice, when Israeli officials stand trial for all the crimes that they have committed against the Palestinian people.
The Committee, which the signed peace accords with Israel in 1993, and then recognized Israel’s right to exist, stressing the point that the Palestinian people must be protected from all Israeli practices and crimes, as a people under Israeli occupation.
In its press release, issued this weekend, the PLO’s Executive Committee, called on the international community to facilitate the return of Palestinian refugees to their Palestinian homeland and curb all, what the committee termed ‘conspiracies’ that are aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause, once and for all.
The press release referred to the US-envisioned peace plan, the so-called ‘deal of the century’, which Palestinians rejected for they believe it would only allow a dismembered Palestinian state, without the occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.
The PLO reiterated its long-held position that the Palestinian sacrifices along the path towards freedom and statehood, will not go unrewarded and that Palestinian resistance will continue unabated, until the Israeli occupation is removed and Palestinian legitimate rights are attained.
Noteworthy, over the past several decades of conflict, Israeli occupation authorities, have held dozens of corpses of Palestinians, whom Israel killed throughout course of the occupation.
Palestinian statistical figures suggest that Israel continues to withhold 260 Palestinian corpses.
25 june 2020
The Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD) of the Palestine Liberation Organization called upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into what it said was Israeli extrajudicial killing of Ahmad Erekat.
“In the strongest terms, we condemn the heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupying forces against Ahmad Mustafa Erekat (28 years old) from Jerusalem, who was executed in cold blood and mercilessly left to bleed to death.
His execution, the prevention of the Red Crescent paramedics from approaching him to provide medical aid, and the withholding of his body, are all horrific crimes. The International Criminal Court (ICC) must expedite the opening of a criminal investigation into Israeli war crimes,” NAD said in a statement.
Erekat, from Abu Dis town east of Jerusalem and related to the PLO’s secretary general Saeb Erekat, was shot dead at an Israeli army checkpoint near Bethlehem on Tuesday when he was on his way to get his mother and sisters from a beauty salon for his sister’s wedding.
“This horrific crime is at the core of Israel's violent escalation against the people of Palestine as it prepares for the further annexation of Palestinian lands in the framework of the 'Greater Israel’ colonial project. It's part of its series of crimes and systematic process of ethnic cleansing, led by the current extremist Israeli coalition, aiming to eliminate the Palestinian national presence,” said NAD in the statement.
"Ahmad's execution comes on the eve of the US administration meeting to take the final unilateral decision to allow for Israel's further annexation of lands belonging to the State of Palestine. It also comes on the eve of the UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including Israel's illegal annexation plans,” it said.
“Israel, the occupying power, continues to act with a culture of impunity that will keep triggering such crimes. It is immoral to continue allowing the denial of the Palestinian people of their rights. We deserve nothing less than justice and freedom.
Henceforth, we call upon the ICC to open an investigation into all of Israel's extrajudicial killings of Palestinians, including the recent executions of Ahmad Erekat and Eyad al-Hallaq.
It is long overdue for the international community to take concrete action towards holding Israeli war criminals accountable for their systematic crimes,” it concluded with reference to Hallaq, an autistic Palestinian who was also shot and killed in cold blood by Israeli police in Jerusalem last month.
“In the strongest terms, we condemn the heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupying forces against Ahmad Mustafa Erekat (28 years old) from Jerusalem, who was executed in cold blood and mercilessly left to bleed to death.
His execution, the prevention of the Red Crescent paramedics from approaching him to provide medical aid, and the withholding of his body, are all horrific crimes. The International Criminal Court (ICC) must expedite the opening of a criminal investigation into Israeli war crimes,” NAD said in a statement.
Erekat, from Abu Dis town east of Jerusalem and related to the PLO’s secretary general Saeb Erekat, was shot dead at an Israeli army checkpoint near Bethlehem on Tuesday when he was on his way to get his mother and sisters from a beauty salon for his sister’s wedding.
“This horrific crime is at the core of Israel's violent escalation against the people of Palestine as it prepares for the further annexation of Palestinian lands in the framework of the 'Greater Israel’ colonial project. It's part of its series of crimes and systematic process of ethnic cleansing, led by the current extremist Israeli coalition, aiming to eliminate the Palestinian national presence,” said NAD in the statement.
"Ahmad's execution comes on the eve of the US administration meeting to take the final unilateral decision to allow for Israel's further annexation of lands belonging to the State of Palestine. It also comes on the eve of the UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including Israel's illegal annexation plans,” it said.
“Israel, the occupying power, continues to act with a culture of impunity that will keep triggering such crimes. It is immoral to continue allowing the denial of the Palestinian people of their rights. We deserve nothing less than justice and freedom.
Henceforth, we call upon the ICC to open an investigation into all of Israel's extrajudicial killings of Palestinians, including the recent executions of Ahmad Erekat and Eyad al-Hallaq.
It is long overdue for the international community to take concrete action towards holding Israeli war criminals accountable for their systematic crimes,” it concluded with reference to Hallaq, an autistic Palestinian who was also shot and killed in cold blood by Israeli police in Jerusalem last month.
On Tuesday, 23 June 2020, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian after opening fire at his vehicle, which collided into the traffic island in the center of al-container military checkpoint, east of Bethlehem.
The military claimed that the victim attempted to carry out a run-over attack, but according to the information collected by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) the victim was in fact en route to pick up his mother, in preparation for his sister’s wedding, which was supposed to be held in the evening in Abu Dis village.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) stresses that the Israeli military used disproportionate force, especially considering the fact that the victim posed no real threat to the soldiers’ lives in light of the heavy fortifications at the checkpoint.
This incident is yet another example of Israel’s systemic policy of shooting Palestinian civilians in a direct manner and as an immediate reaction.
According to PCHR’s investigations and eyewitnesses’ testimonies, at approximately 15:53 on Tuesday, Ahmad Mustafa Erekat (27), from Abu Dis village in occupied East Jerusalem, was waiting in queue at al-container military checkpoint in eastern Bethlehem, to cross into Bethlehem where he was supposed to pick up his mother and sisters from a beauty salon in the city and return to Abu Dis village to attend his sister, Eman’s wedding.
At approximately 15:55, when Erekat’s vehicle approached the checkpoint, it deviated from its path and collided into the traffic island opposite the glass room where Israeli border guard soldiers were stationed. The soldiers immediately opened fire at the vehicle, wounding Erekat with several live bullets in his upper body.
They pulled him out of the vehicle, threw him on the ground and prevented the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) medical crew from approaching him or providing first aid; leaving him to bleed to his death at the checkpoint.
It should be noted that the “container” military checkpoint separates villages located in south-eastern occupied East Jerusalem from eastern Bethlehem.
Following the incident, Israeli forces closed the checkpoint, fired a barrage of tear-gas canisters, and denied vehicles’ access to the city, causing a traffic jam.
Israeli police justified the execution of Ahmad Erekat alleging a suspected car-ramming attack, as the statement read “a speeding Palestinian vehicle arrived at al-container crossing in the eastern Sawahra in Benjamin area; the driver drove his vehicle quickly towards the direction of a female border police officer who was injured lightly. Border police officers opened fire and neutralized the driver. Medical crews declared him dead.”
It should be noted that Ahmad Erekat is a member at Abu Dis village’s Youth Council, and he was a popular and well-known person in his community.
According to Erekat’s relatives, he was excited to attend his sister’s wedding, which was scheduled to be held in the Royal Hall in the village that night, and he himself was set to get married next month, having postponed the ceremony due to the corona virus pandemic.
PCHR strongly condemns the murder of the young Palestinian, which reflects a clear disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians who are shot with the intent to kill them on grounds of suspicion, without any threat present to the lives of Israeli soldiers.
PCHR also condemns Israeli forces failure to provide medical aid, denying Palestinian medical crews from access to the victim and leaving him to bleed to death, which constitutes a violation of the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL).
PCHR also calls upon the international community to immediately take action to stop similar Israeli crimes and reiterates its calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances.
PCHR also calls upon the High Contracting Parties to fulfill their obligations under Article 146; i.e., to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, noting that these violations constitute war crimes according to Article 147 of the same Convention, and Additional Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, regarding the guarantee of Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the occupied territories.
The military claimed that the victim attempted to carry out a run-over attack, but according to the information collected by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) the victim was in fact en route to pick up his mother, in preparation for his sister’s wedding, which was supposed to be held in the evening in Abu Dis village.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) stresses that the Israeli military used disproportionate force, especially considering the fact that the victim posed no real threat to the soldiers’ lives in light of the heavy fortifications at the checkpoint.
This incident is yet another example of Israel’s systemic policy of shooting Palestinian civilians in a direct manner and as an immediate reaction.
According to PCHR’s investigations and eyewitnesses’ testimonies, at approximately 15:53 on Tuesday, Ahmad Mustafa Erekat (27), from Abu Dis village in occupied East Jerusalem, was waiting in queue at al-container military checkpoint in eastern Bethlehem, to cross into Bethlehem where he was supposed to pick up his mother and sisters from a beauty salon in the city and return to Abu Dis village to attend his sister, Eman’s wedding.
At approximately 15:55, when Erekat’s vehicle approached the checkpoint, it deviated from its path and collided into the traffic island opposite the glass room where Israeli border guard soldiers were stationed. The soldiers immediately opened fire at the vehicle, wounding Erekat with several live bullets in his upper body.
They pulled him out of the vehicle, threw him on the ground and prevented the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) medical crew from approaching him or providing first aid; leaving him to bleed to his death at the checkpoint.
It should be noted that the “container” military checkpoint separates villages located in south-eastern occupied East Jerusalem from eastern Bethlehem.
Following the incident, Israeli forces closed the checkpoint, fired a barrage of tear-gas canisters, and denied vehicles’ access to the city, causing a traffic jam.
Israeli police justified the execution of Ahmad Erekat alleging a suspected car-ramming attack, as the statement read “a speeding Palestinian vehicle arrived at al-container crossing in the eastern Sawahra in Benjamin area; the driver drove his vehicle quickly towards the direction of a female border police officer who was injured lightly. Border police officers opened fire and neutralized the driver. Medical crews declared him dead.”
It should be noted that Ahmad Erekat is a member at Abu Dis village’s Youth Council, and he was a popular and well-known person in his community.
According to Erekat’s relatives, he was excited to attend his sister’s wedding, which was scheduled to be held in the Royal Hall in the village that night, and he himself was set to get married next month, having postponed the ceremony due to the corona virus pandemic.
PCHR strongly condemns the murder of the young Palestinian, which reflects a clear disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians who are shot with the intent to kill them on grounds of suspicion, without any threat present to the lives of Israeli soldiers.
PCHR also condemns Israeli forces failure to provide medical aid, denying Palestinian medical crews from access to the victim and leaving him to bleed to death, which constitutes a violation of the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL).
PCHR also calls upon the international community to immediately take action to stop similar Israeli crimes and reiterates its calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances.
PCHR also calls upon the High Contracting Parties to fulfill their obligations under Article 146; i.e., to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, noting that these violations constitute war crimes according to Article 147 of the same Convention, and Additional Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, regarding the guarantee of Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the occupied territories.
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