Geneva, September 19 (RHC)-- Amnesty International has strongly condemned the fatal shooting of a Palestinian woman by the Israeli military, saying she “did not pose any immediate danger” to the regime’s forces and that her death underscores the need for international justice.
Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Saleh Higazi said on Wednesday that the video of the incident shows the Palestinian woman standing some distance away from Israeli soldiers when she was shot dead at Qalandiya military checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and East Jerusalem.
“She did not appear to be carrying a firearm and did not pose any immediate threat to the guards or to the lives of people in the vicinity when they opened fire. This strongly suggests that her killing may have been unlawful,” Higazi said. “Under international law, lethal force must only be used when strictly unavoidable and in order to defend people from imminent risk of death or serious injury,” he added.
The slain Palestinian woman was identified as Ala’ Nafeth Wahdan, 28, from Qalandiya refugee camp. Witnesses said she was left bleeding at the side of the road for “a long time” before being transported to a hospital in Jerusalem, where she was pronounced dead.
Israeli police claimed that the woman had approached Israeli forces, ignored calls to stop, and pulled a knife before being shot. Higazi said the killing is “an urgent reminder of the need for international justice to start charting the way towards an end to Israel’s institutionalized and systematic violations of Palestinian human rights.” He also slammed Israeli forces for violating human rights and committing unlawful killings.
“Israeli forces have a horrific track record of committing serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law – including using excessive force and carrying out unlawful killings. This pattern grows unobstructed by the complete lack of accountability for Israeli forces who carry human rights violations,” he said.
The Israeli military regularly opens fatal fire on Palestinians, accusing them of seeking to stab its personnel. Rights groups have repeatedly condemned the Tel Aviv regime for its shoot-to-kill policy as a large number of the Palestinians killed at the scene of the attacks did not pose any serious threat to Israelis.
