العربية
HE
العربية
HE
On 6 June 2006 HaMoked submitted a petition to the HCJ regarding the grave and ongoing failing concerning the investigation of an incident in which a Palestinian resident of Rafah was shot and killed, and her spouse and his two brothers were injured. The woman and her spouse were shot by soldiers close to their home while attempting to travel in their car in order to obtain medical treatment. The spouse’s brothers came to their assistance and were also shot.
This is the second petition submitted by HaMoked relating to this incident. On 9 March 2005 HaMoked petitioned the HCJ after the military advocate general (MAG) refrained to instruct the Military Police Investigation Unit (MIU) to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident for over a year. Following the submission of the first petition, the MAG decided to look into the incident, but determined that there was no need to launch a criminal investigation. On the basis of the exploratory material forwarded to HaMoked, an appeal was submitted against this decision. It should be noted that the “exploratory material” on the basis of which the military prosecution decided that there was no cause to launch a criminal investigation consists of no more than a ten-line excerpt from an operational log.
Three months after the appeal was submitted, the military prosecutor for the Southern Command decided, after further examination, to order to opening of an investigation. However, over eight months have passed since this decision and, to the best of HaMoked’s knowledge, not a single proactive step has been taken to investigate the incident. In light of the above, HaMoked submitted the present petition.
The petition itemizes the failings of the military prosecution and the MIU in this case: The fact that no examination or investigation was undertaken on a proactive basis; the extreme delay in the decision as to whether to launch an investigation; the total reliance on partial clarification material in the decision to close the case; the disregard of prima facie criminal offenses, including the shooting of civilians evacuating their injured relatives, and the delineation of sections of the Gaza Strip as “death zones;” the closure of the case without an in-depth examination; and, lastly, the shamefully slow actions following the decision to launch a criminal investigation.
The petition establishes that the authorities’ behavior in this case constitutes a gross violation of the obligation to ensure a reasonable investigation in order to uncover the truth. HaMoked emphasizes that whitewashing, leniency, and immunity are a sure recipe for injury to the rule of law.
To view the previous petition (Hebrew), the State’s response thereto (Hebrew), and the appeal against the decision of the military prosecution not to launch an investigation (Hebrew)
To view the suit for damages submitted on account of the incident (Hebrew)
