Thursday 15 Oct 2015 - 13:22 Makkah mean time-2-1-1437
(Image from The Electronic Intifada)
Jerusalem, (IINA) - Two more Palestinians were shot dead on Wednesday following alleged knife attacks, while the Israeli army and government began implementing a rash of new measures approved by the so-called Security Cabinet late Tuesday night, the Electronic Intifada reported.
Among the decisions made, Israeli police and Border Police will enforce closures on Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem.
From its side, human rights groups, meanwhile, have raised the alarm about an Israeli policy of extrajudicial killing targeting Palestinians.
The Security Cabinet also decided the army will deploy its military police to assist civilian police in major cities throughout present-day Israel, and 1,400 Border Police reservists have been called to reinforce Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem.
As part of the Israeli crackdown, homes belonging to Palestinians who are alleged to have taken part in an attack will be demolished within two weeks of the attacks – a significant shortening of the time previously allowed for families to appeal such orders.
This collective punishment is reserved exclusively for the family members of Palestinians and has never been used against Jews.
The Cabinet also ruled that families will not be allowed to rebuild their destroyed homes, and alleged attackers may have their residency permits revoked.
Human Rights Watch condemned the demolition policy. The group’s Country Director Sari Bashi stated that “exacerbating the punitive policy of home demolitions is an unlawful and ill-considered response.” Thirty-two Palestinians have been killed since escalated violence began on 1 October.
At least 17 were killed while protesting. Others have been killed in what Amnesty International has described as extrajudicial killings.
On Wednesday night, 20-year-old Basil Bassam Raghib Sidr was shot dead by a police officer at the Damascus Gate of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli officials claimed Sidr tried to stab the officer, but no injuries were reported. Later that evening, Ahmad Shaaban, 23, from the Ras al-Amud neighborhood in East Jerusalem allegedly attacked a woman at the central bus station in West Jerusalem. Shaaban was killed on the spot, while the woman is reported to have sustained light to moderate wounds.
However, the Israeli account has been disputed. Qpress, an online Palestinian outlet for news about Jerusalem, published a recording it said was an Israeli eyewitness telling media that Shaaban was unarmed and doing nothing when shot. It provided no other details about the purported eyewitness.
Qpress also published a video it says shows Shaaban being killed. The brief, grainy clip shows a person standing over what appears to be a motionless body and firing a gun at close range three times.
Nine human rights organizations in present-day Israel, including B’Tselem, the Association for Human Rights in Israel and Amnesty International, jointly condemned what appears to be an Israeli “shoot to kill” policy for any Palestinian suspected of involvement in attacks on Israeli Jews.
“No one disputes the serious nature of the events of recent days,” the joint statement reads, “nor the need to protect the public against stabbing and other attacks. However, it seems that too often, instead of acting in a manner consistent with the nature of each incident, police officers and soldiers are quick to shoot to kill.”
While not an official stated policy, high profile politicians have endorsed the summary executions of Palestinians. Israel’s police commander for Jerusalem Moshe Edri has stated that anyone who stabs Jews or hurts innocent people is due to be killed.
SM/IINA
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