Israel’s Targeted Killings in West Bank Hospital May Have Been War Crime, Say UN Experts

 Smoke rises from Gaza, as the sun sets, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, as seen from Sderot, Israel, February 9, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Gaza, as the sun sets, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, as seen from Sderot, Israel, February 9, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
20

Israel’s Targeted Killings in West Bank Hospital May Have Been War Crime, Say UN Experts

 Smoke rises from Gaza, as the sun sets, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, as seen from Sderot, Israel, February 9, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Gaza, as the sun sets, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, as seen from Sderot, Israel, February 9, 2024. (Reuters)

An operation by Israeli security forces who dressed as medics and women to enter a West Bank hospital and killed three Palestinians inside last month may amount to a war crime and violations of international law, independent UN human rights experts said Friday.

Security camera footage showed about a dozen undercover forces wearing Muslim headscarves, hospital scrubs or white doctor’s coats as they entered Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin on Jan. 29. One carried a rifle in one arm and a folded wheelchair in the other.

Israel’s military said forces killed Mohammed Jalamneh, who it said was planning an imminent attack, and brothers Basel and Mohammed Ghazawi, who were allegedly hiding inside the hospital and were involved in attacks.

“In occupied territory under Israeli control, outside active hostilities, at most Israeli forces may have been entitled to arrest or detain them. They could only use force if strictly necessary to prevent an imminent threat to life or serious injury,” the experts said. “Instead, Israel chose to murder them, in flagrant violation of their right to life.”

Under international humanitarian law, they said, “killing a defenseless injured patient who is being treated in a hospital amounts to a war crime.”

Dozens of independent experts work with the United Nations under a mandate from the UN’s Human Rights Council, but do not represent the world body. The five experts who spoke out Friday focus on issues like terrorism, the right to health and arbitrary execution.

The experts called on Israel to investigate the episode in view to prosecuting those responsible and said they would urge the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to launch a probe if Israel does not carry out a “prompt investigation” of the killings.



Iraqi Kurdistan: Assailant of Assyrian Celebration Attack Affiliated with ISIS

 Akitu holiday celebrators carrying a flag for the Assyrians in Iraq (AP). 
 Akitu holiday celebrators carrying a flag for the Assyrians in Iraq (AP). 
TT
20

Iraqi Kurdistan: Assailant of Assyrian Celebration Attack Affiliated with ISIS

 Akitu holiday celebrators carrying a flag for the Assyrians in Iraq (AP). 
 Akitu holiday celebrators carrying a flag for the Assyrians in Iraq (AP). 

Authorities in Duhok, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, announced on Wednesday that the attack carried out by a Syrian national during a Christian celebration in the city was an “act of terrorism.”

On Tuesday, the attacker infiltrated a gathering of Syriac Christians celebrating the Akitu festival in central Duhok. He then pulled out an axe and attacked a young man, a 70-year-old woman, and a security officer.

Videos circulating on local media platforms showed a group of people apprehending the attacker, who was seen making hand gestures and shouting “Islamic State.” Shamon Shlimon, the deputy governor of Duhok, stated that initial investigations revealed the attacker was a Syrian national and that given the slogans he shouted, “it is clear that the attack was an act of terrorism.”

Later, security sources confirmed that the assailant admitted to police that he belonged to a terrorist organization.

The Kurdistan Regional Security Council later announced that the attacker was affiliated with an ISIS-linked group. In a press statement, the council said: “While the people of Duhok were celebrating Akitu, an individual holding extremist ISIS ideologies attacked citizens in the market with a sharp weapon.”

The Kurdistan Regional Presidency condemned the “criminal attack,” affirming that it would not tolerate any actions that undermine the culture of coexistence, acceptance, and tolerance.

In a statement on Wednesday, the presidency said it was “closely following” the investigation into the “criminal attack” in Duhok, assuring that the perpetrator will face legal consequences.

This is the first attack of its kind in Duhok. Chaldeans and Syriacs celebrate Babylonian-Assyrian New Year (Akitu) every April 1. During the recent attack, more than 8,000 people were present, half of whom were from outside the Kurdistan region, according to local reports.

The Akitu festival features celebrations, cultural and artistic events, and recreational activities, including traditional dances.