Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

Sometimes there are events that are not clear cut.

But in this case a 17 year old pointed a gun at an Israeli soldier's head at
a checkpoint.

There wasn't much of a decision to make.

By the way - a 17 is a "child"?

Guess so - when anyone under 35 is a "youth"...

Also by the way - note the stilted narrative?

Usually PCHR writes descriptions of events that are fairly easy to follow.

In this case they mention a child being detained who had a plastic gun and
then they have the 17 year old somehow there and then shot.

They don't even attempt to explain what happened.

In fact, they quote the Israelis and don't even attempt to contradict it.

Notice: the PCHR narrative is so limited that both could be correct. All
PCHR says is that the 17 year old came to the checkpoint and was shot.

Indeed he was.]

PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

PRESS RELEASE

Ref: 151/2012

Date: 13 December 2012

Time: 12:00 GMT

Israeli Forces Kille Palestinian Child in Hebron

In an example of excessive use of lethal force, Israeli Occupation Forces
positioned in the centre of the Old City of Hebron killed a 17-year-old
Palestinian child, Mohammed Ziad Awad al-Salayma, on Wednesday, 12 December
2012. He was killed when an Israeli female soldier from the Border Guard
Forces opened fire at him and killed him. The Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights (PCHR) condemns this crime and believes that it form part of an
escalation of Israeli hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territory
(oPt). PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention to take practical actions to ensure Israel's respect for the
Convention in the oPt and offer immediate protection to Palestinian
civilians.

According to the findings of investigations conducted by PCHR, at
approximately 18:30 on Wednesday, 12 December 2012, Mohammed Ziad Awad
al-Salayma, 17, was on his way home after buying a cake to celebrate his
birthday, which was on the same day. When he arrived at an Israeli
checkpoint that is established at the entrance of al-Masharqa neighborhood,
Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint were detaining a child, who had a plastic
pistol. Once al-Salayma reached the checkpoint, an Israeli female soldier
fired at him from a close range; as a result, he was hit by three bullets
that penetrated his body and killed him immediately. Israeli forces kept his
body for over two hours before delivering him to an ambulance belonging to
the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). As a precondition for the release
of his body, Israeli forces prohibited the burial of al-Salayma in a
cemetery close to the limitation zone in al-Sheikh area in the centre of the
Old City.

In their preliminary investigations, Israeli forces claimed that "al-Salayma
approached al-Rajabi checkpoint in al-Masharqa neighborhood and pointed a
gun at the head of an Israeli soldier at the checkpoint. The female soldier
from the Border Guard noticed and opened fire at the boy and killed him. It
was found later that the gun was fake."

1. PCHR condemns this attack and reiterates its demand for the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their legal
and moral obligations under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure Israel's
respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR
believes that the conspiracy of silence practiced by the international
community has encouraged Israel to act as if it is above the law and
encourages Israel continue to violate international human rights and
humanitarian law.

2. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention to convene a conference to take effective steps to ensure
Israel's respect of the Convention in the oPt and to provide immediate
protection for Palestinian civilians.

3. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention to comply with their legal obligations detailed in Article 146 of
the Convention to search for and prosecute those responsible for grave
breaches, namely war crimes.

Public Document

**************************************

For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8
2824776 - 2825893

PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip.
E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org

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