“Israel is carrying out a murderous assault against protesting Palestinians, with its armed forces killing and maiming demonstrators who pose no imminent threat to them,” Amnesty International said on Friday as thousands of Palestinians taking part in Great March of Return rallies in Gaza faced Israeli bullets for the fifth week.
Over those weeks, Amnesty stated, “the Israeli military has killed 35 Palestinians and injured more than 5,500 others—some with what appear to be deliberately inflicted life-changing injuries.”
“In most of the fatal cases analyzed by Amnesty International victims were shot in the upper body, including the head and the chest, some from behind,” the group stated.
“Eyewitness testimonies, video and photographic evidence suggest that many were deliberately killed or injured while posing no immediate threat to the Israeli soldiers.”
In video at the top of [the article], Amnesty states that Israel is carrying out these crimes using weapons, including the American-made Remington M24 sniper rifle, which is sold in the United States “as a hunting rifle to kill deer.”
The video also highlights the case of Muhammad Khalil Obeid, a Palestinian footballer whose promising career was ended when an Israeli sniper shot him in both knees.
Amnesty also pointed to the evidence provided by doctors and medical personnel “that many of the serious injuries they have witnessed are to the lower limbs, including the knees, which are typical of war wounds that they have not observed since the 2014 Gaza conflict.”
The charities Medical Aid for Palestinians and Médecins Sans Frontières have also extensively documented “horrific injuries” likely to leave hundreds of people with permanent disabilities.
Time for action
Amnesty is renewing its calls for “governments worldwide to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel.”
“The time for symbolic statements of condemnation is now over. The international community must act concretely and stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel,” the group stated. “A failure to do so will continue to fuel serious human rights abuses against thousands of men, women and children suffering the consequences of life under Israel’s cruel blockade.”
Exerpted from Electronic Intifada, April 27, 2018. Read the whole article at http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/amnesty
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