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Ahead of a new television drama based on the controversial killing in
2004 in Gaza of British national Tom Hurndall (“The Shooting Of Thomas
Hurndall”, Channel Four Television, Monday 13 October), Amnesty
International has renewed its call for justice for Mr Hurndall’s family.
The human rights organization has described a situation where Israeli
military forces kill civilians in Gaza with “near-total impunity” - and
while Mr Hurndall’s death has led to the conviction of one Israeli
soldier on manslaughter charges, Amnesty insists that this was almost
solely due to the determination of his family rather than the Israeli
military authorities’ own efforts to see justice done.
Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:
“The shocking truth is that Israeli soldiers kill civilians in Gaza
with near-total impunity, week in week out.
“Tom Hurndall’s family have fought hard to achieve justice over his
tragic death but the general position is one where independent
investigations of civilian killings almost never happen and where the
process itself lacks independence and impartiality.
“Where, exceptionally, an individual Israeli soldier is held
responsible for a civilian death or injury, typically no-one further up
the command structure is ever held accountable.”
Amnesty remains extremely concerned that Israeli military personnel
continue to operate unaccountably in Gaza. In April this year, for
example, a Reuters cameraman - Fadel Shana - was killed by an Israeli
tank shell in Gaza despite clearly displaying “TV-Press” on his flak
jacket and nearby vehicle.
Two Palestinian children - Ahmad Farajallah and Ghassan Khaled Abu
‘Ataiwi - were also killed in the attack that killed Shana and several
other people were also injured. Shana and the two children were killed
by a “flechette” shell containing up to 5,000 5cm-long steel darts (or
flechettes) that spread over an area as big as a football pitch when
fired. These munitions are notoriously imprecise and should never be
used in areas populated with civilians. In this case the Israeli army
later wrote to Reuters saying it had investigated the incident saying
the decision to attack the journalist was “sound”.
So far this year more than 420 Palestinians (including some 80
children) have been killed by Israeli forces, and 30 Israelis killed by
Palestinian groups. Most of these deaths (some 385) occurred in Gaza.
Amnesty International remains concerned at a widespread failure to bring
people to justice for unlawful killings.
Kate Allen added:
“Amnesty condemns in the strongest terms all killings and other attacks
by Palestinian armed groups against Israeli civilians.
“However, while Palestinians who commit such attacks are tried by
Israeli military courts and given heavy sentences (with many also being
assassinated by Israeli forces), Israeli soldiers
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