In a new submission to the International Criminal Court, jailed Palestinian human rights lawyer Salah Hammouri called on the court to bring urgency to its investigation of war crimes committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory.
In his submission, Hammouri, who was re-imprisoned by Israel in March, details years of harassment and abuse by the Israeli government for his human rights work.
Hammouri, the son of a Palestinian father and French mother, is a prominent lawyer and human rights advocate in Palestine, and over the past two decades has spent more than eight years in Israeli prison, with his first imprisonment at only 16 years old.
Last year, Hammouri was named as one of several Palestinian activists who were the target of a spyware hack by the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group.
Hammouri was arrested from his home on March 7th a day after he published an article in Jacobin Magazine detailing his years of imprisonment, and the Israeli government’s decision last year to revoke his residency status in his hometown of Jerusalem, paving the way for his deportation.
Since his arrest, he was placed under administrative detention – Israel’s policy of imprisoning Palestinians without charge or trial.
“Today, I stand at the most difficult crossroads of my life, from injury to exile, detention without charge, and more. The occupation doesn’t stop at killing, detaining, and displacing us,” Hammouri wrote in his submission, which was filed on his behalf by lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
“It persecutes our dreams and assassinates them. The uncertainty of where I may end up, once I am freed, is a tornado of thoughts chasing me daily. It affects my morale, and my psychological state is like being on a roller coaster,” he said.
“I hope my dream of continued living, free, in my homeland won’t be killed.”
According to a statement from CCR, Hammouri’s submission “adds to a growing body of evidence for ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan to weigh as he considers bringing charges against Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Last year, Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, opened an investigation into possible war crimes committed by Israel in the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem after nearly five years of delays.
In the submission concerning Hammouri’s case, CCR urged the court to investigate the “ongoing – and escalating – attacks on and forced displacement of Palestinians from East Jerusalem alongside the continued transfer of Israeli citizens into the occupied territory as part of its war crimes and crimes against humanity investigation on the territory of Palestine.”
“We call upon your Office to focus on the multi-faceted efforts to remove Palestinians from Jerusalem, including through house demolitions, discriminatory zoning, forced evictions, arbitrary detention, an elaborate permit system and the revocation of residency, of which Mr. Hammouri’s case is both a stark example and a warning of new tactics,” the submission letter read.
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“Ahed tried to tilt her head to the side to dodge the bullets, but one of the Israeli soldiers ordered her to stand up straight, according to information collected by DCIP. Ahed stood in front of the Israeli military vehicle for about two hours before running to a nearby tree & collapsing on the ground, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
“Around two hours later, Israeli forces evacuated Ahed’s two-story house, where she lived with her parents, three brothers, grandparents, two uncles & their wives, & their eight children ranging in age from one to 11 years old, according to information collected by DCIP. After the family evacuated, Israeli forces bombed the house with rocket-propelled grenades, which caused the house to catch on fire. Israeli forces also shot live ammunition at the house, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
“Israeli forces withdrew from Ahed’s neighborhood around 11 a.m. She learned that Israeli forces arrested her older brother & that neighborhood residents posted on social media that she was being used as a human shield by Israeli forces, which led the Palestinian gunmen to stop shooting at the Israeli military vehicle.
“Ahed was transferred by private vehicle to Jenin Hospital & was treated for intense mental stress & a severe lack of oxygen, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
“The use of civilians as human shields, whereby civilians are forced to directly assist military operations or used to shield armed forces or armed groups or objects from attack, is prohibited under international law. The practice is also prohibited under Israeli law based on a 2005 ruling by the Israeli High Court of Justice.
“Since 2000, DCIP has documented at least 26 cases involving Palestinian children being used as human shields by the Israeli army. All except one case have occurred after the Israeli High Court of Justice ruling. Only one of those cases led to the conviction of two soldiers for ‘inappropriate behavior’ & ‘overstepping authority.’ Both were demoted in rank & given three-month suspended sentences.”
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Israeli forces use Palestinian girl as a human shield in Jenin | Defense for Children Palestine (dci-palestine.org)
Israeli forces use Palestinian girl as a human shield in Jenin, May 19/22
Ramallah, May 19, 2022—”Israeli soldiers used a 16-year-old Palestinian girl as a human shield in front of an Israeli military vehicle while deployed in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin last week.
“Israeli soldiers forced Ahed Mohammad Rida Mereb, 16, to stand in front of an Israeli military vehicle on May 13 around 8 a.m. in the Al Hadaf neighborhood of Jenin as Palestinian gunmen shot heavily toward the Israeli forces’ position, according to information collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine. Israeli forces ordered Ahed to stand outside the military vehicle for around two hours while they sat inside.
“’International law is explicit & absolutely prohibits the use of children as human shields by armed forces or armed groups,’ said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program director at Defense for Children International – Palestine. ‘Israeli forces intentionally putting a child in grave danger in order to shield themselves constitutes a war crime.’
“Israeli forces besieged Ahed’s home around 6 a.m. on May 13 in order to arrest her 20-year-old brother, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces ordered Ahed, her parents, & her two younger brothers out of the house & to move to a yard across the street. Israeli forces exchanged fire with Ahed’s older brother, who remained in the house. Around 8 a.m., Palestinian gunmen shot heavily toward an Israeli military vehicle, which is when Israeli forces ordered Ahed to stand outside the military vehicle.
“’Bullets were being fired at the military vehicle from all directions,’ Ahed told DCIP. ‘I was trembling & crying and shouting to the soldiers to remove me because the bullets were passing over my head, but one of them ordered me in Arabic through a small window in the military vehicle, ‘Stay where you are and don’t move. You’re a terrorist. Stand in your place until you say goodbye to your brother.’” (cont’d)