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Under international law, Israeli forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are obliged to restore and ensure public order and safety,
and respect and protect civilians. The means and manner of law enforcement and
military operations must conform to the standards of international humanitarian
and human rights law.
In law enforcement situations, Israeli military forces
should abide by the standards set forth in the U.N. Basic Principles on the Use
of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the U.N. Code of Conduct
for Law Enforcement Officials, and be provided with the equipment and training
necessary for this purpose. Israeli forces should not use firearms in law
enforcement situations, except when strictly necessary to defend themselves or
others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, and only in
proportion to the actual danger presented. Curfew enforcement and control of
demonstrations should comply with law enforcement standards, and rules of
engagement should be changed to reflect this.
If, in the context of law enforcement, lethal force is used,
Israeli forces must comply with the principles of human rights law. These
principles include:
- The exercise of restraint in the use of force, acting in
proportion to the seriousness of the threat and the legitimate objective
to be achieved.
- Ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any
injured or affected person at the earliest possible moment.
If, in the context of armed hostilities, lethal force is
used, Israeli forces must comply with the principles of international
humanitarian law. These principles include:
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The obligation to distinguish, at all times, between civilians
and combatants.
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The prohibition against attacking the civilian population or
individual civilians and their property.
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The obligation to refrain from indiscriminate attacks.
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The principle of proportionality – namely, the military advantage
of an attack cannot be outweighed by the impact on civilians or civilian
objects.
The government of Israel should:
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Allocate sufficient resources to monitor civilian casualties
throughout the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Military authorities should
keep records, and observe and analyze trends, related to specific units and
commanders, as well as tactics, to ensure accountability and minimize civilian
casualties. These statistics should be made public on a regular basis.
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Maintain an official record of all complaints received against
IDF personnel by date, location, alleged incident type, and action taken.
Statistics regarding substantiated complaints and investigations should be made
public on a regular basis. Statistics on all disciplinary proceedings taken by
the IDF should be collected in sufficient detail and reviewed at a sufficiently
high level to enable IDF authorities to identify patterns of wrongful behavior,
and to adopt any necessary preventive or corrective measures. These statistics
should be made public on a regular basis.
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End the practice of relying on operational debriefings or “field
investigations” into alleged civilian killings in determining whether to open
criminal investigations.
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End exclusive military jurisdiction over cases in which soldiers
are accused of serious human rights abuses against civilians in non-combat
circumstances.
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Establish an independent body to receive and investigate
complaints of human rights abuses and breaches of international humanitarian
law committed by Israeli security personnel, including members of the IDF, the
Border Guard, Israel National Police, and the Israel Security Service (Shin
Bet). This independent body should have the capacity to initiate investigations
of alleged wrongdoing on its own, and not simply in response to complaints. It
should be staffed by competent, qualified, and impartial experts, who are
functionally and practically independent of the suspected perpetrators and the
agency they serve. The independent body should have sufficient personnel and
adequate resources to carry out its responsibilities.
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Provide the independent body with all information, as well as
technical and financial resources, necessary to investigate fully all aspects
of complaints, as well as to review patterns of abuse. Investigators should
have unrestricted access to places of custody and the alleged incident, as well
as to documents and persons it deems relevant. The independent investigative
body should be empowered to summon witnesses and compel their testimony, and to
demand the production of evidence and all relevant operational orders and
related briefing materials. The body should have the ability to recommend for
criminal prosecution any individual when credible evidence exists that the
person has committed a crime.
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Remove alleged perpetrators from active duty or from the areas
where the incident under investigation took place while the investigation is
underway.
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Publicize widely information on how to file complaints, and
contact details of investigating bodies, in the Hebrew and Arabic media,
including media outlets in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, and on the
Internet. Complaint filing procedures should include a telephone hotline
capable of receiving anonymous witness testimony. The process of registering a
complaint should be straightforward, and persons making the complaint should be
assured of confidentiality if they so request. All complaints for which
evidence or credible allegations of wrongdoing exist should be investigated.
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Bring to justice all individuals responsible for wrongdoing in a
timely manner. Punishments should be commensurate with the gravity of the
crime, including judicial as well as administrative penalties for all
individuals guilty of unlawful killings, torture, or other serious violations
of human rights and international humanitarian law.
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Ensure that when a complaint is not upheld by an investigation,
the complainant receives a decision in writing, in his or her own language,
which sets out the evidence as well as the findings of the completed
investigation. The investigation should establish a clearly auditable trail,
one that demonstrates that a robust, impartial, and expeditious investigation
took place and why the investigators reached the conclusions they did.
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Establish clear guidelines to all individuals involved in
organizing and obtaining witness testimony of individuals residing in areas
under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority and not normally under IDF
control, including basic procedures on how to identify and search for witnesses
or complainants, support services for witnesses or complainants, and
appropriate interview and liaison techniques. Ensure these guidelines are
shared with Palestinian District Coordination Office (DCO) officials
responsible for facilitating Palestinian testimony. Clearly inform all
witnesses and complainants of the procedures available to assist their giving
of testimony, including the guarantee of non-arrest and facilitation of travel.
Enable the use of video conference facilities for individuals unable to travel.
Witnesses should be protected from intimidation and retaliation.
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Ensure effective access by families and their legal representatives
to any hearing and to all relevant investigatory information. Ensure that
families can practically exercise the right to present other evidence.
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Enable compensation of all individuals who have suffered harm as
a result of unlawful or criminal behavior by state agents by taking the
following steps:
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Amend Sections 5 and 5A of the Civil Torts Law (State Liability),
5712 –1952, to allow individuals who suffered harm as a result of unlawful or
criminal behavior by state agents to receive compensation.
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Create a compensation commission to expedite claim proceedings
for all compensation awards under a reasonable monetary threshold.
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Make all victims of unlawful or criminal behavior aware of their
right to receive compensation, and of the means to obtain it.
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Apply Article 77 of the 1977 Penal Code pertaining to personal
liability of perpetrators and monetary compensation for victims.
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Make applicable in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well
as in Israel, victims’ rights provisions of the Offense Victims Rights Act
(2001).
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