On Friday, 12 October 2018, a Palestinian woman was killed and her husband and daughter suffered trauma after Israeli settlers had thrown stones at their vehicle at Za’tarah Checkpoint, south of Nablus, north of the West Bank.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said that the Israeli forces’ covering up the Israeli settlers’ crimes and constantly providing protection for them encourage settlers to continue committing their systematic crimes against Palestinian civilians.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 23:00 on Friday, a group of Israeli settlers in front of the Israeli forces stationed at Za’tarah checkpoint, south of Nablus, attacked a black Passat car driven by Ya’qoub Mahmoud al-Rabi (52) accompanied with his wife ‘Aisha Mohamed Talal al-Rabi (47), from Badiya village, and daughter Rama (9). They live in Alfit and were coming from Hebron. A large stone hit the car from the right side and broke the car’s windshield. As a result, the stone penetrated the windshield and fell on ‘Aisha’s head, causing severe bleeding in the right side of her forehead and above her eyebrow. Ya’qoub continued driving until he reached Ibn Sina Complex in Howarah village, where his wife drew her last breath. After that, she was referred a dead body to Rafidia Hospital, where medical examination showed that parts of brain got out of her forehead, causing her death. Moreover, her husband and daughter suffered trauma.
PCHR strongly condemns the crime of killing al-Rabi and Israeli government’s silence towards it. PCHR also emphasizes that the Israeli forces have not taken the necessary and actual action to prosecute the Israeli settlers who carried out the attack in front of the Israeli forces.
PCHR reiterates it warning of the Israeli settlers’ escalating attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property in light of the protection of the Israeli forces. Thus, PCHR calls upon the Israeli forces to stop providing protection for the settlers and covering up their crimes against Palestinian civilians and property as this encourages them to continue committing their crimes. PCHR also calls upon the Israeli government to prosecute the Israeli settlers perpetrating crimes and bring them to trial.
PCHR calls upon the international community to exert pressure on the Israeli government in order to fulfill its obligations under international law to put an end to settlement activities in the oPt.
PCHR stresses that the settlement activities itself constitute a war crime according to international law. Therefore, the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, individually and collectively, are legally and morally responsible for fulfilling their obligations and ensuring Israel’s respect to and application of the Convention in the oPt according to article 1 of the Convention.