Israel's alleged undercover killings in West Bank hospital may amount to extrajudicial killings, war crimes: UN experts

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - Israel's apparent extrajudicial killings of three Palestinian men at the Ibn Sina hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin may amount to grave violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law, a group of UN experts said Friday.

On Jan. 29, they said around 10 armed members of the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Police reportedly entered the hospital disguised as doctors, nurses and female civilians.

They were captured on CCTV taking a wheelchair and a doll in a baby carrier into the hospital.

After entering a rehabilitation ward, Israeli forces shot dead Basel Ayman Al-Ghazawi, a patient being treated for severe injuries from an Israeli airstrike three months earlier, along with his brother, Muhammad Ayman Al-Ghazawi, and another visitor Muhammed Walid Jalamna.

Israel claims all three men were involved in "terrorism" by Palestinian armed groups.

"Regardless, Israel is always required to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law," said the experts.

"In occupied territory under Israeli control, outside active hostilities, at most Israeli forces may have been entitled to arrest or detain them," said the experts.

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- Threat to life

They could only use force if necessary to prevent an imminent threat to life or serious injury, said the experts.

"Instead, Israel chose to murder them, in flagrant violation of their right to life," they said.

In addition, under international humanitarian law, "killing a defenseless injured patient who is being treated in a hospital amounts to a war crime," the experts said, referring to Basel Ayman Al-Ghazawi.

"By disguising themselves as seemingly harmless, protected medical personnel and civilians, the Israeli forces also prima facie committed the war crime of perfidy, which is prohibited in all circumstances," they said.

The experts urged Israel to conduct an effective investigation in line with international law to prosecute and punish those responsible for committing, ordering and assisting in the alleged crimes.

Israel should put in place procedures to prevent future arbitrary killings and provide reparations to the victims, said the experts.

They emphasized the international community's long-standing concern about Israel's culture of impunity regarding alleged international law violations by its personnel.

In the absence of a prompt investigation into the killings, the experts urged an investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

They said the killings occurred amidst "an alarming increase" in Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in apparent violation of their right to life in the West Bank since an Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian armed groups.