The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Relatives of Palestinian protesters killed or wounded by Israeli forces earlier this month on the Lebanon-Israel border will launch legal proceedings against Israel, legal experts promised Friday.
The announcement was made during a news conference at the Press Federation headquarters in Beirut, which was attended by members of the local and foreign press along with victims and their relatives.
Salaheddine Dabbagh spoke on behalf of the victims’ families, while Mohammad Baalbaki, the head of the Press Foundation, Talal Salman, the publisher of As-Safir newspaper, and Omar Nashabe, a criminal justice expert with a Ph.D. in the field, also made remarks.
Eleven Palestinian protesters were killed and 112 were wounded by Israeli troops on Lebanon’s border with Israel on May 15, when thousands of unarmed Palestinians marched to the frontier to mark 63 years since they fled or were forced from Palestine. Deaths of protesters were also reported during similar marches in Syria and Gaza Strip.
“Some victims’ families are determined to prosecute those who perpetrated the crimes. Israeli’s persistence in defying the rules of international law should end,” Dabbagh said. “The Israelis should know that they are not immune from legal accountability.”
Dabbagh explained that relatives of the victims might turn to countries whose courts can try war criminals regardless of their nationality or the location of the crime.
“Second, some of the victims carry foreign nationalities. We are mulling over trying the Israelis before the courts in their [the victims’] foreign countries … this issue needs studying and might require international efforts,” he added.
Dabbagh said that the legal process was in its initial phases, noting that it needed funding, efforts and study. “We hope that we can collect money to cover the costs,” he said.
A video taken at the march of wounded protesters being carried to ambulances was also broadcast during the news conference.
Baalbaki said that “free people cannot remain silent in the face of this Israeli injustice and there is no alternative to struggle to restore Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.”
The head of the Press Federation called for the “harshest punishments” for Israeli officials.
For his part, Nashabe detailed some of the facts, witness testimonies and criminal evidence that would be presented in the case.
“There were unarmed young people, elderly and children … who were exercising their right of expression and peaceful association in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” he said.
Nashabe said Israeli troops opened fire on demonstrators even though they were unable to pass over the first iron border fence and pointed out that there were several other fences, some of which were electrified.
Nashabe also said that Israeli soldiers targeted protesters who were not even trying to climb the first fence, adding that UNIFIL troops did not step in to protect civilians and did not ask the Israelis to hold their fire or even provide first aid for victims.
Nashabe noted that the U.N. Security Council has not issued a statement condemning the killing of the civilians, nor did legal committees take effective action.
Participants in the march, soldiers and officers from the Israeli and Lebanese armies, along with physicians and first aid personnel who treated the victims could be considered witnesses, according to Nashabe.
Potential material criminal evidence includes videotapes, recordings and photos taken protesters and media outlets, along with bullets extracted from the victims’ bodies, he added.
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