Report from the Lawyer’s Guild visit to Gaza

A delegation of eight American lawyers, members of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) in the United States, went to the Gaza Strip recently to assess the effects of the recent attacks on the people of Gaza, and to determine what, if any, violations of international law occurred and whether United States domestic law has been violated as a consequence.  They spent five days interviewing people in communities particularly impacted by the recent Israeli offensive, including medical personnel, humanitarian aid workers and United Nations representatives. In particular, the delegation examined three issues: 1) targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure; 2) illegal use of weapons and 3) blocking of medical and humanitarian assistance to civilians.

This is their report:

Targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, much of the debate surrounding Israel’s aerial and ground offensive against Gaza has centered on whether or not Israel observed principles of proportionality and distinction. The debate suggests that Israel targeted Hamas, i.e., its military installations, its leaders and its militants, and in the process of its discrete military exercise it inadvertently killed Palestinian civilians. While we have found evidence that Palestinian civilians were victims of excessive force and collateral damage, we have also found troubling instances of Palestinian civilians being targets themselves.
The delegation recorded numerous accounts of Israeli soldiers shooting civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, in the head, chest and stomach. Another common narrative described Israeli forces rounding civilians into a single location, i.e., homes and schools which Israeli tanks or warplanes then shelled. Israeli forces continued to shoot at civilians fleeing the targeted structures.

We spoke to Khaled Abed Rabu, who witnessed an Israeli soldier execute his 2-year-old and 7-year-old daughters, and critically injure a third daughter, Samar, 4 years old, on a sunny afternoon outside his home. Two other Israeli soldiers were standing nearby eating chips and chocolates at the time on Jan. 7, 2009. Abed Rabu recounts standing in front of the Israeli soldiers with his mother, wife and daughters for five to seven minutes before one of the soldiers opened fire on his family.

We spoke to Ibtisam al-Samouni, 31, and a resident of al-Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City. On Jan. 4, the Israeli army forced approximately 110 of al-Zeitoun’s residents into Ibtisam’s home. At approximately 7 a.m. on Jan.5, the Israeli military launched two tank shells at the house without warning, killing two of Ibtisam’s children: Rizka, 14, and Faris, 12. When the survivors attempted to flee, Israeli forces shot at them. Her son Abdullah, 7, was injured in the shelling and remained in the home among his deceased siblings for four days before Israeli forces permitted medical personnel into al-Zeitoun to rescue them. After medical personnel removed the injured persons, an Israeli war plane destroyed the house and it crumbled over the lifeless bodies. The dead remained beneath the rubble for 17 days before the Israeli army permitted medical personnel to remove their bodies for burial.

We spoke to the family of Rouhiya al-Najjar, 47, who lived in Khozaa, Khan Younis. Israeli forces ordered her neighborhood’s residents to march to the city center. Rouhiya led 20 women out of her home and into the alley. They all carried white scarves. Upon entering the alley, an Israeli sniper shot Rouhiya in her left temple, killing her instantly. Israeli forces prevented medical personnel from reaching her body for 12 hours. These are only some of the accounts that we’ve collected.

While in situations of armed conflict, collateral damage and mistakes can occur, the circumstances surrounding the cases that the delegation investigated indicate deliberate targeting rather than collateral damage or mistake. Specifically: The American School at Gaza, which was hit with two F-16 missiles on Jan.3, 2009, killing the watch guard on duty. According to Ribhi Salem, the school’s director, the Israelis gave no warnings. Salem stated that the school had come to an agreement with resistance groups not to use school grounds and there had never been resistance activity on the property.

Conclusions
This delegation is seriously concerned by our initial findings. We have
found strong indications of violations of the laws of war and possible war
crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip. We are particularly concerned
that most of the weapons that were found used in the Dec. 27, 2008, assault on Gaza are U.S.-made and supplied. We believe that Israel’s use of these weapons may constitute a violation of U.S. law, and particularly the Foreign
Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act. A report of our initial findings will be compiled and submitted to, among others, members of the United States Congress. We intend to push for an investigation by the United States government into possible violations by Israel of U.S. law. We also hope to contribute our finding and efforts to other efforts by local and international lawyers to push for accountability against those found responsible for the egregious crimes that we have documented.

Members of the legal delegation: Huwaida Arraf (New York, Washington, D.C.), Noura Erekat (Washington, D.C.), James Marc Leas (Vermont), Linda Mansour (Ohio), Rose Mishaan (California), Thomas Nelson (Oregon), Radhika Sainath (California) and Reem Salahi (California).