Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) strongly condemns the new massacre committed by the Israeli occupation against the people of Nablus this morning, leaving 10 killed, including a child, and injuring dozens, which is yet another war crime.
AOHR UK emphasised that the lack of accountability or punishment encourages the occupation to commit war crimes and violate international humanitarian law.
Last month a massacre took place in Jenin, and like other past massacres, it went without any international action and amid disgraceful silence, which allowed new massacres to take place, and an ongoing violation of the rights of Palestinians.
In the early hours of February 22, the occupation forces stormed the Old City of Nablus, fired live ammunition and tear gas, and targeted a house inside the town with missiles, resulting in a huge explosion which left at least 10 people killed and nearly 102 people injured, 7 of them are in critical condition.
Those killed are Adnan Sabaa Baara, 72, Mohamed Khaled Anbousi, 25, Tamer Nimr Minawi, 33, Musab Munir Mohamed Owais, 26, Hussam Bassam Aslim, 24, Mohamed Abdel Fattah Abdel Ghani, 23, Walid Riyad Hussein Dakhil, 23, Abdel Hadi Abdel Aziz Ashqar, 61, the child Mohamed Farid Shaaban, 16, and Jasser Jamil Abdel Wahhab Qaneer, 23.
The number of victims that lost their lives in a few hours reflects the brutality of the Israeli occupation and its disregard to the voices condemning their crimes.
This massacre followed the Palestinian Authority receiving a resolution from the UN Security Council condemning settlements, after an agreement with the occupation government was made to de-escalate and freeze the establishment of settlements for several months, in order for the PA to strengthen its security grip on West Bank cities.
Despite the hard work of the PA to implement the agreement, arresting and torturing activists, the occupation government did not respect its obligations and continued building settlements and violating the rights of the Palestinian people, including today’s massacre.
AOHR UK emphasized that there must be wide action to stop these crimes and end the occupation, since secret agreements and avoiding the use of legitimate international means to deter the occupation gives it the green light to continue its killings, building settlements and violating rights and sanctities.
The number of Palestinians killed, whether by Israeli soldiers or settlers, reached 61 this year, including women, the elderly and children.
The aggression of the occupation on the cities and villages of the West Bank in recent times is a crime of genocide, like that of the Nakba 48, which used weapons against residents of Palestinian villages and towns, besieged them and emptied them entirely.
AOHR UK repeats its calls to Karim Khan, the Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court, to take serious steps to prosecute the perpetrators of serious crimes committed by the occupation forces, as it is a shame for the Public Prosecution Office to stand by watching these crimes.
