The Israeli high court of justice rejected on Sunday a request to reopen an investigation into the death of four Palestinian children who were killed by an Israeli airstrike while playing on a beach in the Gaza Strip during the 2014 war.
The bombing which happened on July 16 2014 claimed the lives of four members of the Bakr family – Ismail 9 Aed 10 Zaharia 10 and Mohamed 11. They were playing soccer on the beach when they were killed.
The incident drew widespread international attention especially because many foreign journalists staying in nearby hotels witnessed the incident. Images showed the children desperately running away on the beach as a missile falls and then the boys falling to the ground one after another.
The petition was filed on behalf of the victims’ parents by the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel al-Mizan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. They were seeking a criminal investigation into the incident.
In its ruling the court upheld earlier decisions by Israeli military investigators and legal authorities describing the incident as a tragic mistake.
In a joint statement the rights groups said Sunday’s decision “is further evidence that Israel is unable and unwilling to investigate and prosecute soldiers and commanders for war crimes against Palestinian civilians.”
International Human rights groups and reports have long accused Israel and its military of whitewashing wrongdoing by its troops. Last year the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into reported Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories including actions during the 2014 war on Gaza. Bakr family members delivered testimony to the court during a preliminary inquiry.
The Israeli government rejected the ICC case claiming its legal system was capable of investigating its military’s actions and accusing the court of anti-Semitism.
