On 15 August 2018 the Israeli Military Prosecution decided to close the file investigation related to the killing of dozens of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces in an intensive bombardment which indiscriminately targeted civilian areas in Rafah south of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said the Israeli bombardment was carried out on 01 August 2014 during the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip and became known as “Black Friday”.
PCHR said the Israeli decision is a new affirmation that the Israeli judicial system does not provide any justice to the Palestinians constitutes a legal cover for the Israeli crimes and grants immunity to war criminals.
PCHR called upon the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to conduct comprehensive international investigation into the crimes committed by the Israeli forces in occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
The Israeli prosecution justified its decision in its report which included declaring the closure of other cases that “the Israeli military prosecutor has concluded that the policy of the Israeli army regarding the use of firepower during the fighting whether through artillery mortars and airstrikes came in accordance with Israeli law and the requirements of international law.”
PCHR said this is refuted by the facts on the ground as the legal investigations conducted by PCHR and human rights organizations prove that the Israeli forces launched retaliatory intensively and indiscriminately attacks including artillery shelling and airstrikes for 4 days east of Rafah. As a result dozens of civilians were killed and many others were wounded while hundreds houses and civilian property sustained material damage. Moreover the Israeli bombardment targeted a shelter belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and health facilities.
This was clarified by universal human rights organizations most notably the Amnesty International which mentioned in their report that Israeli forces committed war crimes during the operation in Rafah. The report addressed that : “There is a large number of evidences that can’t be ignored proving that the Israeli forces committed disproportionate and random attacks.. and in some cases indicators show that Israeli forces directly opened fire at civilians causing their death and attacked those fleeing for fear of their lives.”
PCHR confirmed that this decision along with pervious similar decisions affirms one thing: Israel is determined not to hold accountable those responsible for the crimes and grant them impunity within the Impunity policy.
PCHR said after about 4 years of hope and patience by the casualties and their families and in light of Israel’s decisions to grant impunity for those suspected of committing war crimes it is time to refer the case to the ICC.
“The slow and late justice is a false and absent justice” it added. “Therefore we call upon the ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to speed up the investigations in the Israeli crimes committed since June 2014 in the oPt including the Black Friday crime committed in Rafah.”
