Great March of Return’s coordination committee on Friday said that the Israeli occupation forces’ (IOF) use of lethal force against the unarmed civilians participating in Gaza’s March of Return is a crime against humanity.
The coordination committee said in a statement that the IOF violent practices blatantly violate the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians under occupation.
The statement said that the excessive use of lethal force against unarmed protesters in Gaza based on instructions by senior Israeli leaders indicates that Israel does not respect international humanitarian law.
Israel’s War Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Friday said that hundreds of snipers will be stationed a few meters away of the protesters to immediately shoot any Palestinian who tries to cross the border fence.
This was followed by another statement by the chief of general staff of the Israeli army Gadi Eizenkot in which he said that he will personally supervise the quelling of the March of Return and threatened to use live ammunition to disperse demonstrators.
The coordination committee added that the IOF should not in any case shoot at unarmed civilians who do not use violence or pose any threat. Terms like “self-defense” and “protecting Israel’s sovereignty” are not acceptable justifications for belittling the lives of Palestinians it noted.
It affirmed that the Great March of Return is a popular event based on the human right to peaceful protest and the UN General Assembly Resolution 149 which provides for the return of Palestinian refugees to their lands from which they were expelled in 1948.
It called on the Palestine Liberation Organization the Palestinian Authority and international organizations especially the UN to shoulder their responsibilities on the diplomatic political and legal levels to stop Israel’s grave violations against defenseless civilians.
The committee stressed that Israel will not succeed in terrorizing the Palestinians people who will resume their peaceful protests until they achieve their goal.
The committee concluded its statement by praising the crowds in the Palestinian territories especially the Gaza Strip and abroad who took part in the Great March of Return activities.
