Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an open letter protesting what it calls “executions” of suspected Palestinian terrorists by police.
Objecting to the recent killings of suspected Palestinian terrorists by police, particularly Monday’s shooting of Hadil and Nurhan Awad near Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market after they attempted to stab civilians, the group charges that Netanyahu’s government “allows — and even encourages — the transformation of police, and even of armed civilians, into judges and executioners.”
“Whether it’s someone who tried to attack or whether it isn’t, the matter doesn’t blur the difficult reality: it’s execution in the streets, without law or trial, immediately and publicly; and the suspicion arises that these incidents [from Monday] are joined by others,” the group says.
In a still image from security camera of the scene, a young Palestinian girl (center) lashes out with a pair of scissors in an attack in Jerusalem on November 23, 2015 (screen capture: Channel 2)
“The wave of terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians is horrifying,” B’Tselem letter signed by CEO Hagai El-Ad says. “The security forces must protect the public. According to the circumstances, they must use the necessary force for the sake of attaining this objective. Nonetheless, police and soldiers must not behave as judges and executioners. Whoever pulls the trigger bears responsibility for his actions… [and] in the end you, as prime minister, bear responsibility.”
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