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Nearly all these atrocities are whitewashed. Soldiers involved are absolved of murder, and get a green light to keep killing. Accountability is so rare, even for the most egregious incidents, that soldiers are almost entirely unrestrained. As a result, they show flagrant disregard for human life in violation of fundamental international law.
According to Jessica Montell, B'Tselem's Executive Director:
"Since the beginning of the Intifada, we have opposed the sweeping decision not to investigate the killing of Palestinians. This is even truer now, when it is impossible to view the situation in the West Bank as armed conflict. The legal status must reflect the reality in the field, as well as express the value given to human life and the obligation to protect civilians."
All cases involving noncombatant killings warrant investigations. Soldiers claiming they acted in self-defense or to save lives is contemptuously false. Saying unarmed civilians attacked or otherwise threatened them makes a mockery of truth. It's why legitimate investigations are crucial to prove it.
B'Tselem stresses that "Armed conflict does not exist in the Occupied Territories," as Israel contends. Yet each case involves "combat incidents....in which Palestinian bystanders are (killed) or injured by soldiers' gunfire....exchanges of gunfire while making arrests in the middle of the night, and (claiming they shot) Palestinians in good faith," saying they posed a threat.
Israel's High Court distinguishes between "operational" and "criminal" actions, ruling that:
"the point of departure regarding an operational incident is that it does not involve a criminal incident....The cases in which an investigation will be carried out by an investigative body regarding an operational incident are the exception. Operational activity has a unique character and objectives that clearly distinguish it from criminal actions."
"An attitude that views the actions of security forces as being close to criminal actions strikes at the ethical basis of actions of the security forces and is liable to impair their motivation in carrying out their functions faithfully. The readiness of soldiers, commanders, and defense personnel in carrying out their functions, in taking risks and in acting on behalf of national interests, at times endangering their lives, when they are acting under pressure and uncertainty, is liable to be significantly impaired if they know that the actions are liable to result in their being prosecuted as criminal suspects."
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