Soldiers who killed Rafah youths didn't aim at legs
Haaretz
Date: 04-17-05
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
The soldiers who killed three Palestinian youths in Rafah nine days ago shot to kill and did not aim their weapons at the lower parts of the victims' bodies as military sources originally claimed, according to the findings of a probe conducted by the Israel Defense Forces. The incident, which occured on April 9, left three 14-year-old Palestinians dead.
The IDF's Southern Command has yet to ascertain exactly what the youths were doing close to the Egyptian border. One possible explanation is that they were trying to damage a surveillance camera installed by the IDF in the area.
Initially, the heads of the Palestinian security mechanisms in the Gaza Strip told IDF officers that the youths were part of a smuggling ring; military investigators are now probing the possibility that the youths wanted to damage the surveillance camera in preparation for a future smuggling operation.
The probe shows that the soldiers, from the Golani Brigade, spotted five youths moving toward the border of the special security zone that the IDF set up along the Philadelphi route. After an IDF armored personnel carrier left the area, three of the youths broke into a run in the direction of the Egyptian border. The soldiers fired off warning shots, and the youths began to retreat.
When the soldiers backed away, too, the three tried their luck for a second time. This time, they were spotted by an officer and two soldiers who fired some 12 rounds at the victims from close range, killing them instantly.
In contrast to the situation in other areas of the Gaza Strip, the IDF's rules of engagement along the Philadelphi route have not been altered for the period of calm. According to IDF sources, the rules of engagement along the route have remained unchanged due to the need to continue to prevent smuggling across the border.
The soldiers, therefore, acted in accordance with their directives, but military sources said Sunday night that the commander of the force had been mistaken in his considerations and that it was plain to see that the five youths had been unarmed and shots to their legs would have sufficed.
"The soldiers acted as if they were involved in a confrontation with an armed cell, and there was no justification for this," a military source said. "There was no reason for an incident like this to have ended in the death of three youths."
To date, no measures have been taken against the officer and soldiers involved in the incident, with the probe expected to continue over the coming days.
Source
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