ICRC Press release No. 06/36 - Israel / occupied and autonomous Palestinian territories : Civilians must be spared in all circumstances

The last two suicide bomb attacks, in Kedumim in the West Bank on 30 March and in Tel Aviv on 17 April, claimed the lives of 15 civilians and wounded more than 50 others. Other acts of violence such as the launching of Qassam rockets into Israel are also endangering civilian lives.

As a result of Israeli military operations during the past weeks - particularly the shelling of the Gaza Strip - a number of civilians, including two children, lost their lives and many others were wounded.

International humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects, and acts of violence intended to spread terror among the civilian population. Indiscriminate attacks are also prohibited under this body of law, which requires that a strict distinction be made between the civilian population and military objectives.

The ICRC calls on all those involved in the conflict to spare and protect civilians, and insists that all those concerned respect and ensure respect for the rules and principles of international humanitarian law in all circumstances.

Civilians must not pay the price of conflict; any civilian loss of life, on either side, further fuels the conflict and generates more loss, suffering and grief.

The ICRC remains committed to pursuing its humanitarian work in Israel and in the occupied and autonomous territories.

For further information, please contact: Vincent Lusser, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 24 26 or mobile +41 79 217 32 64 Caspar Landolt, ICRC Jerusalem, tel: +972 2 582 88 45 or mobile +972 57 773 52 35 Bana Sayeh, ICRC Jerusalem, tel: +972 2 582 88 45 or mobile +972 57 880 91 93 Yael Segev Eytan , ICRC Tel Aviv, tel: +972 35 24 52 86 or mobile +972 52 275 75 17 Iyad Nasr, ICRC Gaza, tel: +972 8 28 28 874 or mobile +972 59 60 30 15

Source

About headlines and content that has changed after it was added to this site - see disclaimer here

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.