Awarta condemns outcomes of IOF murder investigation
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Awarta condemns outcomes of IOF murder investigation

On Tuesday, April 27, Israeli newspapers and other news sites published the outcome of the investigation into the martyrdom of Muhammad Qawariq and Saleh Qawariq (both 18 years old) from Awarta village. The village council and the people of Awarta, as well as the families of the Martyrs, expressed their complete condemnation of the results of the investigation. Instead, they saw the report as a part of the procedure of assassinations of unarmed Palestinians, followed by “an investigation” in order to polish its image and to cover up their crimes before the world.

The investigation was executed by the head of the Israeli occupation forces in Nablus district. It found that the killings ‘could have been avoided’ and that they had to be attributed to ‘lack of experience’ and ‘preparation’. Chief of Staff of the Israeli Occupation Forces, Gabi Ashkenazi, reprimanded two senior officers over murders that in less than 24 hours killed four youth in the Nablus district. In addition to the two youths from Awarta, Muhammad Ibrahim Qadous (15 years old) and Usayd ‘Abd-al-Naser Qadous (17 years old) from Iraq Burin were also assassinated by an Israeli sniper. The only effect of a ‘reprimand’ is that the two officers may – or may not – have less career opportunities within the Israeli military.

The village council of Awarta, the people of Awarta, and families of the Martyrs, consider this outcome of the investigation a further confirmation of the disregard of Israel for the lives of Palestinians and the reality Palestinians are subjected to.

However, the results prove the claims by the people in Awarta and Iraq Burin that Israeli soldiers executed the Martyrs in cold blood. The village council therefore appeals to all human rights organizations and humanitarian activists, in Palestinian and internationally, to expose these crimes of willful killings and to hold the killers accountable in international courts. The deliberate murder of Palestinians by the Israeli occupation forces must stop.

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