JERUSALEM, 12 October 2004 — The Israeli Army has opened an investigation into reports by soldiers that their commander fired multiple shots at a Palestinian schoolgirl who had already been gunned down in Gaza, military radio said yesterday.
Thirteen-year-old Iman Al-Hams was first gunned down by soldiers posted in a nearby observation tower in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 5 as they suspected she was carrying explosives in her satchel.
The commander then shot the girl several times, a fellow soldier said. Her body was riddled with 20 bullets, including five in the head, Dr. Ali Musa at Rafah Hospital said.
One soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Iman, who was on her way to school, had walked toward the army position at the time of the incident.
“Soldiers fired in her direction, thinking she was carrying a bomb. She ran away but she was hit and fell to the ground,” he said.
The army then acknowledged the girl’s satchel did not contain any explosives. “Our officer approached her and shot two bullets into her head. He also set his weapon on automatic mode and emptied out the magazine on the lifeless body,” the soldier told army radio.
“We told him to stop but he carried on. The scene broke our heart because taking it out on a young girl in that way stains us all,” he added. “There was a lot of shooting, but I did not take part. To me it (the figure fired at) looked like a girl,” another soldier, whose identity was withheld, told Channel 2 television. A military source said a probe into Iman’s death was under way but “it’s too early to speak of criminal charges.”
Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, the chief of army staff, told Israeli ministers on Sunday that troops at the outpost believed the girl had been sent by fighter in Rafah to lure them outdoors so they could be picked off by snipers.
Human rights groups regularly accuse Israeli troops of using excessive force against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and say few abuses are prosecuted.
The Israeli Army insists its troops behave ethically in the face of Palestinian fighters who often use unconventional tactics, and says all abuse complaints are investigated.
Iman’s family voiced little faith in the Israeli inquiry. “We demand the prosecution of Iman’s killer, (but) we do not trust the Israeli judicial system,” the girl’s older brother, Ehab, said. “My sister was an innocent little girl.”
Tensions are high in the Gaza Strip as Israel gears up for a pullout from the occupied territory slated for next year.
Israeli forces stormed northern Gaza on Sept. 30, the biggest offensive there since the intifada erupted in 2000. Twelve days of the Israeli operation have claimed the lives of at least 92 Palestinians.
