Jason Koutsoukis; 27/11/08
The Israel Defence Forces have assassinated wanted Palestinians in defiance of guidelines laid down by the Israeli High Court. According to operational briefings obtained by the newspaper Haaretz, the IDF has also approved assassinations in the West Bank when it could have arrested the men instead. “Top-ranking army officers authorised the killings in advance, in writing, even if innocent bystanders would be killed as well,” Haaretz reported. Israeli law allows some assassinations in circumstances where the IDF believes the target poses an immediate security threat to Israel or Israeli citizens. But the newspaper has discovered that contrary to what officials had told the High Court, “assassinations were subject to only minimal restrictions prior to the court’s ruling”.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/world/israel-army-approved-killings-says-report-20081126-6iw5.html
Tags: Human Rights, Israel, USA