On Monday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man, Ali Isma'el Ali Swaiti, 45, in Beit Awwa in the West Bank district of Hebron, after demolishing a house while he was inside. Israeli forces claim that Ali Swaiti had been wanted for several years.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights disagreed. PCHR "condemns this crime – which constitutes an extrajudicial execution – and calls upon the international community to work towards bringing to trial those Israeli politicians and commanders suspected of committing war crime," the group said in a statement on Wednesday, rejecting the army's pretext that the man's death came amid an arrest raid.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR and eyewitness testimony, Israeli forces entered Beit Awwa in the far south of Hebron at approximately 3am on Monday, supported by military armored vehicles, a bulldozer, and a Caterpillar digging vehicle. Israeli forces surrounded the house in which Ali Swaiti was located, using stun grenades.
The home belongs to Mahmoud Abdul Aziz Swaiti and is located in Khellet Al-Foulah, in the north of the town. During the operation, Israeli soldiers broke into numerous other houses in the area and turned them into observation points and firing posts.
After some minutes, Israeli forces evacuated at gunpoint the family living in the targeted one-storey house as well as a family living in another two-storey house, which belongs to the family of Ahmed Abdul Aziz Swaiti. The two families were detained outdoors for some time before they were taken to an adjacent house belonging to Abdul Jalil Swaiti. They were detained there with other families, all of whom were interrogated regarding the whereabouts of the targeted person.
At approximately 5:40, an Israeli bulldozer began to destroy the fences surrounding the targeted house. It progressed toward the house and started to demolish it, but it retreated as it was fired at from inside. Israeli forces stationed in the neighboring houses opened fire at the house for 15 minutes from all sides before an explosion took place inside. Residents of the area reported that the explosion resulted from the shelling of the house.
At approximately 6:00, the Caterpillar vehicle began to drive into and destroy the fences of the targeted house. After that, a digging vehicle continued demolishing the house, and then retreated to allow the renewed advance of the bulldozer and the search for the body of Swaiti.
At approximately 7:00, the bulldozer lifted the body of Swaiti out of the rubble and dropped it onto a road close to the demolished house before moving it another 10 meters away. At approximately 7:30, an Israeli soldier fired at least two shots at the body of Swaiti from a distance of three meters. At approximately 8:00, Israeli forces left the homes in which they had taken position.
In the meantime, Palestinian civilians had left their homes and many of them hurried toward the area of the attack. They carried Swaiti's body to take it indoors. However, some people clashed with Israeli forces as they withdrew. Israeli forces fired at those people using rubber-coated bullets, wounding five Palestinians including a boy and a young woman.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights disagreed. PCHR "condemns this crime – which constitutes an extrajudicial execution – and calls upon the international community to work towards bringing to trial those Israeli politicians and commanders suspected of committing war crime," the group said in a statement on Wednesday, rejecting the army's pretext that the man's death came amid an arrest raid.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR and eyewitness testimony, Israeli forces entered Beit Awwa in the far south of Hebron at approximately 3am on Monday, supported by military armored vehicles, a bulldozer, and a Caterpillar digging vehicle. Israeli forces surrounded the house in which Ali Swaiti was located, using stun grenades.
The home belongs to Mahmoud Abdul Aziz Swaiti and is located in Khellet Al-Foulah, in the north of the town. During the operation, Israeli soldiers broke into numerous other houses in the area and turned them into observation points and firing posts.
After some minutes, Israeli forces evacuated at gunpoint the family living in the targeted one-storey house as well as a family living in another two-storey house, which belongs to the family of Ahmed Abdul Aziz Swaiti. The two families were detained outdoors for some time before they were taken to an adjacent house belonging to Abdul Jalil Swaiti. They were detained there with other families, all of whom were interrogated regarding the whereabouts of the targeted person.
At approximately 5:40, an Israeli bulldozer began to destroy the fences surrounding the targeted house. It progressed toward the house and started to demolish it, but it retreated as it was fired at from inside. Israeli forces stationed in the neighboring houses opened fire at the house for 15 minutes from all sides before an explosion took place inside. Residents of the area reported that the explosion resulted from the shelling of the house.
At approximately 6:00, the Caterpillar vehicle began to drive into and destroy the fences of the targeted house. After that, a digging vehicle continued demolishing the house, and then retreated to allow the renewed advance of the bulldozer and the search for the body of Swaiti.
At approximately 7:00, the bulldozer lifted the body of Swaiti out of the rubble and dropped it onto a road close to the demolished house before moving it another 10 meters away. At approximately 7:30, an Israeli soldier fired at least two shots at the body of Swaiti from a distance of three meters. At approximately 8:00, Israeli forces left the homes in which they had taken position.
In the meantime, Palestinian civilians had left their homes and many of them hurried toward the area of the attack. They carried Swaiti's body to take it indoors. However, some people clashed with Israeli forces as they withdrew. Israeli forces fired at those people using rubber-coated bullets, wounding five Palestinians including a boy and a young woman.
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