Iman Darweesh Al Hams

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Iman Darweesh Al Hams (Arabic: ايمان درويش الهمص), a 13-year-old schoolgirl, was killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops in a "no man's" zone near Philadelphi Route, on October 5, 2004 in Rafah, Gaza Strip. She was reportedly hit by at least 17 bullets. The Israeli commander of the group of soldiers that killed her was accused of firing his entire magazine into the girl's body as she lay wounded on the ground. However he was cleared of these charges after the one witness against him admitted he had not witnessed the shooting. There was no explanation from the officer involved as to how al_Hams came to have 17 bullet wounds to her arms, legs, torso and face. [1] [2]

The incident took place while Operation Days of Penitence was conducted in the northern Gaza Strip. The operation, conducted between September 29 and October 15, 2004, was an Israeli counter insurgency military offensive into northern Gaza population centers, whose objectives were to root out Palestinian militants within the area and stop Qassam rockets attacks against Sderot.

1 Death controversy
2 Israeli documentary
3 Palestinian witnesses
4 Internal investigation conclusions
5 IDF investigation
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Death controversy

Controversy developed over Druze (IDF) Givati Brigade company commander "Captain R"'s role in the killing, resulting in an investigation which cleared him of murder charges. The controversy originated from a single withdrawn statements from one of the company's soldiers who claimed that the commander killed Iman Al Hams as she lay wounded on the ground, and then emptied an entire clip into her body in an unofficially banned IDF military convention known as "confirming the kill". The soldier later confessed that he had not witnessed this, but the incident drew strong condemnation from Palestinians, and raised questions in Israel as to the actions of the IDF, as well as the army's ability to investigate Palestinian civilian casualties. No explanation for the 17 bullet wounds to al_Hams was forthcoming from the officer, who claimed that he had not shot the girl. [3].

[edit] Israeli documentary

The events of the shooting were documented on video by an Israeli cameraman and screened on Israel's Channel 2 nationwide. According to the video, the soldiers of the Givati Brigade identified the victim as "a girl, about 10 years old" and that she was "scared to death". Another soldier is then heard saying "Our forces are attacking her", and a lookout says "One of the positions has taken her down." The Givati Brigade company commander "Captain R" is heard saying "We operated on her. Yes, it seems she has been hit." He later stated that he "verified" the killing, and then added "Anyone that moves in the zone, even if it is a 3-year-old boy, should be killed" [4]. The IDF chief of staff at the time Moshe Ya'alon criticised the staff of "Uvda" (the show which broadcasted the documentary) for creating a "fictitious and shocking" documentary.

In court, only one soldier withdrew his account, whilst the forensic evidence of 17 bullet wounds to the girl's body, including 5 head wounds belied the officer's claim that he had not fired on the girl.

[edit] Palestinian witnesses

According to Omar Abu Khalifa, 25, a Palestinian witness, "Israeli soldiers stormed the area, the girl left the bag and tried to run. Bullets hit the (girl's) bag and then soldiers opened fire on the girl." [5]

The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that an ambulance had been called to evacuate an injured person, but Israeli forces had blocked it from entering the area. The body of a 13 year-old girl was later delivered by the IDF to another ambulance and taken to hospital. Palestinian pathologists reported that 20 bullets had penetrated Al Hams' body, including 5 in her head. [6]

[edit] Internal investigation conclusions

On October 15, 2004, the IDF cleared "Captain R" of any wrongdoing, and found no evidence of unethical behavior. [7]

"Verification of the kill" is not a specific crime in Israeli military law, therefore "Captain R" was charged with "illegal use of a weapon." The Israeli military prosecutor explained that there was no basis to charge "Captain R" with manslaughter because prosecutors could not prove the bullets that killed Iman al-Hams had been fired by "Captain R". Prosecutors also decided not to charge the other soldiers at the outpost because the prosecutors accepted their claims that they believed they were shooting at a "Palestinian terrorist" and not a young girl.

The investigation criticized "Captain R's" decision to leave the post and the failure of his men to see and identify the girl sooner. Yet, the IDF investigation did not consider "Captain R's" behavior a breach of IDF ethical standards or sufficient cause for the commander's dismissal. The IDF accepted Captain R's claim that he had fired his automatic weapon towards the ground, not at the dead girl as alleged earlier, although this did not provide an explanation for the 17 bullet wounds to the girl's body. [8]

Nevertheless, "Captain R" was suspended after the investigation concluded he showed "a failure of leadership," citing violent and unruly behavior among veteran soldiers in the company, a severely strained relationship between them and the company commander, and the commander's inability to control them.

Ehab Hams, an older brother of the slain girl, expressed his distrust of Israeli military justice; "We demand the prosecution of Iman's killer (but) we do not trust the Israeli judicial system. My sister was an innocent little girl."

[edit] IDF investigation

According to an investigation by the IDF's Southern Front Command, soldiers spotted a figure carrying a bag at 0700 on the morning of October 5, as it approached the IDF Girit outpost along the Philadelphi Road in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, an area allegedly banned to Palestinians by Israeli military authorities. Suspecting that the bag contained a bomb, soldiers fired and hit the figure. "Captain R", and members of his unit left the army post to "defuse the threat," only to discover that the threat was a young schoolgirl, And the bag was later found to contain only schoolbooks.

Israeli soldiers from the platoon testified that the commander knowingly shot the girl in the head at close range and then emptied his magazine of bullets into her body to "confirm the kill." One of the soldiers was quoted as saying:

"We saw her from a distance of 70 meters. She was fired at and shot from the outpost. She tried to flee but was wounded badly. I understand she was dead. The commander walked toward her, he shot her with two additional bullets before returning to the outpost. Then he returned to the girl, put his weapon on automatic and -- ignoring our objections on the walkie-talkie – emptied his entire magazine into her body."

Another soldier reportedly testified, "Our hearts ached for her. Just a 13-year-old girl. How can anyone spray a girl from close range… The commander was hot for a long time to take out Arabs and shot the girl to relieve pressure."

It was revealed later that one of the soldiers who had testified about "Captain R" had misled to the investigators and revealed that other soldiers had initially taken part in the shooting of Iman al-Hams, not just their commander, and that the commander had not, as reported earlier, shot the girl from close range. Said one soldier to Ma'ariv:

"After we fired, the platoon commander went out to make sure she was dead. He fired only two bullets at her from a relatively distant point, fearing she was wearing a bomb belt. He then headed back to the outpost, but suddenly turned around and fired a long burst. I saw where the body was, and in which direction he fired. It wasn't even close [to the girl]. He fired towards Rafiah, in response to a burst of fire...". No gunfire from Palestinian settlements was recorded by any other witness than the IDF soldier, raising some doubts with regard to the veracity of this statement.

On November 15, 2005 a military tribunal acquitted Captain R and cleared him from all the charges against him.