License to Kill

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi gives a statement to the media at an army base in southern Israel, December 26, 2023. (Flash90)
The ‘mistaken’ killing of three Israeli hostages was a tragedy long foretold
Far from an aberration, the hostages’ deaths are the result of Israel giving its soldiers license to kill innocent Palestinians without repercussions.
By Sebastian Ben Daniel (John Brown) January 9, 2024
The funeral of Ali Harb, who was stabbed to death by an Israeli settler the previous day, in the village of Iskaka, occupied West Bank, June 22, 2022. (Oren Ziv/Activestills)
A settler stabbed and killed a Palestinian. Now he’ll carry on life as usual
The State Prosecutor's decision to close the probe into Ali Harb's killing sends a clear message: whoever harms Palestinians will not be held accountable.
By Ziv Stahl September 5, 2022
Israeli soldiers aim their weapons at Palestinian protesters, Qalandiya checkpoint, West Bank, July 23, 2017. (Oren Ziv)
An Israeli bullet killed Shireen. Denial is the army’s time-tested strategy
Israel's attempts to deny responsibility for Abu Akleh's death is part of its long-standing policy of obfuscating investigations into Palestinian killings.
By Sebastian Ben Daniel (John Brown) July 5, 2022
Latest
Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked next to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, at the ceremony for opening a new year of justice in Tel Aviv, on August 30, 2016. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Justice minister’s attacks on Breaking the Silence may just backfire
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s latest crusade has led to a Breaking the Silence spokesperson being questioned under caution. But if she’s so concerned about army abuses against Palestinians, why isn’t she ordering an investigation into the string of unlawful killings carried out by soldiers? In Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s latest stunt, Breaking the Silence spokesperson…
By Orly Noy June 24, 2017
Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben Dahan. (Flash90)
Deputy defense minister wants to give IDF soldiers a license to kill
Eli Ben Dahan, who once called Palestinians ‘subhuman,’ wants soldiers to be able to freely shoot to kill. Israel’s Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben Dahan is reportedly working on submitting a bill proposal that will grant soldiers a license to kill, according to a Channel 2 news report that aired Saturday evening. The bill will allow…
By Haggai Matar January 7, 2017
Israeli soldier Elor Azaria in court to hear the verdict in his manslaughter trial for shooting an unarmed Palestinian attacker in the head, Janary 4, 2017. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
Elor Azaria and the army of the periphery
From the army’s perspective, Azaria’s guilty verdict ostensibly answers the critique that it is unable to deal with soldier violence against Palestinians — or that it doesn’t want to. But there is one reason and one reason only that the lowly soldier was indicted to begin with. An Israeli military court handed down a guilty…
By Edo Konrad January 4, 2017
An Israeli solider shoots tear gas toward Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against the occupation in the West Bank village of Budrus, three days after soldiers shot and killed 16-year-old Samir Awad, January 18, 2013. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
IDF soldiers who killed unarmed Palestinian set for community service
Two IDF soldiers shot Samir Awad from behind eight times in January 2013, killing him. Nearly four years and a string of investigative failures later, it looks unlikely that either of the accused will go to jail. By John Brown* In January 2013, Israeli soldiers killed Palestinian teen Samir Awad in the West Bank village…
By +972 Magazine December 19, 2016
License to Kill: Forgery, evidence tampering and two dead teens
Usaid and Muhammed Qadus are shot to death in their own village by a major in the Israeli army who claims he only fired rubber bullets. But the bullets were real, and he admitted to lying and committing forgery to cover up his crime. Instead of being charged with a crime, he is promoted. By John…
By +972 Magazine July 22, 2016
Youth protest against the Prawer Plan to displace Bedouin citizens of Israel, Hura, the Negev, November 30, 2013. (Photo by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
+972 Magazine’s Editor’s Picks of 2015
As 2015 comes to a close, +972 Magazine’s editors and bloggers look back at the year that was, and share the articles that most resonated with them – in no particular order. By +972 Magazine Staff Meet the new generation of Palestinians in Israel To most Jewish Israelis they don’t have names or faces. At worst…
By +972 Magazine December 22, 2015
Palestinian Muslim worshippers pray overnight, July 13, 2015 outside the Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City during Laylat al-Qadr which falls on the 27th day of the fasting month of Ramadan, July 13, 2015. (photo: Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Activestills.org)
Paying the price for Netanyahu’s religious war
Lacking any ability or will to deal with the political stalemate, Netanyahu has a vested interest in presenting the current situation in Jerusalem as a showdown between radical Islam and the West. Who will pay the price? By Yael Marom The latest clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the death of Israeli Alexander Levlovitch as a…
By +972 Magazine September 18, 2015
A photo of the cab carrying the Riyada family after it was firebombed, allegedly by Israelis from a nearby settlement. (photo: Israel Police)
No one is put on trial when a Palestinian family is burned alive
Three years before the attack on the Dawabshe family, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a taxi, burning and seriously wounding members of the Riyada family. Despite incontrovertible evidence showing settlers were behind the attack, the case was closed after a two-week investigation. By John Brown* and Noam Rotem August 2012. A Molotov cocktail is thrown…
By +972 Magazine September 1, 2015
License to Kill: Stone-throwing while Palestinian could get you killed
An IDF brigade commander earns praise from the political establishment for killing a Palestinian stone-thrower, while soldiers are commended for using ‘restraint’ in the face of Jewish stone-throwers. The fourth installment in a series examining the case files of soldiers who killed unarmed Palestinian civilians. [Read parts one, two, three, and four] By John Brown* and Noam Rotem…
By +972 Magazine August 24, 2015
Saleh and Muhammad Qawarik
License to Kill: Why did the IDF shoot the Qawarik cousins 29 times?
Saleh and Muhammad head out to their agricultural land. A settler stops them and calls the army. Four soldiers arrive. One of them empties his magazine into the two. Three other soldiers claim they didn’t see anything. The IDF says that the cousins attacked the soldier, then retracts the claim. No one is brought to…
By +972 Magazine May 19, 2015
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