Israeli Supreme Court rejects petition to reopen probe into Israel’s killing of four boys on Gaza beach

Occupied Palestine (QNN) – Israeli Supreme Court rejected on Sunday a petition filed by the Bakr family, parents of four boys, who were killed in an Israeli air force missile attack while they were playing on the fishing beach in west Gaza City on 16 July 2014 during the Israeli offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The petition was filed in 2020 by three human rights organizations, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) by Adalah General Director, Attorney Dr. Hassan Jabareen and Attorney Muna Haddad.

The petitioners demanded that the Court overturn the Attorney General’s (AG) decision to reject an appeal against the closure of the investigation, and to order the opening of a criminal investigation that will lead to the prosecution of those responsible for the killing.

The petitioners argued that the investigative materials show that the Israeli air force intentionally opened deadly fire at the children in serious violation of the laws of war and criminal law, since they aimed at the children directly without identification and without taking the necessary precautions.

The petitioners presented evidence showing extensive flaws in the probe conducted by the Israeli investigative authorities and many contradictions in the testimonies and investigation.

The Court, however, ruled that it sees no reason to intervene in the AG’s decision, and did not address the substance of any of the petitioners’ arguments regarding the flaws in the probe.

The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict, in its report of June 2015, was deeply disturbed by the closure of this case.

The commission stated that there were “strong indications that the actions of the IDF were not in conformity with international humanitarian law and that the investigation does not appear to have been carried out in a thorough manner.”

The Israeli Supreme Court ruling in the Bakr boys’ case is further evidence that Israel is unable and unwilling to investigate and prosecute soldiers and commanders for war crimes against Palestinian civilians, the three human rights organizations said.

“This case clearly illustrates the Israeli military’s indiscriminate, lethal assaults on Palestinian civilians during the 2014 Gaza war, in which over 550 children were killed, and the mobilization of the Israeli legal system to defend Israeli aggression, affording total impunity and discretion to the Israeli military. This case is further proof of the need for international actors, including the International Criminal Court, to hold Israeli leaders accountable,” they pointed out.

“This fact highlights the pressing need for independent, effective investigations, to hold all perpetrators to account. This case clearly illustrates the Israeli military’s indiscriminate, lethal assaults on Palestinian civilians during the 2014 Gaza war, in which over 550 children were killed, and the mobilization of the Israeli legal system to defend Israeli aggression, affording total impunity and discretion to the Israeli military,” they added.

They indicated that this case is further proof of the need for international actors, including the International Criminal Court, to hold Israeli leaders accountable.