UN Official Condemns Israeli Soldiers for Using Dogs on Detained Palestinians
Jeremy Laurence, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), has sharply criticized Israeli soldiers for using dogs to attack detained Palestinians.
Responding to the Anadolu news agency, Laurence covered the material concerning the use of dogs against the Palestinians detained in Israel, sexual violence against women, and the use of a wounded person as a shield in the occupied territories of Palestine.
‘We have received information that dogs have been let loose on detainees; the attacks which have led to bites,’ he said. “Thus, such actions are considered severe breaches of Israel’s responsibilities under the occupation law regarding protected persons and their rights to life and physical integrity and under the international human rights law concerning individual rights banning inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. ”
Laurence also said something about the particular case of Israeli soldiers binding a wounded Palestinian and towing him as a shield in a tank. The injured man had been wounded in the West Bank town of Jenin. The regional office of the OHCHR, I considered, had previously released a press statement on this incident.
“In the occupied West Bank, OHCHR deplores the systematic and grave violations of the international human rights law and other applicable treaties to which Israel is a state party in its capacity as the occupying power,” the press release read.
On June 22, Israelis say that troops stormed a house in the El-Jabariyyat neighborhood of Jenin. Three young men were injured through gunfire. Among the injured man was tied to the hood of a military jeep and became a human shield while medical crews were denied access to the Palestinian wounded people.
Tasing detainees by using dogs, sexual crimes, and utilizing detainees as shields are crimes against humanity and international humanitarian law. They are actions that show para-military groups performing abusive and unlawful conduct that has been denounced both by human rights groups and the International Community.
The condemnation has come from the OHCHR; several organizations have made a declaration on the sides responsible for the violations in question. The UN and other bodies have called on Israel to respect international law, respect the Palestinians’ rights, and prevent security forces from torturing and degrading them.
OHCHR’s positions demonstrate that there is a need for increased pressure and attention of the international community to Israel to address such credible accusations. Civil libertarians are still urging for external inquiries to be conducted on the behaviors of Israel’s soldiers and the subsequent prosecution of offenders.
Another concern is the question of Palestine and Palestinians living under occupation in the Gaza Strip, where there are documented cases and accounts of violence, hunger, and even torture. The UN and other members of the international community need to support human rights and end the use of force in such a case.
The statements by the OHCHR reveal significant challenges in the area of human rights in the occupied West Bank, affecting the Palestinians. Of course, the employment of dogs against detainees and acts of sexual violence, as well as the use of innocent people as human shields, remind us of the necessity of justice. Thus, as the international actors observe the situation, more actions must be taken to ensure that children and other vulnerable persons have their rights and humanity respected.
