27.10.2003|Court Documents|Petition to HCJ
HCJ 9594/03 - B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the
Occupied Territories et al. v. Judge Advocate General
Petition for Order Nisi
Petition against the respondent’s failure to order the Military Police to investigate the circumstances of the deaths of Palestinians killed by military actions in the Occupied Territories. The petitioners also demand that the respondent order the Military Police to investigate every case in which a Palestinian who did not take part in the hostilities is killed by soldiers, and that the investigation be carried out within a reasonable time following the incident. Such investigation is required by administrative law, constitutional law, and international law. The petitioners contend that the respondent’s reliance on the results of the operational debriefing as a pre-condition for the opening of a Military Police investigation is problematic: the military commanders do not wish to expose failures and are seek to support their comrades. The commanders, unlike Military Police investigators, are not skilled in conducting investigations and so, are unable to uncover the truth. In these cases, investigations are needed to deter soldiers from using excessive force and from acting in disregard for human life. From the Website of B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.
