During the second intifada, Israel formally adopted a policy of assassinating Palestinians suspected of membership in armed organizations waging battle against it. In an attempt to counter the sharp criticism against this policy, Israel argued, among other things, that targeted assassinations were only carried out when it was unable to apprehend the persons targeted for assassination. (...)
None of these cases were investigated by the Military Police investigation unit. (...)
In all these cases, the security forces acted as if they were carrying out an assassination and not an arrest, in flagrant breach of international humanitarian law. Based on the report’s findings, there is a grave suspicion that execution of Palestinians has become a norm among the security forces. (...)
Since the beginning of the intifada, the judge advocate general’s office has refrained from ordering Military Police investigations in cases in which Palestinians were shot and killed by soldiers, except in exceptional cases. This failure has created an atmosphere of impunity in which members of the security forces are not held accountable for their actions. These changes explain the creation of a practice of execution by security forces, even though no explicit order to kill wanted persons exists.