B’Tselem has issued a written demand to the occupation army calling the IDF to immediately forbid the use of attack dogs against unarmed Palestinian civilians. The renewed demand follows a recent incident in which two Palestinians who were trying to enter Israel for work were attacked by military dogs. The dogs were in the company of soldiers who then arrested the Palestinians. In her letter, B’Tselem Director Jessica Montell stated that “setting attack dogs on civilians under such circumstances is inherently wrong and morally reprehensible. This use of dogs is dangerous since they cannot be kept fully under control. It intimidates the population at large and has already caused severe harm to civilians.”
B’Tselem’s investigation into the incident found that, on Wednesday, May 15th, at approximately 7:00 P.M.,
three unemployed Palestinian youths from the town of Beit Ula approached the section of the Separation Barrier near their town. The youths, who did not have permits to enter Israel, intended to cross the barrier in order to seek employment in Israel. A military force sighted them, called on them to halt, and opened fire. Upon hearing the shots, the youths began running back towards the town. As they ran, one of them was struck in the leg by a rubber-coated metal bullet fired by the soldiers , and the other two were attacked by dogs. It is suspected that the dogs were set on them by the soldiers. The two required immediate medical attention and were taken by military ambulance to the Barzilai Medical Center in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The following day, they were questioned by Israel Police and released with a summons for trial at the Ofer military court. The third youth was released several hours after the incident without being questioned.
Related:
http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20130618_stop_use_of_dogs_against_civilians
