Report of the detailed findings of the independent international "Commission of inquiry on the protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory"

The official report of the United Nations "independent international Commission of inquiry on the protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" was released on March 18, 2019. It minimizes the violence occuring at the protests, including the launching of incendiary kites and balloons, the presence of firearms and improvised explosive devices, accuses Israel of intentionally targeting children, does not blame Hamas for using civilians as human shields, and seeks criminal prosecution of individual Israelis acting to defend their border. The report includes the following:

"Summary: Submitted as a supplement to A/HRC/40/74, this text sets out the detailed findings of the independent international Commission of inquiry mandated to investigate the demonstrations that began in Gaza on 30 March, 2018, the response of Israeli security forces thereto, as well as the impact on civilians in Gaza and Israel.

The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that during these weekly demonstrations, the Israeli Security Forces (ISF) killed and gravely injured civilians who were neither participating directly in hostilities nor posing an imminent threat to life. Among those shot were children, paramedics, journalists, and persons with disabilities. 183 people were shot dead, another 6,106 were wounded with live ammunition...

While the demonstrations were civilian in nature, bringing them under a law enforcement legal paradigm, they were at times violent, including throwing stones, cutting through the separation fence, and launching incendiary kites and balloons. The Commission found, however, that the use of lethal force in response was rarely necessary or proportionate. For lethal force to be permissible, the victim must pose an imminent threat to life or limb. The ISF violated international human rights law in most instances the Commission investigated. ISF conduct also violated international humanitarian law, which permits civilians to be targeted only when they 'directly participate in hostilities.' This purposefully high threshold was not met by demonstrators' conduct, in the view of the Commission, with one possible exception on 14 May...

The Commission found that the content and the application of the Israeli forces' rules of engagement contributed to the unlawful approach. The rules permitted status-based targeting in the legs of individuals deemed to be "key inciters/key rioters", defined by conduct such as burning tyres, cutting or breaching the fence, exhorting/leading the crowd. Under these rules, 4,903 persons were shot in the lower limbs – many while standing hundreds of meters away from the snipers, unarmed.

Unless undertaken lawfully in self-defense, intentionally killing a civilian not directly participating in hostilities is a war crime. Serious human rights violations were committed which may amount to crimes against humanity.
...
1. The origins
195. On 7 January 2018, Ahmed Abu Artema, a 34-year-old Palestinian poet and journalist, posted on Facebook the idea of a non-violent march at the separation fence, to draw attention to General Assembly resolution 194 and to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. In the post, ending #GreatMarchofReturn, he wrote, "what if 200,000 demonstrators marched peacefully and broke through the fence east of Gaza and entered a few kilometres into the lands that are ours, holding the flags of Palestine and the keys to return, accompanied by international media, and then set up tents inside and established a city there.
...
2. The principles of the Great March of Return
200. Within weeks of his 7 January Facebook post, Abu Artema, civil society activists and other stakeholders drew up a charter of 12 "General Principles of the GMR", envisaging a national march by Palestinians of all ages, genders, political and social groups:
201. "General Principles of the Great Return March:
...
6. Participants will be from all components of the Palestinian civil society and all political parties or factions that believe in peaceful public resistance as an effective way to contribute to achieving peace and justice based on the restoration of the national rights of Palestinians, foremost of which is the right of return.
7. It is a fully peaceful march from the beginning to the end.
...
Grenades
371. The Commission is aware of claims that some demonstrators threw grenades at ISF soldiers. A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand or by launcher. Stones and other non-explosive objects thrown or slung at ISF soldiers are not grenades. IIDs, such as burning coals and cloth balls soaked in fuel are not grenades either because they are incendiary rather than explosive. The ISF have reported that soldiers were injured by grenades on 13 July and 21 September.498 The Commission asked Israel for information about these alleged incidents but did not receive a response. The Commission has not been able to verify claims, nor has it seen evidence that demonstrators carried or threw actual grenades at the demonstration sites during demonstration times.
...
Firearms
373. The Commission is aware of claims that some demonstrators carried firearms. However, during the course of its inquiry into nine months of large-scale demonstrations, it identified two instances of people carrying arms at the demonstration sites: one pistol (visible in a video depicting an Israeli drone being shot down) and one rifle (see the section on 14 May and the description of an incident that may have amounted to hostilities).
...
425. Several thousand people attended the Malaka demonstration site on 30 March. The demonstration was mostly peaceful, featuring musical, cultural and political events. By 10 a.m., a few protesters lit tyres and threw stones.537 The Commission did not find evidence that demonstrators carried weapons or that the separation fence was breached or damaged on 30 March.
...
707. Based on numerous interviews with victims and witnesses and corroboration of video footage in a number of instances, the Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers intentionally shot health workers, despite seeing that they were clearly marked as such.
...
713. Several children were recognizable as such when they were shot. The Commission finds reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot them intentionally, knowing that they were children.
...
717. As civilians, members of the press - journalists, photojournalists and photographers - are protected under international law. Despite this, based on its analysis, the Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot journalists intentionally, despite seeing that they were clearly marked as such.
...
883. The Commission found that demonstrators who were hundreds of metres away from the Israeli forces and visibly engaged in civilian activities were intentionally shot. Journalists and health workers who were clearly marked as such were shot, as were children, women and persons with disabilities.
...
893. International human rights law protects those who participate in demonstrations under the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly. While not all demonstrators were peaceful, the Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that the excessive force used by Israeli security forces violated the right of peaceful assembly of the thousands of demonstrators who were.
894. The Convention on the Rights of the Child protects children's rights to life, peaceful assembly, expression and the highest attainable standard of health, among other rights. The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that Israel violated those rights when its forces used lethal force against children who did not pose an imminent threat of death or serious injury to others at the time they were shot.
895. Customary and conventional international humanitarian law requires that health workers be respected and protected. Similar protection is afforded to journalists and children who do not take part in hostilities. The Commission found that the Israeli security forces shot health workers, journalists and children who had not lost their protected status; Israel is thus in violation of international humanitarian law.
...
980. During armed conflict or occupation, international humanitarian law prohibits, inter alia, wilful killing and wilfully causing great suffering. Unless undertaken lawfully in self-defence, intentionally killing a civilian not directly participating in hostilities is a war crime. The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that individual members of the Israeli security forces, in the course of their response to the demonstrations, killed and gravely injured civilians who were neither directly participating in hostilities nor posing an imminent threat.
981. If committed in the context of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy, serious human rights violations may also constitute crimes against humanity. Murder and "other inhumane acts" that cause great suffering or serious injury qualify as such violations. In the course of the investigation, the Commission found serious human rights violations that may constitute crimes against humanity.
982. Civilian and military leaders bear responsibility for international crimes they commit directly, but also as commanders where they exert effective control over subordinates, knew or should have known about subordinates' crimes, and failed to prevent or repress their commission or to submit them for investigation and prosecution.
983. The Commission is aware of an ongoing preliminary examination by the International Criminal Court of alleged crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, since 13 June 2014, and requests the High Commissioner to refer the present report and relevant information upon which it is based to the Office of the Prosecutor.
...
993. The Commission recommends that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights manage the dossiers on alleged perpetrators, to be provided to national and international justice mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, undertaking credible and independent investigations into alleged international crimes and violations.
994. The Commission recommends that States Members of the United Nations consider imposing individual sanctions, such as a travel ban or an assets freeze, on those identified by the Commission as responsible for violations.
995. The Commission recommends that States parties to the Geneva Conventions and/or to the Rome Statute carry out their duty to exercise criminal jurisdiction and arrest persons alleged to have committed, or who ordered to have committed, the international crimes described in the present report, and either to try or to extradite them."