Aftermath of Gaza bombing
צילום: רויטרס
Lawsuit filed over death of Gaza children
Relatives seek NIS 16 million over killing of two children during IDF Operation Cast Lead
A lawsuit for NIS 16 million (roughly $4 million) was filed with the Nazareth District Court Sunday in respect to the death of two Gaza children during Operation Cast Lead.
The lawsuit charges that IDF forces in Gaza conducted themselves with "criminal negligence," thereby killing two innocent children "who were merely playing on the road." The two victims were identified as Firi Nasat, 11, and Fadel Allah, who was a year-and-a-half old.
According to the lawsuit, the two children went out to play with a group of about 25 friends on January 12. While playing on the road, a vehicle that drove by was targeted by two Israel Air Force missiles, leaving the two children dead.
"The military report drafted by the top brass determined that grave mistakes and mishaps took place during Operation Cast Lead," the lawsuit notes. "In the view of the plaintiffs, their case is one of those errors and mishaps. To our regret, no reasonable means of caution were adopted, and IDF troops fired unjustifiably, while disregarding the harm to innocents."
Attorney Muhammad Fukra, who filed the lawsuit, said the case in question is a regrettable one and that the negligence involved in it is blatantly obvious.
"The children played on a very wide road; if there was a reason to bomb the vehicle that passed there, they could have done it a few dozen meters away, as there is no doubt that nobody sought to hurt a year-and-a-half old child. After all, nobody could imagine he was a terrorist."
In the past, Israeli courts consistently rejected similar lawsuits filed by Palestinians over IDF operations in the territories. The lawsuits were rejected on the grounds that the damages took place during war, and that the forces operated in line with "war needs."
