Whose ‘Conduct Unbecoming’?: The Shooting of a Handcuffed, Blindfolded Palestinian Demonstrator

Posted: 28 Apr 2009

See all articles by Orna Ben-Naftali

Orna Ben-Naftali

T; The Emile Zola Chair for Human Rights

Noam Zamir

City University of Hong Kong (CityU) - School of Law

Date Written: March 2009

Abstract

The article focuses on the decision of the Israeli Military Advocate General (MAG) to charge an officer who ordered the shooting of a handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian demonstrator, and the soldier who executed the order, for ‘conduct unbecoming’. It advances the following propositions: (i) from the perspective of the applicable international law, the facts of the case qualify the shooting as a war crime; (ii) said decision of the Israeli MAG is indicative of a policy of tolerance towards violence against non-violent civilian protest against the construction of the Separation Wall; (iii) the implication of such policy is twofold: first, it might transform ‘conduct unbecoming’ - which as a matter of law is a war crime - into a crime against humanity; second, it may well be construed as an invitation to the international community to intervene through the exercise of universal jurisdiction.

Suggested Citation

Ben-Naftali, Orna and Zamir, Noam, Whose ‘Conduct Unbecoming’?: The Shooting of a Handcuffed, Blindfolded Palestinian Demonstrator (March 2009). Journal of International Criminal Justice, Vol. 7, Issue 1, pp. 155-175, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1394181 or http://dx.doi.org/mqp012

Orna Ben-Naftali (Contact Author)

T ( email )

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The Emile Zola Chair for Human Rights ( email )

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Israel

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Noam Zamir

City University of Hong Kong (CityU) - School of Law ( email )

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Kowloon, Shatin, New Territories
Hong Kong

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