PA justifies Jerusalem terror attack: the terrorist "attempted to express his rage by stabbing the body of one who is occupying his holy city"
Excerpt of an editorial by the official PA daily
Headline: “In accordance with international criminal law”
“One of the war crimes that was determined by the assembly of member states of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is that which appears in Article 8 (2) b (vi), which most clearly determines that 'killing or wounding a person who is unable to fight’ is a war crime (sic., the actual text speaks of a “combatant” in “international armed conflict” who “has surrendered,” not a terrorist targeting civilians who continues to attack even after being shot; see note below –Ed.)…
There is no doubt that the entire world saw how two of the Israeli occupation soldiers assassinated ‘a person who is unable to fight’ (sic., refers to terrorist Muhammad Shawkat Salima being shot as he repeatedly tried to attack Israeli officers, after he stabbed and wounded 1 civilian). Before that they shot him and wounded him, and as a result of this he was unable to fight. They assassinateda wounded man who was not only helpless but was also bleeding, suffering from pain, and in need of first aid – and not [in need] of more bullets that put an end to his life!
This is a war crime in every sense, and most clearly so. This is a crime against humanity because it contradicts all ethical values, both those whose source is from Heaven and those that were determined by man. This is discrimination against the other, which Israel of the extremist racist right-wing is no longer attempting to hide…
Martyr Muhammad Salima (i.e., terrorist, wounded 1 civilian) was not a soldier. He was a young Palestinian who was tired of the occupation’s arbitrary measures and became enraged at them. He attempted to express his rage by stabbing the body of one who is occupying his holy city. This was a message to the occupiers, which says most clearly that them remaining on his land is what creates this violent reality, and if the hope for a just resolution will fade, there will always be the possibility of a more dangerous deterioration of this reality.
We do not want this kind of deterioration to take place because we do not want more Martyrs, of course. The international community, if it truly is interested in security and stability in the [Middle] East that is full of violence, must this very day stop ignoring the blatant violations of elementary human rights by Israel.”
Article 8 (2) b (vi) of the Rome Statue, which presents an example of “serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict, within the established framework of international law,” reads as follows: “Killing or wounding a combatant who, having laid down his arms or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion.” Aside from the fact that Palestinian terrorists do not qualify as “combatants” engaged in an “international armed conflict,” given that they are not in uniform and target civilians thereby disregarding the laws of international armed conflict, terrorist Muhammad Shawkat Salima who was mentioned in the article did not “surrender” but rather continued to lunge threateningly at the Israeli border police officers who shot him out of a fear that he was trying to detonate a suicide bomb.
Muhammad Shawkat Salima – 25-year-old Palestinian terrorist who stabbed and wounded 1 Israeli civilian near the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem on Dec. 4, 2021, and then attempted to stab 2 Israeli border police officers who shot and killed him in self-defense. Security camera footage shows Salima repeatedly lunged at the officers even after being shot, causing them to continue firing out of fear he was trying to detonate a suicide bomb or use another weapon.