FACTBOX-Death of Reuters Gaza cameraman
Aug 13 (Reuters) - Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana was killed by Israeli troops four months ago, while filming in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli army investigation, which was concluded this week, found that the troops' actions were justified.
Following are key facts established by Reuters:
-- Fadel Shana, 24, was killed by several darts, known as flechettes, which burst from a shell fired by an Israeli tank on April 16 about 5:30 p.m. The tank firing and shell bursting were the final images on tape before Shana's camera was destroyed.
-- Eight other civilians aged between 12 and 20 were killed, six of them aged under 16. At least seven other bystanders aged from 10 to 18 were also hit. None was armed or was a militant. Reuters soundman Wafa Abu Mizyed, 25, was wounded in the wrist.
-- Shana and Abu Mizyed were wearing blue body armour marked "PRESS" and stood next to a car bearing "TV" and "PRESS" signs in the middle of a country road some 100 metres southeast of Gaza's main highway. Two Merkava-4 main battle tanks stood on a ridge about 1.5 km (a mile) to the southeast, facing northwest.
-- In the preceding half hour, the Reuters crew had driven past a point 700 metres from the tanks, filmed the aftermath of an Israeli air strike that killed several children and returned by the same route. Shana stopped, set up his tripod and filmed a panorama of the area, including the tanks, for several minutes.
-- Twenty or more children, some on bicycles, were present between Shana and the main Gaza highway 100 metres behind him.
-- An Israeli observation drone was circling over the area.
-- A tank fired a flechette shell, typically containing 5,000 1.5-inch (3.75-mm) metal darts. Their purpose is to kill over an area 300 metres wide. In 2003, Israel's Supreme Court said that under IDF rules "use of the flechette is restricted to areas in which the danger to innocent civilians is not actual".
-- Soundman Abu Mizyed recalls being hit by flechettes from two separate shells and then heard a third shell destroy the Reuters car. Another witness also said he thought three shells were fired. Two ambulance drivers heard only two blasts. The Israeli army said it fired only one flechette shell followed by a shell of a different type that destroyed the Reuters car.
-- Journalists who arrived filmed that explosion at 5:40 p.m. It set Shana's car on fire and it later burnt out.
ARMY REPORT
On Aug. 12, Military Advocate General Brigadier-General Avihai Mendelblit wrote to Reuters saying the decision to kill Shana was "sound" because it was reasonable for the tank crew and the superiors with whom they consulted by radio to assume Shana was hostile on the following grounds: -- Three Israeli soldiers had been killed in Gaza that day. -- An Israeli tank had been damaged by a rocket-propelled grenade in the Gaza Strip at 11:40 a.m. that day. -- Shana put a "black object" on a tripod pointing at the tank -- Shana and Abu Mizyed were wearing body armour, which he said was a practice "common to Palestinian terrorists". -- There were "intelligence warnings", which he did not specify
Mendelblit said: "The crew was unable to determine the nature of the object mounted on the tripod and positively identify it as an anti-tank missile, a mortar, or a television camera."
REUTERS RESPONSE
Reuters believes the soldiers did not have reasonable grounds to use lethal force without warning. It believes the army, despite assertions to the contrary, was in clear breach of its duty under international law to avoid harm to civilians.
Reuters and media rights groups believe the army action and its apparent policy curbs media freedom by rendering it too dangerous to use a camera in the presence of Israeli troops.
Reuters is examining options for legal action and is seeking urgent consultations in Israel to address journalists safety.
A report conducted for Reuters by independent security advisers concluded: "(Shana) had a professional attitude to safety and had taken all reasonable precautions ... He complied with Reuters' own safety policy and his actions can not be interpreted as irresponsible or negligent in any way."
Following are key facts established by Reuters:
-- Fadel Shana, 24, was killed by several darts, known as flechettes, which burst from a shell fired by an Israeli tank on April 16 about 5:30 p.m. The tank firing and shell bursting were the final images on tape before Shana's camera was destroyed.
-- Eight other civilians aged between 12 and 20 were killed, six of them aged under 16. At least seven other bystanders aged from 10 to 18 were also hit. None was armed or was a militant. Reuters soundman Wafa Abu Mizyed, 25, was wounded in the wrist.
-- Shana and Abu Mizyed were wearing blue body armour marked "PRESS" and stood next to a car bearing "TV" and "PRESS" signs in the middle of a country road some 100 metres southeast of Gaza's main highway. Two Merkava-4 main battle tanks stood on a ridge about 1.5 km (a mile) to the southeast, facing northwest.
-- In the preceding half hour, the Reuters crew had driven past a point 700 metres from the tanks, filmed the aftermath of an Israeli air strike that killed several children and returned by the same route. Shana stopped, set up his tripod and filmed a panorama of the area, including the tanks, for several minutes.
-- Twenty or more children, some on bicycles, were present between Shana and the main Gaza highway 100 metres behind him.
-- An Israeli observation drone was circling over the area.
-- A tank fired a flechette shell, typically containing 5,000 1.5-inch (3.75-mm) metal darts. Their purpose is to kill over an area 300 metres wide. In 2003, Israel's Supreme Court said that under IDF rules "use of the flechette is restricted to areas in which the danger to innocent civilians is not actual".
-- Soundman Abu Mizyed recalls being hit by flechettes from two separate shells and then heard a third shell destroy the Reuters car. Another witness also said he thought three shells were fired. Two ambulance drivers heard only two blasts. The Israeli army said it fired only one flechette shell followed by a shell of a different type that destroyed the Reuters car.
-- Journalists who arrived filmed that explosion at 5:40 p.m. It set Shana's car on fire and it later burnt out.
ARMY REPORT
On Aug. 12, Military Advocate General Brigadier-General Avihai Mendelblit wrote to Reuters saying the decision to kill Shana was "sound" because it was reasonable for the tank crew and the superiors with whom they consulted by radio to assume Shana was hostile on the following grounds: -- Three Israeli soldiers had been killed in Gaza that day. -- An Israeli tank had been damaged by a rocket-propelled grenade in the Gaza Strip at 11:40 a.m. that day. -- Shana put a "black object" on a tripod pointing at the tank -- Shana and Abu Mizyed were wearing body armour, which he said was a practice "common to Palestinian terrorists". -- There were "intelligence warnings", which he did not specify
Mendelblit said: "The crew was unable to determine the nature of the object mounted on the tripod and positively identify it as an anti-tank missile, a mortar, or a television camera."
REUTERS RESPONSE
Reuters believes the soldiers did not have reasonable grounds to use lethal force without warning. It believes the army, despite assertions to the contrary, was in clear breach of its duty under international law to avoid harm to civilians.
Reuters and media rights groups believe the army action and its apparent policy curbs media freedom by rendering it too dangerous to use a camera in the presence of Israeli troops.
Reuters is examining options for legal action and is seeking urgent consultations in Israel to address journalists safety.
A report conducted for Reuters by independent security advisers concluded: "(Shana) had a professional attitude to safety and had taken all reasonable precautions ... He complied with Reuters' own safety policy and his actions can not be interpreted as irresponsible or negligent in any way."
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