Civil protest, as it name implies, is a civilian activity that does not constitute an act of war. Its participants are civilians and not combatants and military and police forces should treat them accordingly. Dispersing demonstrations and using reasonable force towards the demonstrators are only permitted in the case of an illegal assembly. This means that military forces are not authorized to disperse a legal demonstration or to arrest its participants. The problem that lies herein is that almost all demonstrations in the Occupied Territories are deemed “illegal”.
Indeed, high-ranking military officials and martial court judges frequently tend to ignore the sweeping rule entrenched in Order 101 and prefer a more flexible rule that defines nonviolent demonstrations as legal, and where the dispersal of demonstrators by army and police forces is only authorized in the case of violence actions by the demonstrators.; however, in practice this rule of thumb is also violated and many nonviolent demonstrations are dispersed by the military and police, time and time again.
Even in the case of an illegal demonstration, the use of force can only be carried out according to the rules of law enforcement (as opposed to the rules of an armed conflict). According to these rules, the use of force must be limited to the minimal level necessary to accomplish the mission. If a number of demonstrators are acting violently, they must be the only ones targeted. If the danger is intensified and the demonstration becomes violent, security forces must use crowd dispersal methods in a gradual manner, while attempting to avoid endangering the crowd of civilians found in the area. It is important to stress that even a demonstration threatening to cross the borders of the state is still a legitimate protest, and the danger to national security does not turn it into an act of war.
In this case, the rules for use of force are still the rules of enforcing law and order, under which it is legitimate to act in order to prevent the demonstrators from crossing the border, but even then only in the framework of using non-lethal and crowd dispersal means. For example, even under such circumstances lethal shooting is used only to prevent a clear and immediate danger to human life and must not be used even a moment before that.
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Security forces are not allowed to break up a demonstration, even if it is illegal, before calling on the demonstrators to disperse, waiting a reasonable amount of time and only after the demonstrators have not responded to this request.
All police and border police officers present at demonstration and protest events must wear identification tags. If the protesters believe that their behavior is illegal, they are allowed to write down their details and file a complaint against them.
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As stated above, the rule is that even when security forces are facing a violent demonstration that grants them the authority to disperse it using reasonable force, this force is limited to the minimal level necessary to accomplish their mission.
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Live ammunition: – Using live ammunition during demonstrations is absolutely prohibited, except in the following three cases:
Life threatening situations, when there is a clear and immediate danger. In this case, shooting with the intent to injure is permitted, but only against the attacker, and only when there is no other way to prevent the danger.
Warning shots in the air are allowed in order to break up a “violent riot,” and only after less severe measures, such as stun grenades and tear gas were used and failed to achieve their goal.
In the process of apprehending a suspect, firing at the legs of a person suspected of committing a dangerous crime is permitted only as a last resort, after a verbal warning has been issued and warning shots have been fired in the air, and only when this poses no threat of injury to others.
For further information on the means used by the army to disperse demonstrations in the Occupied Territories. Violation of the regulations regarding army and police conduct for dispersal of demonstrations are not a force majeure; interventions by ACRI, B'Tselem, and other bodies enable the prevention of these cases and can even lead to bringing those responsible for violations to justice. ACRI's information center for demonstrators includes contact details for filing complaints.
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Here you will find a list of addresses to turn to in cases of such violations.
Indeed, high-ranking military officials and martial court judges frequently tend to ignore the sweeping rule entrenched in Order 101 and prefer a more flexible rule that defines nonviolent demonstrations as legal, and where the dispersal of demonstrators by army and police forces is only authorized in the case of violence actions by the demonstrators.; however, in practice this rule of thumb is also violated and many nonviolent demonstrations are dispersed by the military and police, time and time again.
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