Iman Darweesh Al Hams

Iman Darweesh Al Hams (Arabic: ʾĪmān Darwīsh al-Hamṣ, also Iyman; 1991 – 5 October 2004) was a 13-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fire on 5 October 2004, in Rafah, Gaza Strip.

The IDF commander of the soldiers who shot her was accused by his comrades and Palestinian witnesses of using automatic fire to deliberately shoot her repeatedly, a subject which was brought into investigation. During trial, he expressed no regret over his actions and said he would have done the same even if the girl was a 3-year-old. His legal team argued that the "confirmation of the kill" after a suspect is shot was a standard Israeli military practice to eliminate terrorist threats.

Overview of the incident Soldiers said they opened fire on the girl because they initially thought she was planting a bomb, After she was hit, soldiers claimed the unit's commanding officer went up to her and kept on shooting her, despite their pleas to stop. No explosives or weapons were found on the girl's body. A search of her bag revealed that it was filled with textbooks.

Palestinian witnesses According to Umar Abu Khalifa, 25, "Israeli soldiers stormed the area, the girl left the bag and tried to run. Bullets hit the (girl's) bag and then soldiers opened fire on the girl."

Palestinian witnesses reported that it was more than an hour before Israeli troops would allow medics to evacuate the body in an ambulance. At least fifteen bullets were found in the girl's body by Palestinian hospital officials.

Dr. Mohammed al-Hams, who inspected the child's body told The Guardian newspaper that:"She has at least 17 bullets in several parts of the body, all along the chest, hands, arms, legs ... The bullets were large and shot from a close distance. The most serious injuries were to her head. She had three bullets in the head.

According to the audio recording, the soldiers of the Givati Brigade identified the victim as "a girl, about 10 years old", describing her as looking "scared to death". On 13 October 2004, CBS reported that the army had suspended the officer during the investigation.

Excerpts from the army statement read:"The investigation did not find that the company or the company commander had acted unethically ... The investigation concluded that the behaviour of the company commander from an ethical point of view does not warrant his removal from his position."

Second internal investigation On 18 November 2004, the Israeli army requested the family's permission to exhume Al Hams' body. The earlier accusations made by the soldiers against their commanding officer of engaging in the outlawed practice of "verifying the kill" had regained currency. The indictment against the officer alleged that the first investigation was the subject of an attempted coverup. The court declined the request in February 2005. the officer maintained that when he reached the girl's body, he came under fire from Palestinian militants at least away and shot at the ground to deter the fire. Though Lieutenant R. had admitted firing two shots into the girl's body from close range to "verify the kill", he denied shooting subsequently.

Upon hearing the verdict, Captain R., burst into tears and turned to the public benches and said: "I told you I was innocent."

Two reservist officers appointed by Military Police Commander Brigadier General Roni Benny to examine the military police's conduct during the investigation determined that investigators acted unprofessionally and with negligence. In March 2006, he received 82,000 new shekels (roughly $17,000) to compensate him for the cost of his defense and time spent in jail. Captain R. also filed a libel suit against Ilana Dayan and the Telad production company. The district court accepted the suit and awarded him 300,000 shekels in damages. The decision was overturned in part by the Supreme Court, which ruled that Telad should pay only 100,000. The court ruled Dayan did not know that Captain R. was unaware that he was pursuing a child, and so should not be held liable for the news report.

Further legal actions In 2010 a Jerusalem district court found the claim that "Captain R" had shot Al Hams multiple times to "verify" her death, made by Ilana Dayan in her Uvda ("Fact") TV show on Channel 2, to be libelous, and required them to air a correction and for production company Telad to pay ₪300,000. A 2012 decision by the Israeli Supreme Court acquitted Dayan and reduced the damages to ₪100,000, finding that the statements were "correct at the time of their broadcast", based on honest belief, verified facts and credible sources. The court found that "Captain R" had been unaware that the death he was running out to verify had been that of a 13-year-old girl, but that Ilana Dayan was unaware of this.