Israel’s highest judicial authority, the Israeli Supreme Court, has decided not to ban the Israeli army’s so called “targeted killings” of Palestinians suspected of involvement in military operations against Israeli targets. The ruling was carried out this morning amid Palestinian concerns that this grants Israeli military forces a green light to continue its extra-judicial killings of Palestinian activists, politicians, and members of armed wings of the various political factions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

According to the ruling, the Court stated that it “…cannot determine in advance that all targeted killings are contrary to international law. At the same time, it is not possible that all such liquidations are in line with international law." "The legality of all targeted killings must be examined on a case by case basis," it affirmed.

Effectively, the Court is leaving plenty of room for the army to maneuver in deciding the legality of assassinations, however, it also urges members of the security forces to demonstrate “caution” in order not to kill or injure civilian bystanders during such attacks. "Innocent civilians should not be targeted," the ruling stated, "intelligence on the (targeted) person's identity must be carefully verified."

Since September 2000, Israeli military forces have assassinated 582 Palestinians in operations classified by Israel as “targeted killings,” including 257 innocent bystanders. These killings are strongly condemned by Palestinians as extra-judicial killings, in which the Israeli Government has a free hand in solely determining the target, the verdict, and the means to execute judgment on Palestinian citizens suspected of resisting its occupation through violence.