Israel's Supreme Court has unanimously rejected two petitions brought by human rights groups demanding Israel's army to stop using snipers and live ammunition against unarmed Palestinian protests in the Gaza Strip.
The panel of three justices on Thursday sided with the Israeli military, which argued that the protesters constituted a real danger to Israeli soldiers and citizens.
Israel maintains its forces use of live fire is in line with both domestic and international law, arguing the demonstrations are part of the country's conflict with Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip.
The court's ruling gave Israel "a green light to its continued use of snipers and live fire against Palestinian protesters", Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, which filed one of the petitions, said in a statement on Friday.
"The Israeli Supreme Court completely ignored the broad factual basis presented to it by the petitioners, which includes multiple testimonies of wounded and reports of international organisations involved in documenting the killing and wounding of unarmed protesters in Gaza".
The human rights groups said the court "refused to watch video clips documenting Israeli shootings of demonstrators and, rather than actually
examining the case, fully accepted the claims presented to it by the state.
"The extreme nature of the ruling is also highlighted by the striking absence of any mention of the casualty figures that had been presented to the court".
Yesh Din, one of the rights groups that brought the other petition, also criticised the court's decision.
"The judges missed an opportunity to prevent the continuation of the killing and injuries," it said on Twitter.

The burning frustration of the Palestinian people

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