Omar Shakir is the Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, where he investigates human rights abuses in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

Shakir has a broad experience in human rights work, both with Human Rights Watch and with other groups, including legal representation of Guantanamo detainees and investigating human rights violations in Egypt. Shakir holds a JD from Stanford Law School, where he co-authored a report on the civilian consequences of US drone strikes in Pakistan as a part of the International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic, an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Affairs, and a BA in International Relations from Stanford.

The conversation with him focuses on the events along the Israel Gaza border fence, and in particular addresses Israel’s practice of sniper fire targeting unarmed civilians.