Six human rights groups asked the High Court of Justice on Wednesday to expedite proceedings for their request that the Israel Defense Forces expand the "security zone," the minimal space allowed between a civilian population and the area from which the army fires shells.

The request came after at least 19 Palestinians were killed when IDF artillery shells struck a residential area in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun on Wednesday.

The Israeli and Gazan human rights groups originally filed the petition seven months ago, after the IDF decided to decrease the minimal security zone from 300 meters to 100 meters.

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They argue the distance is not sufficient and that the order to shrink the security zone constitutes "a patently illegal command."

The petitioners argue that since the High Court first discussed the petition in May, it has delayed the rest of the proceedings - "even though the number of civilian victims as a result of the decision to minimize the 'security zone' has swelled and risen."

No decision
The judges, led by then-Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, have not made any decision on the issue since first hearing the petition.

The six groups that filed the petition are: Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Al-Mizan Center for Human Rights in Gaza, B'Tselem, Gaza Community Mental Health Program, Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.