12 sept 2012
Occupied Lives: No Justice for My Son’s Death
by Palestinian Centre for Human Rights/ Narratives
On Tuesday, 16 August 2011, Saad al-Majdalawi, a 17-year-old mentally disabled boy, died when he was targeted with live fire by Israel's forces positioned on the border between Nusseirat, in the central part of the Gaza Strip, and Israel. Saad was unarmed and posed no threat to Israeli soldiers when he was shot and killed.
Abdul Rahim al-Majdalawi last saw his son on Saturday, 12 August: "Saad left the house at around 8 p.m. He did not come back that night and we assumed he had gone to visit a relative or friend. The next day, he still had not come back, so we started looking for him. On Tuesday night, some of my relatives got news that a member of the al-Majdalawi family had been killed at the border and that the body was in Al-aqsa hospital. Nobody told me anything until 12 pm, so I went to the hospital when I heard the news from relatives and neighbors."
Abdul Rahim went to the morgue, afraid that it was his son who had been killed: "Saad usually left home for maybe a day when he went to see relatives and friends. He had never gone missing for 3 days before. This is why I went to the hospital to see which member of the al-Majdalawi family had been killed. I viewed the body and realized that it was my son Saad. He had a bullet hole at the top of his head and his nose had been torn off by bullets. There were more wounds on his chest, shoulder, leg and left elbow."
Abdul Rahim does not believe that Saad would have posed a threat to Israel's forces: "I do not know how far he had been from the border when he was killed, but Saad had never caused problems for anyone. He had never harmed anyone in the house or in the neighborhood, and yet he was dead. Up until now, it is really not clear to me what happened that night. I cannot even tell the total number of bullets that were in his body. He was alone when he was killed."
The death of Saad has been particularly hard for his father, given that they were very close: "Saad was in secondary school, but he dropped out because of his mental condition. He also had a speech impairment and was punished at school for it. He was very sociable though and liked interacting with people, even though sometimes they would laugh at him or even hit him when they heard him speak. This made him very depressed and increased his psychological problems. We had started seeking treatment for his mental condition a month before he got killed. I wanted better treatment for him. I understood his suffering and we were very close because of this. Now, he is gone."
The possibility of filing a legal complaint evokes strong emotions in Abdul Rahim: "What happened to my son still makes me sad. He is gone and nothing can change that. It is very hard for me to talk about it. He was respectful and always made us laugh. The house feels empty without him. His brothers miss him very much and they are still greatly affected by his death. I wanted the best for him. I don't believe anything will come out of a complaint or lawsuit. I do not want compensation and nobody can give me excuses for why they killed my son. I do not have faith in any legal procedures, because nobody can accuse Israel and nobody can prosecute them even when they are wrong. It is unfortunate, but nothing will come out of this."
On 21 September 2011, PCHR submitted a civil complaint to the Ministry of Defense, which so far has not lead to a positive outcome. Additionally, on 25 September 2011, PCHR submitted a criminal complaint to the Military Prosecutor of the Israeli military, which has been rejected on 07 May 2012. On behalf of the al-Majdalawi family, PCHR also submitted an Individual Complaint to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on 10 September 2012.
The targeting and killing of a child, a protected civilian, is a war crime, as codified in Articles 8(2)(a )(i) and 8(2)(b)(i) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
29 apr 2012, 23:23 , Respect-
14 nov 2011
Update: Egypt detains 2 from group accused of Eilat attack
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egyptian authorities on Monday detained two members of a militant Islamist group in Sinai, a day after arresting the movement's leader, security officials told Ma'an.
Security forces detained Abdul Kareem Mohammad Ahmad, 42, and Ahmad Salem Mahmoud Awad, 33, in El-Arish, a town in north Sinai.
They are members of the Jihadists and Takfiris movement, whose leader Muhammad Eid Musleh Hamad -- also known as Muhammad al-Teehi -- was detained on Sunday, Egyptian officials said.
Security officials told Ma'an that Egyptian police were sweeping the Sinai Peninsula to arrest militants, adding that the detainees have been sent to Cairo for interrogation.
Al-Teehi is accused of planning a deadly attack in southern Israel in August which killed eight Israelis, as well as a number of attacks in the Sinai Desert, a Ma'an correspondent reported.
Israel blamed the attack in Eilat on the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees and struck back at southern Gaza within hours killing five PRC militants and a two-year-old child. The strike sparked four days of intense cross border violence that killed 15 Palestinians and wounded dozens more.
The Jihadists and Takfiris movement is also suspected of involvement in a series of pipeline bombings in Sinai which have cut off the supply of gas to Jordan and Israel several times this year, the official MENA agency reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=436662
Update: Egypt detains Sinai leader accused of Eilat attacks
EL-ARISH (Ma’an) -- Egyptian authorities detained the leader of a militant Islamist movement in the Sinai peninsula on Sunday morning, security sources told Ma'an.
Muhammad Eid Musleh Hamad, also known as Muhammad al-Teehi, is accused of planning the deadly attacks in Israeli border city Eilat in August, as well as a number of attacks in the Egyptian peninsula, a Ma'an correspondent reported.
Al-Teehi was detained in northern Sinai city El-Arish after a joint police and army operation, Egyptian security officials said.
He was found hiding in a tourist chalet in the town, and surrendered without resistance, before being moved to Cairo to face charges, they added.
Egyptian authorities said al-Teehi is leader of the "Jihadists and Takfiris" movement, founded after the January revolution which ousted former leader Hosni Mubarak.
Authorities say he masterminded attacks on police stations in the city and has topped a government "wanted" list, official news agency MENA said.
A Ma'an correspondent in El-Arish said that Egyptian authorities had also accused Hamad of being involved in planning the Aug. 18 assault on number of Israeli vehicles near Eilat, which killed eight Israelis.
Israel said it shot dead six gunmen and blamed the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees, who denied any involvement.
Within hours of the attack, Israeli forces struck back at targets in southern Gaza, leading to four days of cross border violence that killed 15 Palestinians, and wounded more than 50.
In September, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that an unreleased army investigation revealed the Eilat attacks were carried out by a group of Egyptians operating in Sinai.
Egyptian security told Ma'an al-Teehi's "Jihadists and Takfiris" movement follows Al-Qaeda intellectually and demands an end to any military or foreign presence in the Sinai peninsula.
The region has been rocked by a series of attacks on pipelines delivering gas to Israel and Jordan, most recently on Thursday when remote-controlled bombs shut down a line in Mazar, west of El-Arish.
Egyptian forces launched a security sweep in August to root out suspected Islamist gangs and, according to security sources at the time, captured four Islamist militants as they prepared to blow up a pipeline in El-Arish.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=436274
15 nov 2011
Egypt arrests another suspected Islamist operative
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) -- Egyptian security forces have detained a member of a militant Islamist group in the Sinai, bring to five the number of arrests since the group's alleged leader was caught Sunday.
Walid Suleiman Mousa, 38, from the town of el-Arish, was arrested on his way back from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
He was arrested after four suspects, who were detained earlier, mentioned his name to Egyptian authorities, security officials told Ma'an on Tuesday. Mousa is well-known in the el-Arish area, residents say.
Security sources say they have evidence he was involved in recent operations.
Egyptian authorities on Monday detained two alleged members of the same group. Abdul Kareem Mohammad Ahmad, 42, and Ahmad Salem Mahmoud Awad, 33, are also from el-Arish.
They are said to be member of the Jihadists and Takfiris movement, whose leader Muhammad Eid Musleh Hamad -- also known as Muhammad al-Teehi -- was detained on Sunday, Egyptian officials said.
Security officials told Ma'an that Egyptian police were sweeping the Sinai Peninsula to arrest militants, adding that the detainees have been sent to Cairo for interrogation.
Al-Teehi is accused of planning an attack in southern Israel in August which killed eight Israelis, as well as a number of attacks in the Sinai Desert, a Ma'an correspondent reported earlier.
Israel blamed the attack in Eilat on the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees and struck southern Gaza within hours killing five PRC militants and a two-year-old child. The strike sparked four days of intense cross border violence that killed 15 Palestinians and wounded dozens more.
In September, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that an unreleased army investigation revealed the Eilat attacks were carried out by a group of Egyptians operating in Sinai.
The Jihadists and Takfiris movement is also suspected of involvement in a series of pipeline bombings in Sinai which have cut off the supply of gas to Jordan and Israel, the official MENA agency reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=436861
Egypt detains 2 from group accused of Eilat attack
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egyptian authorities on Monday detained two members of a militant Islamist group in Sinai, a day after arresting the movement's leader, security officials told Ma'an.
Security forces detained Abdul Kareem Mohammad Ahmad, 42, and Ahmad Salem Mahmoud Awad, 33, in El-Arish, a town in north Sinai.
They are members of the Jihadists and Takfiris movement, whose leader Muhammad Eid Musleh Hamad -- also known as Muhammad al-Teehi -- was detained on Sunday, Egyptian officials said.
Security officials told Ma'an that Egyptian police were sweeping the Sinai Peninsula to arrest militants, adding that the detainees have been sent to Cairo for interrogation.
Al-Teehi is accused of planning a deadly attack in southern Israel in August which killed eight Israelis, as well as a number of attacks in the Sinai Desert, a Ma'an correspondent reported.
Israel blamed the attack in Eilat on the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees and struck back at southern Gaza within hours killing five PRC militants and a two-year-old child. The strike sparked four days of intense cross border violence that killed 15 Palestinians and wounded dozens more.
The Jihadists and Takfiris movement is also suspected of involvement in a series of pipeline bombings in Sinai which have cut off the supply of gas to Jordan and Israel several times this year, the official MENA agency reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=436662 29 apr 2012, 23:24 , Respect