- 12 dec 2010
Jihad Al Hour, 20
Osama Al Nabaheen, 21
Jihad 'Izzat Ahmad al-Hur
Osamah Kamal Ghazi a-Nabahin 29 apr 2012, 06:56 , Respect -
Maria 18 dec 2010
Israeli air strikes kill five Palestinians in Gaza
Report, The Electronic Intifada
In an ongoing assault on the occupied Gaza Strip, Israeli fighter jets struck the southern city of Rafah early this morning, injuring four. The IMEMC reported that four Palestinians were wounded in the attack, which destroyed an alleged "training base" for the armed wing of the Hamas party ("Army bombards Rafah," 22 December 2010).
Today's air strikes come after Israeli fighter jets attacked the Gaza Strip early morning yesterday in a coordinated assault on Khan Younis in the south and Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, Jabaliya refugee camp and Zeitoun in the north, according to a report from Al-Jazeera English ("Israeli fighter jets attack Gaza," 21 December 2010).
Ma'an News Agency reported that two Palestinian fighters and one security guard were injured in the missile strike on Khan Younis after Israeli warplanes destroyed a dairy and an entertainment center ("Israeli jets hit Gaza for 2nd time in day," 21 December 2010).
Israeli jets also struck tunnels at the southern border with Egypt. The tunnels are used by Palestinians to bring in essential items, including food, medicine, cement and thousands of other goods from Egypt and the outside world.
Israel has imposed a years-long blockade on Gaza, rarely opening the border crossings and maintaining severe restrictions on the movement of people and goods.
Hours later, another Israeli warplane struck Khan Younis again, injuring two more in a missile strike.
These attacks follow similar Israeli airstrikes on Saturday, 18 December, in which five Palestinian men, all around twenty years old, were targeted by an Israeli missile in Deir al-Balah, according to Ma'an ("Medics recover bodies of 5 killed in Gaza strike," 19 December 2010).
Israel claimed that the five young men were affiliated with an armed resistance group called the Jaljalat, and they were planning to launch a rocket over the boundary with Israel.
On Sunday, armed Palestinian resistance groups responded to Saturday's attacks by firing a series of homemade rocket shells into Israel. The shells landed in the Negev desert, causing no injuries or damage, according to the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) ("Eight separate Israeli airstrikes reported throughout Gaza; 2 injured," 21 December 2010). Additional rocket fire was reported on Monday as well, causing no injuries.
On Tuesday, following Israel's overnight airstrikes, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth (Ynet) reported that a Gaza-fired rocket landed near a kindergarten in a kibbutz near Ashkelon, just north of the boundary with Gaza. A 14-year-old Israeli girl was lightly injured, Ynet reported ("Qassam explodes near kindergarten," 21 December 2010).
Speaking to Ma'an News, an Israeli military spokesperson said Israel's attacks on Gaza were "in response" to 13 homemade projectiles launched across the boundary with Israel this week ("Palestinian sources: Israel warplanes raid Gaza," 21 December 2010). The spokesperson said that the military attacked four "Hamas tunnels," a "smuggling tunnel" near Rafah, a "weapons manufacturing facility" and a "terror activity center."
However, The Electronic Intifada's correspondent in Gaza, Rami Almeghari, reported that the buildings targeted by the Israeli Air Force were not centers for "terror activity."
"They targeted a dairy and an entertainment center in Gaza ... Israel did not target some sort of proclaimed facilities for homemade rockets," he stated.
Almeghari added that Israel's latest attacks are a "systematic targeting" of the Palestinians inside Gaza in order to weaken the popular support for the elected Hamas government.
He added that the failure of the US-brokered peace talks allows Israel to continue attacking Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. By not addressing Israel's ongoing violations of international law, including the ongoing confiscation of Palestinian land for settlement construction in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the international community is culpable for the situation across Palestine, Almeghari said.
"Israel only attacks for the sake of attacking, and by squeezing Palestinians in Gaza at the political level to accept Israel's terms for peace," Almeghari said.
Workers under fire
Meanwhile, Israel's attacks on fishermen, industrial workers and shepherds have continued. As The Electronic Intifada has reported, industrial workers are frequently shot while collecting raw materials near Israel's so-called "buffer zone" -- a 300-meter-long militarized area along the northern, eastern and maritime boundaries.
On 10 December, Suhaib M., a 15-year-old Palestinian boy, was shot and injured while he collected wood inside the no-go zone alongside the northern boundary with Israel. Defense for Children International-Palestine Section reported that the boy and his brothers have been collecting raw materials in order to supplement their family's income for the last five months. Suhaib and his brother Belal were loading pieces of wood from uprooted olive trees into a small cart when he was shot in the leg by an Israeli sniper ("Report: Voices from the Occupation ," 18 December 2010 [PDF]).
Additionally, a man in his thirties was shot in his foot on 20 December by Israeli snipers as he collected stones in the northern Gaza Strip, according to Ma'an. Israeli forces opened fire on the man near the town of Beit Hanoun ("[url=http://fwd4.me/0y6J]Worker injured in north Gaza[/url]," 20 December 2010).
A 19-year-old shepherd, Ijmeian Abu Ihweishel, was shot by Israeli snipers on 19 December as he herded his flock of sheep in the same area, reported Ma'an ("Palestinian teen reported injured in north Gaza," 19 December 2010).
Gaza's health ministry reported that there have been 103 Palestinians shot by Israeli forces near the no-go zone since March 2010, Ma'an added.
Two days earlier, on 17 December, a Palestinian teenager died after being shot on a fishing boat off the southern Gaza coast by Israeli warships permanently stationed in the Mediterranean Sea. Agence-France Presse and Ma'an reported that Israeli forces fired on the small fishing boat, capsizing it and injuring 15-year-old Ziad Samir al-Bardawil, who died after being treated at a local hospital ("Gaza teen dead after Israel fires on fishing boat," 17 December 2010).
In an article following al-Bardawil's death, the right-wing Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli military sources who refuted the Ma'an report. The Israeli military said that it "does not recognize the event" and claimed it had nothing to do with the death of the Palestinian boy.
Rights organizations decry humanitarian situation
Although Israeli government officials have placed emphasis on the so-called "easing" of the blockade, Israel has done little to change the humanitarian situation for Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip, according to a new report signed by 22 major international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International UK, Oxfam International and the International Federation for Human Rights ("Dashed Hopes: Continuation of the Gaza Blockade ," 30 November 2010 (PDF file)).
The report states that the inflow of construction materials, for example, is only at 11 percent of pre-blockade levels, food imports are only at 35 percent and the import of raw materials is still restricted.
Additionally, there is a strict ban on exported goods, a policy that has debilitated Gaza's struggling economy. IMEMC reported that Israel has allowed only the exports of strawberries and carnations from Gaza this week, under the auspices of a Dutch governmental program to assist Gaza's local farmers ("Israel opens only Kerem Shalom border," 21 December 2010).
Jeremy Hobbs, director of Oxfam International, said in a press release related to the "Dashed Hopes" report that "only a fraction of the aid needed has made it to the civilians trapped in Gaza" ("Six months on: Little sign of improvement in Gaza since Israeli easing of blockade, shows report from aid and human rights groups," 30 November 2010).
He added that "Israel's failure to live up to its commitments and the lack of international action to lift the blockade are depriving Palestinians in Gaza of access to clean water, electricity, jobs and a peaceful future."
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11691.shtml 29 apr 2012, 06:56 , Respect -
Maria 18 dec 2010
Bassel 'Emad Abu Jazar, 18Bilal Yasser Zannoun, 21
5 activist of the Palestinian resistance were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
Another 4 activists were wounded by Israeli air strikes.
an IOF drone fired a missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance who were attempting to fire a home-made rocket onto Israel from a tract of land belonging to the Shahin family in Abu Houli area in the south of the central Gaza Strip town of Deir al-Balah. Five activists were instantly killed:
29 apr 2012, 06:56 , Respect -
Maria 18 dec 2010
Mohammed Mo'ein al-'Assar, 22
'Abdallah Hassan Ibrahim a-Sharihi 22Khalil Tawfiq al-Tawil, 23
5 activist of the Palestinian resistance were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
Another 4 activists were wounded by Israeli air strikes.
an IOF drone fired a missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance who were attempting to fire a home-made rocket onto Israel from a tract of land belonging to the Shahin family in Abu Houli area in the south of the central Gaza Strip town of Deir al-Balah. Five activists were instantly killed:
Muhammad Mu'in 'Abd al-'Aziz al-'Asar 29 apr 2012, 06:57 , Respect -
Maria 18 dec 2010
Ziad Samir Al Bardaweel, 15
Child Killed As Army Chases Fishing Boats Near Rafah Shore
A 15-year-old Palestinian child was killed on Friday evening after the Israeli Navy chased a fishing boat close to the Rafah shore, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip; the boat flipped over after the army opened fire at it.
Medical sources in Rafah reported that the slain child was identified as Ziad Samir Al Bardaweel. His body was moved to Abu Yousef Al Najjar Hospital in Rafah.
Dozens of casualties were reported among fishermen in the Gaza Strip in recent years due to the fact that the Israeli Navy repeatedly attacks Palestinian fishermen, and prevents them from fishing in Palestinian territorial waters.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60208 29 apr 2012, 06:57 , Respect -
Maria 29 apr 2012, 06:57 , Respect -
Maria 23 dec 2010
Salamah Abu Hashish, 18
Medics: 1 dead after shooting on Gaza border
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian shepherd died Thursday hours after Israeli troops shot him and three others along the border with Israel inside northern Gaza, medics said.
Salamah Abu Hashish, 22, sustained wounds to the back in the shooting, which occurred north of Beit Lahiya, Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya told Ma'an.
The official said Abu Hashish was the 13th Gazan to be killed since November and the 34th to suffer injuries near the border, which Israel considers a combat zone but residents call home.
Two Palestinians were critically injured in Thursday's shooting, Abu Salmiya said. One of them, a 14-year-old boy, sustained wounds to the head while collecting stones, he added.
A third person, aged 19, was moderately injured in his hand, medics said, and an 18-year-old was hurt near the Erez crossing in a separate shooting incident, Abu Salmiya said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that forces shot two Palestinians.
She added that the army fired warning shots before firing at the workers' lower bodies. The forces opened fire because the Palestinians refused to turn back, she said.
"This area is considered a combat zone used by terrorist organizations to execute attacks," the spokeswoman added. "For this reason, the IDF will not allow anyone to be present in it."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344893
29 apr 2012, 06:57 , Respect -
Maria 24 dec 2010
WikiLeaks to 'prove' Mossad behind Dubai murder
DUBAI (AFP) -- Dubai's police chief said WikiLeaks will confirm his charge that Israel's Mossad secret service was behind the Jan. 20 murder of a Hamas commander visiting the emirate, in a newspaper report Friday.
"The leaked document will prove the truth about Mossad's involvement, but there are certain people that will still deny it even with the leaked documents," Dahi Khalfan told the English-language Gulf News.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, quoted on the website of Al-Jazeera television, has vowed to release "sensitive" documents on the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006 and on Mahmud Al-Mabhuh's murder in his Dubai hotel room.
Khalfan, who came out in support of the WikiLeaks campaign of releasing US diplomatic cables, has said ever since the early days of Dubai police's probe into the killing that Israeli agents assassinated the Hamas commander.
Mabhuh, a founder of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, was found dead in his Al-Bustan Rotana room near Dubai airport. He was wanted in Israel for the alleged murder of two Israelis.
He had been drugged and asphyxiated, apparently by a group of people seen on hotel closed-circuit security cameras following him to his room.
Twelve British, six Irish, four French, three Australian and one German passports were used by the 26 people believed linked to the murder, according to Dubai police.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344990
29 apr 2012, 06:57 , Respect -
Maria 26 dec 2010
Mos'ab 'Eissa 'Ali Abu Rouk, 20Mahmoud Yousef Shihda al-Najjar, 21
Two Fighters Killed In Clashes With Israeli Soldiers Invading Khan Younis
The Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, reported that two of its fighters were killed on Saturday at dawn during clashes with Israeli soldiers invading an area east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The Brigades identified the slain fighters as Mosab Abu Rock and Mahmoud Yousef Al Najjar, both from Khan Younis district and in their twenties.
The Brigades stated that a group of its fighters managed to identify undercover Israeli forces infiltrating into the area, exchanged fire with them and also fired a number of mortars at an Israeli military force invading an area close to where the clashes took place.
The Israeli army stated that Hamas is responsible for the recent tension in the Gaza Strip and that its fighters are interested in a military escalation.
On Saturday, Hamas held a rally commemorating the Israeli war on Gaza two years ago and warned Israel of any military escalation in the area.
The Israeli army shot and killed 13 Palestinians, mainly farmers and workers, who approached areas close to the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60266
Armed clashes erupted between activists of the al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of Islamic Jihad) and IOF near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of Khuza'a village, east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis. The clashes continued sporadically until 06:00, during which IOF employed helicopters and tanks.
As a result of these clashes, two activists of al-Quds Brigades were killed
29 apr 2012, 06:57 , Respect -
Maria 27 dec 2010
2010: Violence on the Gaza border
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday marked two years since Israel's devastating invasion of the coastal enclave at a time of renewed high tensions with the Jewish state.
Here are the main developments in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians over Gaza in the past year:
--JANUARY, 2010--
- 10: Israeli warplanes kill three gunmen from the radical movement Islamic Jihad in an air strike on the central Gaza Strip.
--FEBRUARY--
- 17: Thousands of supporters of Hamas vow revenge at a rally in honour of a commander, Mahmud Al-Mabhuh, whose killing in Dubai in January the Palestinian Islamist group blames on Israel's secret service Mossad.
--MARCH--
- 18: Israeli aircraft hit several targets across the Gaza Strip, a few hours after rockets fired from the territory hit southern Israel, killing a Thai farmworker.
- 26: Two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinians are killed in exchanges of gunfire near Gaza.
- 27: A Palestinian is killed during an Israeli military incursion in the Gaza Strip.
--APRIL--
- 13: Two Islamic Jihad fighters are killed and two others wounded in a clash with Israel's army on Gaza's border with Israel.
--MAY--
- 31: An Israeli commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship kills nine Turkish activists, sparking global outrage.
--JULY--
- 3O: Israeli airstrikes on Gaza kill a senior Hamas militant, Issa al-Batran, and wound eight other people.
--SEPTEMBER--
- 12: Israeli troops shoot dead three Palestinians in Gaza, in what Israeli authorities say was a mistake.
--OCTOBER--
- 17: An Israeli airstrike kills two Palestinians north of Gaza City.
--NOVEMBER--
- 3: A senior Palestinian militant from radical Islamist group the Army of Islam is killed when his car explodes in Gaza City.
- 17: An Israeli airstrike kills two Palestinian brothers in Gaza City, including an alleged senior militant of the Army of Islam.
--DECEMBER--
- 2: Israeli forces kill two armed Palestinians from the Islamic Jihad as they approach the northern border fence of Gaza with explosives.
- 12: Two Palestinians are killed and an Israeli soldier injured in gunfire near the border.
- 18: Five Islamic combatants are killed in an Israeli raid as they prepare to launch a rocket attack from Gaza.
- 22: Israel urges the UN Security Council to issue a "clear and resolute" message to Palestinian militants against firing rockets into its territory from Gaza.
- 26: Two Islamic Jihad militants are killed in a shootout with Israel's army near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=345985 29 apr 2012, 06:57 , Respect -
Maria 28 dec 2010
Hassan Muhammad Midyef Qdeih 19
Palestinian Killed, Five Injured, As Army Bombards Khan Younis
Palestinian medical sources reported on Tuesday evening that one resident was killed, and five others were injured, when the Israeli Army bombarded an area in Khuza'a town, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Adham Abu Salmiyya, spokesperson of the Medical and Emergency Services in Gaza, reported that the army fired several shells into Khuza'a, and that a number of homes were hit.
Abu Salmiyya added that resident Hasan Abu Rock was killed after being hit by shell fragments in his face, legs and several parts of his body.
He stated that one of the five wounded residents is in a serious condition, while the rest suffocated due to fire and smoke resulting from the shelling; four were moved to the European Hospital, and the fifth was moved to Nasser Hospital.
On Sunday, two fighters of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, were killed during an Israeli military invasion into Khan Younis.
The fighters were killed during armed clashes with the invading Israeli soldiers.
It is worth mentioning that a number of Palestinian factions in Gaza, excluding Fateh movement, held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the Israeli threats to attack Gaza.
On December 27, 2008, Israel launched a large-scaled offensive against the Gaza Strip killing more than 1419 Palestinians and wounding several thousands. 13 Israelis, including 8 soldiers were killed during the war; four of the soldiers were killed by friendly fire.
Israel claims that the offensive was a “needed actions” due to ongoing firing of homemade shells into Israeli settlements and towns close to the border with Gaza.
Most of the casualties were civilians, including elderly, children, infants and members of the civil emergency services as the army bombarded residential areas, medical centers and hospitals, infrastructure, educational facilities including UNRWA schools where civilians took shelter, mosques and other civilian structures.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60294
Israeli forces kill one, injure five Palestinians in northern Gaza
Israeli tanks and helicopters stationed at the eastern border between Israel and the Gaza Strip opened fire Tuesday, killing a Palestinian man and wounding five others.
The Israeli military claims that the men were attempting to place explosives near the border wall east of Khan Younis, a claim that could not be confirmed by local eyewitnesses.
Palestinian medical sources identified the deceased as Hassan Abu Rok Qadeeh, a member of the local branch of the Popular Resistance Committees – one of a number of armed resistance groups formed by the Palestinians to resist Israeli military occupation and siege of their land.
According to a statement by an Israeli military spokesperson, “Soldiers, with air support, opened fire on members of a terrorist cell that was trying to place an explosive device near the security barrier.”
The Popular Resistance Committees issued a statement confirming the death, saying Qadeeh was killed in a “Zionist shelling east of Khan Yunis.” The identities of the injured men is unknown, and it is not known whether they were fighters or civilians.
At least 16 Palestinians, half of them resistance fighters and the other half shepherds and farmers, have been killed by Israeli troops in December alone. No Israelis have been killed or injured by Palestinian factions in that time.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60289 29 apr 2012, 06:57 , Respect -
Maria 29 dec cast lead
Gaza: 'We'll Never Forget'
(6:22) Gaza: 'We'll Never Forget'
29 apr 2012, 06:57 , Respect -
Maria 30 dec 2010
Hassan Abu Rok Qadeeh, 22
Medics: Israeli gunfire kills 1 in Gaza
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Israeli gunfire and tank shelling killed a Palestinian militant and wounded five other people east of Khan Yunis in Gaza on Tuesday, a Palestinian medical source and witnesses told AFP.
Adham Abu Selmiya, a spokesman for the Hamas-run medical services in Gaza, and hospital officials named the dead man as 22-year-old Hassan Abu Rok Qadeeh.
Witnesses told AFP Qadeeh was a member of the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of Palestinian factions that has claimed responsibility for a barrage of mortar fire into Israel in recent weeks.
The group released a statement hailing his "martyrdom" in "Zionist shelling east of Khan Yunis."
A Israeli army spokeswoman said "our soldiers, with air support, opened fire on members of a terrorist cell that was trying to place an explosive device near the security barrier" separating Gaza from Israel.
Tensions have been rising on Gaza's border with Israel over continued rocket fire into Israel and retaliatory and often deadly Israeli air raids.
Since the beginning of the month, at least 14 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops, according to an AFP count. Two Palestinians were also killed on December 10 when an unexploded tank shell detonated.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that approximately 37 rockets and other projectiles have been fired from Gaza since December 1.
In recent weeks, both sides have ramped up their rhetoric, warning that an escalation could result in full-blown war.
The renewed tensions come just two years after Israel launched the devastating Operation Cast Lead in response to rocket fire from Gaza.
The war, which ended in a ceasefire on January 18, 2009, killed 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.
On Sunday, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, one of the militant groups operating in Gaza, said it was prepared for a new war with Israel.
"The occupation will pay the price if they even think of carrying out an escalation in the Gaza Strip," Abu Ahmed told mourners at the funerals of two comrades killed in a exchange of fire with Israeli troops.
And a day earlier, a spokesman for Hamas's military also touted the group's preparedness for conflict with Israel, hinting they possessed a secret weapon, about which he provided no details.
"There is a truce in effect in the field ... But if there is any Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip we will respond strongly," said a masked spokesman who identified himself as Abu Obeideh.
On Monday, Israeli army chief of staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi said his troops were ready for a new confrontation if it became necessary.
"Two years after Operation Cast Lead the situation in the Gaza Strip is different and calmer," he said.
"Yet, sadly, from time to time, rockets and mortar shells are fired at the Israeli home front. We will not accept this ... We hope that the security situation in the south does not deteriorate. However, the IDF is preparing for any scenario."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=346273 29 apr 2012, 06:58 , Respect -
Maria 31 dec 2010
Jawaher Abu Rahmah 36
(3:27) Bilin Weekly Demo 31.12.2010 By [email protected]
Bil'in Female Protester in Critical Condition from Tear-Gas inhalation
Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36, was evacuated to the Ramallah hospital after inhaling massive amounts of tear-gas towards protesters in Bil'in earlier today. She is currently in critical condition and is not responding to treatment. Another protester required hospitalization after being hit in the face with a tear-gas projectile shot directly at him.
Doctors at the Ramallah hospital are currently fighting for Jawaher Abu Rahmah's life, after an acute deterioration in her condition this evening. Abu Rahmah suffered from severe asphyxiation during today's demonstration in Bil'in as a result of tear-gas inhalation, and was evacuated to the Ramallah hospital. She is currently diagnosed as suffering from poisoning caused by the active ingredient in the tear-gas, and is not responding to treatment.
Jawaher Abu Rahmah is the sister of Bassem Abu Rahmah, who was shot dead with a high velocity tear-gas projectile during a demonstration in Bil'in on April 17th, 2009.
Over a thousand people heeded to the call issued by the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements today, and joined the weekly demonstration. Despite the siege laid on the village by the Israeli army, activists - Palestinians, Israelis and internationals - swarmed the hills and valleys surrounding Bil'in by the hundreds and managed to join those already in the village.
Among those giving speeches before the demonstration were local leaders, as well as Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, who voiced his support for Bil'in and the popular struggle. The march then proceeded towards the Wall, where it was barraged with tear-gas on sight.
Small organized groups of protesters then spread across the Wall to try and implement the popular committee's announcement that he last day of the decade will indeed also be the last day of the Wall on Bil'in's land. An overwhelming number of Israeli soldiers and Border Police officers spread along the path of the Wall, but were not able to stop demonstrators equipped with bolt-cutters from breaching through the Wall in three places.
In one place, the protesters actually managed to carry a rather significant chunk of the Wall back to the village.
http://bit.ly/ifsJ8n
IDF Spokesperson's statement regarding Jawaher Abu Rahmah's death confirms previous lies and misinformation
The army's statement on 19 January 2011 confirms that Jawaher Abu Rahmah attended the Bil'in demonstration, was tear gassed in the demonstration and was admitted to a Ramallah hospital because of the effects of tear gas. Given the misinformation that the army has circulated to the media in the past two weeks, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee calls for an independent and professional investigation into the treatment that Jawaher Abu Rahmah received in hospital.
The army's statement to the media on 19 January 2010 has proven that senior army commanders who leaked information to the media through various unvetted Internet sources spread disinformation and lies about the circumstances of Jawaher Abu Rahmah's death in Bil'in. Today's statement confirms that Jawaher Abu Rahmah was in the Bil'in demonstration on 31 December 2010, was exposed to tear gas and admitted to hospital for the effects of tear gas.
The Popular Struggle Coordination Committee calls for an independent and professional investigation into the circumstances of Abu Rahmah's death. The army has proven that it is not a reliable source of information and only an independent and professional investigation will be able to provide the necessary information.
The evidence surrounding the events leading to the death of Bil'in resident Jawaher Abu Rahmah disproves completely the army spokesperson's version.. The army's version is based on claims made anonymously, without any supporting evidence unlike the version of the Abu Rahmah family and the Popular Coordinating Committee of Bil'in.
The army has been promoting in the Israeli media a mendacious version regarding the events that led to the death of Jawaher Abu Rahmah of Bil'in on Friday, 31 December 2010. According to the army's version, Jawaher was not injured by tear gas and was possibly not even present at the demonstration. The army spokesperson did not see fit to publish an official statement on the matter, instead passing the information to the media in the name of anonymous army sources.
The facts of the matter, which are supported by the testimony of eyewitness who were present at the demonstration, as well as by the ambulance driver who evacuated her to the hospital, contradict completely the army's version:
Soubhiya Abu Rahmah, mother of Jawaher: I was standing beside Jawaher on the hill that is near the place where the demonstration took place, when we were injured by a cloud of tear gas. Jawaher began to feel unwell from inhaling the gas and started to move back from the place; soon after that she vomited and collapsed. We took her to the nearest road, and from there she was evacuated by ambulance to the hospital, where she remained until her death. She was not sick with cancer, nor did she have any other illness; and she was not asthmatic.
Ilham Fathi: I was on the roof of my house, which is located a few meters from where Jawaher stood. When the cloud of tear gas moved in our direction, I went downstairs in order to close the windows. While I was closing one of the windows, I saw her lose consciousness from the gas and ran over to her, together with Islam Abu Rahmah, in order to pull her away. We picked her up together and carried her to my garden. We called for help and she began to vomit and foam at the mouth.
Islam Abu Rahmah:I was standing with Jawaher, her mother and my grandmother in order to watch the confrontation that was going on just in front of us, in the area of the fence. The wind moved the gas in our direction, making our eyes itch and tear up. After that she (Jawaher) began to cough and foam at the mouth. Soon after that she became weak and lay down on the ground. I succeeded in carrying her as far as the Abu Khamis home, about 40 meters in the direction of her house, but then she became terribly weak, vomited violently and foamed at the mouth. She was having difficult breathing and lost her sense of direction. We got a few women to help her by waving a paper fan over her face in order to provide some oxygen. After that she was taken to the hospital.
Saher Bisharat, the ambulance who evacuated Jawaher: We received Jawaher near the entrance that is parallel to the fence, which is where the demonstration was taking place. She was still partially conscious, answered questions, and said that she had choked on gas. I took her straight to the hospital. (Click here to view the Red Crescent report). http://bit.ly/dPK46j
The army has also claimed that the reports about Abu Rahmeh's injuries started to arrive only several hours after the incident, in the evening. That claim is contradicted by a tweet sent by the NGO Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which reports the injury of Jawaher, including her name, in real time (click here to view). http://bit.ly/e5300K The tweet was sent at 2:36 pm (4:36 am on the East Coast of the United States). Wafa, the Palestinian news service, published a report that includes the injury of Jawaher Abu Rahmah shortly after the event (click here to view). http://bit.ly/dPGA5h
Also according to army sources, which remain anonymous, Jawaher Abu Rahmah suffered from a serious illness, possibly leukemia; the sources postulate that she died from a pre-existing condition rather than tear gas inhalation. Several sources reject that claim.
Dr. Uday Abu Nahlah: "Jawaher Abu Rahmah was employed in my home on a regular basis. On Thursday she was at work as usual, healthy, only one day before her death."
Jawaher had an inner ear infection, which affected her balance, for which she was recently given a CT scan. The radiologist who performed the CT scan, Dr. Hamis Al Sahfi'i, confirmed that the brain scan was normal (for the CT scan results click here) http://bit.ly/fNcFqR . Jawaher had a minor health issue involving fluids in her inner ear. Her physicians insist that she did not suffer from any illness or from any symptoms that might, if combined with tear gas, lead to her death.
There is not, nor could there be, any indication that Abu Rahmah had cancer; in fact, she was in good health. The director of the hospital refutes the claim that she died from a pre-existing condition:
Mohammed Aida, director of the Ramallah health center where Abu Rahmah received her care: Jawaher Abu Rahmah died from lung failure that was caused by tear gas inhalation, leading to a heart attack. She arrived at the hospital only partly conscious, and then lost consciousness completely. Click here for the hospital's official medical report. http://bit.ly/eGTrrw
Mohammed Khatib, a member of Bil'in's Popular Coordinating Committee: The army is trying to evade its responsibility for Jawaher's death with lies and invented narratives that have no basis. They are spreading these lies and invented narratives via the media, which is not bothering to do basic fact checking. Our version is supported by named sources and with medical documents. In a properly functioning society, the army's version, which has been spread by anonymous sources, would not be considered worthy of publication.
http://bit.ly/hbA2zm