Gość: Sam
IP: 66.42.91.*
28.09.02, 04:50
Any of you think that we should tolerate this ?
Why don't we press Jews in Poland to try to influence Israel (babykillers) ?
Soldier killed boy in cold blood, say British volunteers
Jonathan Steele
Tuesday September 24, 2002
The Guardian
A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was deliberately shot dead by an Israeli
soldier without any provocation, say two British human rights volunteers who
witnessed the incident.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed last night that an inquiry had been
launched.
"I was with three other international volunteers in a street in Nablus on
Sunday with Baha Albahsh, who often tags along with us," said one of the
witnesses, who gave his first name as Al. "There had been some stone-
throwing at tanks and armored personnel carriers which enforce the curfew.
It happens frequently and our practice is to stand at the side to observe.
We always make sure the Israelis see us, and we don't stand with the kids as
it can encourage them."
He said the incident appeared to be over and people had dispersed when an
armored personnel carrier stopped nearby. "I heard a single shot, and Baha
was lying on the ground, his eyes glazed and blood starting to come out of
his mouth. It was clear he had no chance. An ambulance came within two
minutes and he died in it. A high-velocity bullet had destroyed his left
lung."
Al, who declined to give his surname because of the problems he says
volunteers face at the airport when they leave Israel, has been working in
Nablus for about six weeks.
"This is the worst thing I've seen in my time here. Actually, it's the worst
thing I've seen in my life. There was no way Baha could have been a threat
to a soldier 120 yards away with a flak jacket and a helmet and sitting in
an APC. He had nothing in his hands and even if he'd had a stone he could
not have thrown it effectively from that distance. I went back today and
measured the distance exactly. The shot was not a ricochet. As far as I'm
concerned, these people are child-killers, whether or not they were aiming
at the boy. There was no reason to shoot."
Another of the four volunteers, Ewa Jasiewics, 24, from London, said: "An
armored personnel carrier came and stopped on the left of the street. A
soldier popped up from inside. I saw him with his rifle and he aimed at some
kids on the street. There was no stone-throwing or shooting going on at the
time."
She said that in a month spent with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip she had often seen soldiers train gun sights on people without further
incident. "This time was different. This soldier fired. It wasn't
accidental. The soldiers decided to kill him."
An Israeli spokesman said that the army was trying to establish what
happened: "The first assessment was that an army patrol saw a child lighting
a firebomb which then set him on fire. But until we can have better
information I cannot comment."
A doctor at Rafidia hospital in Nablus said a bullet, which entered through
the shoulder and penetrated his chest, killed the teenager.
Nablus suffered the worst destruction of any West Bank city during the
Israeli army's re-occupation this spring, and it has been under almost
constant curfew since June 21: children are unable to attend school and
shops are shut.
The International Solidarity Movement brings volunteers to live and work
among Palestinians to try to act as a restraint on Israeli forces - even
providing a human shield for Palestinians. Volunteers are often detained and
deported.
