Petition to protest Israeli assault on Mohammed Omer
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Not guilty. The Israeli captain who put 17 bullets into a Palestinian schoolgirl
· Officer ignored warnings that teenager was terrified
· Defence says 'confirming the kill' standard practice
By Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
11/16/05 "The Guardian" -- -- An Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old was acquitted on all charges by a military court yesterday.
The soldier, who has only been identified as "Captain R", was charged with relatively minor offences for the killing of Iman al-Hams who was shot 17 times as she ventured near an Israeli army post near Rafah refugee camp in Gaza a year ago.
The manner of Iman's killing, and the revelation of a tape recording in which the captain is warned that she was just a child who was "scared to death", made the shooting one of the most controversial since the Palestinian intifada erupted five years ago even though hundreds of other children have also died.
After the verdict, Iman's father, Samir al-Hams, said the army never intended to hold the soldier accountable.
"They did not charge him with Iman's murder, only with small offences, and now they say he is innocent of those even though he shot my daughter so many times," he said. "This was the cold-blooded murder of a girl. The soldier murdered her once and the court has murdered her again. What is the message? They are telling their soldiers to kill Palestinian children."
The military court cleared the soldier of illegal use of his weapon, conduct unbecoming an officer and perverting the course of justice by asking soldiers under his command to alter their accounts of the incident.
Capt R's lawyers argued that the "confirmation of the kill" after a suspect is shot was a standard Israeli military practice to eliminate terrorist threats.
Following the verdict, Capt R burst into tears, turned to the public benches and said: "I told you I was innocent."
The army's official account said that Iman was shot for crossing into a security zone carrying her schoolbag which soldiers feared might contain a bomb. It is still not known why the girl ventured into the area but witnesses described her as at least 100 yards from the military post which was in any case well protected.
A recording of radio exchanges between Capt R and his troops obtained by Israeli television revealed that from the beginning soldiers identified Iman as a child.
In the recording, a soldier in a watchtower radioed a colleague in the army post's operations room and describes Iman as "a little girl" who was "scared to death". After soldiers first opened fire, she dropped her schoolbag which was then hit by several bullets establishing that it did not contain explosive. At that point she was no longer carrying the bag and, the tape revealed, was heading away from the army post when she was shot.
Although the military speculated that Iman might have been trying to "lure" the soldiers out of their base so they could be attacked by accomplices, Capt R made the decision to lead some of his troops into the open. Shortly afterwards he can be heard on the recording saying that he has shot the girl and, believing her dead, then "confirmed the kill".
"I and another soldier ... are going in a little nearer, forward, to confirm the kill ... Receive a situation report. We fired and killed her ... I also confirmed the kill. Over," he said.
Palestinian witnesses said they saw the captain shoot Iman twice in the head, walk away, turn back and fire a stream of bullets into her body.
On the tape, Capt R then "clarifies" to the soldiers under his command why he killed Iman: "This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the [security] zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed."
At no point did the Israeli troops come under attack.
The prosecution case was damaged when a soldier who initially said he had seen Capt R point his weapon at the girl's body and open fire later told the court he had fabricated the story.
Capt R claimed that he had not fired the shots at the girl but near her. However, Dr Mohammed al-Hams, who inspected the child's body at Rafah hospital, counted numerous wounds. "She has at least 17 bullets in several parts of the body, all along the chest, hands, arms, legs," he told the Guardian shortly afterwards. "The bullets were large and shot from a close distance. The most serious injuries were to her head. She had three bullets in the head. One bullet was shot from the right side of the face beside the ear. It had a big impact on the whole face."
The army's initial investigation concluded that the captain had "not acted unethically". But after some of the soldiers under his command went to the Israeli press to give a different version, the military police launched a separate investigation after which he was charged.
Capt R claimed that the soldiers under his command were out to get him because they are Jewish and he is Druze.
The transcript
The following is a recording of a three-way conversation that took place between a soldier in a watchtower, an army operations room and Capt R, who shot the girl
From the watchtower "It's a little girl. She's running defensively eastward." "Are we talking about a girl under the age of 10?" "A girl about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death." "I think that one of the positions took her out." "I and another soldier ... are going in a little nearer, forward, to confirm the kill ... Receive a situation report. We fired and killed her ... I also confirmed the kill. Over."
From the operations room "Are we talking about a girl under the age of 10?"
Watchtower "A girl about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death."
A few minutes later, Iman is shot from one of the army posts
Watchtower "I think that one of the positions took her out."
Captain R "I and another soldier ... are going in a little nearer, forward, to confirm the kill ... Receive a situation report. We fired and killed her ... I also confirmed the kill. Over."
Capt R then "clarifies" why he killed Iman
"This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed. Over."
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
The problem with statistics is that when you just hear "hundreds/thousands of children", you don't think much of it. Now when you hear a shocking story about 1 of them, you think about how every other child has their own story. It's sickening to see people still say things like "Yeah, I know Israel does that and it's not good..." but then have them defending any other action they do and show a complete disregard to address the serious issues...
Thanks for signing the petition.
* Award-Winning Palestinian Journalist Mohammed Omer Details Abuse by
Israeli Security Officials *
We go to Gaza to speak with award-winning Palestinian journalist Mohammed
Omer. The twenty-four-year-old journalist and photographer from Gaza was
physically and psychologically abused by Israeli security officials late
last month. Omer, who is a correspondent for the Inter Press Service, was on
his way back home after receiving the prestigious Martha Gellhorn Prize for
Journalism in London.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/7/award_winning_palestinian_journalist
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
that is just fucking disgusting. how can we give them aid when their military thinks it's justified to kill children??
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=3927316&blogID=382790838
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
Because the mainstream media tells us that Israel is 'defending itself from terrorists'.
have you ever been to israel? i know over 10 israeli girls that were killed by palestinian suicide bombers.
israel's way of dealing with things is far from perfect, but if you'd ever actually been to israel you would see that it's not just palestinian target practice. most of the fighting takes between palestinian or lebanese militiamen and israeli soldiers. of course it's tragic when civilians get killed, but it's not like israel is just shooting everyone they see. what about the american soldiers have shot iraqi children, when the lebanese government shot missles into civilian israeli buildings over the border?
look at the big picture before you go calling people child killers
"Earlier Saturday, a senior commander in the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigade militant group was killed and two of his bodyguards were wounded when the car they were riding in was hit in Gaza City by an Israeli airstrike, Palestinian security sources told CNN."
Like i said, tragic, but it wasn't like he went and shot a little girl to test his sniper rifle...
also:
"Also Friday, Palestinian militants who had been in a firefight with Israeli soldiers escaped, many of them slipping away in a crowd of women who had come to join what had begun as a standoff."
slipping into a crowd of women? that's very noble and heroic right?
cited: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/04/mideast/index.html
I've been to Palestine, actually. Beautiful country. The Israelis have the opportunity to go to clubs, malls, and do thousands of fun things. On the other hand, the Palestinians are lucky if the Israelis are nice enough to provide them food, medicine, and electricity.
You have such a fake argument... just like everyone else who supports the Israeli occupation in disguise... you condemn killings of civilians, but then, the next second, you find ways to try to justify Israel's criminal actions.
wtf does this have anything to do with killing an innocent little girl? how can you justify that?
unfortunately, the Israelis have stripped the Palestinians of everything that could be called 'noble'... they have nothing to do but use guerilla war tactics just like EVERY other people under oppression have used in history... the Americans in the American revolution, the french in the nazi occupation of france, the algerians in the french occupation of algeria, etc....
first of all, 1,168 israelis have died in terrorist attacks since 2000. second of all, i guess you mean you've been to the REGION of palestine because it's not an actual COUNTRY. so i know you're lying about that.
also, you're allowed to go into malls, clubs, and do "thousands" of fun things when you're palestinian as well...trust me, i've actually BEEN THERE BEFORE. everyone, including israelis, old ladies, and young children get searched when entering malls. wtf kind of an argument is "On the other hand, the Palestinians are lucky if the Israelis are nice enough to provide them food, medicine, and electricity."? food, medicine, and electricity are based off of where you live, not you're religion/race. there are hungry israelis on the streets too.
trust me man, you are not educated on the situation over in israel...
kind of how you're justifying terrorists blowing themselves up in the middle of large crowds? except that israel has never had a citizen of their country strap a bomb onto themselves and run into the muslim marketplace. not that they should--it's awful. nor should they kill civilians, but that's what fucking happens when you shoot a missle at a bunch of soldiers and then hide in a crowd of women and children to try and hide.
i can promise you that israeil soldiers would not shoot a missle at lebanon and then hide in a crowd of israeli civilians. and you know what the headline would be if they did:
"israeli soldier shoots missle at lebanese border and hides in a crowd of women and children". now you see the other side of the argument, it's not as black and white as "a bunch of psychopaths killing innocent civilians"
Israeli soldiers are as much of a psychopath so now where does this leave this conflict? What's the solution, would Israel be this way if they had no US backing?
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
when i said it's not as black and white as a bunch of psychopaths killing innocent civilians i meant it's not as black and white as saying that israelis are a bunch of psychopaths just killing innocent civilians; earlier in the threat outlaw said that israelis are just civilian murderers--that's what i was referring to. and yes i believe they would be because they've been fighting terrorist attacks and their neighboring countries since 1948 so the only difference now is that they have funding from the United States to better protect themselves
.....And because of that backing they're 10 times more powerful of a country in trying to protect themselves from ALL of their neighboring countries. Now how does that relieve the volatility of this region?
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
Israel is surrounded by Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. They've defeated all of those countries in war in the past (all of which have been defensive wars). Just because the US gives them money doesn't mean they're going to invade these countries.
And what do you mean by the volatility of this region?
Well the US not only gives money but it appears they give weapons also. It appears there is always violence in this region and with Israel's powerful weapons including nuclear, how does this mighty power they have end this violence in the region?
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
...
this just did it for me. I'm Palestinian, and if I choose to refer to going there as "going to Palestine" and NOT "going to Israel" then I'll do so without you calling me a liar. thanks.
Oh, you've BEEN THERE. you're probably the ONLY AMERICAN to EVER have gone there. it's completely IMPOSSIBLE for ANYONE ELSE to know ANYTHING about the situation in Palestine and Israel, and your opinion is ALMIGHTY because you've BEEN THERE.
have you ever heard of the occupied territories? Ever heard of Gaza? 1.5 million people there are currently living in some of the worst conditions in the world.... and, coincidentally, they're Palestinian... but that has NOTHING to do with it. All those power cuts, shortages in food and medicine, etc... that's not cause they're Palestinian... that's cause they're terrorists... or is it the same thing?
Israelis and Palestinians do NOT have the same living standard. don't even bother with that nonsensical excuse of an argument.
I'll take your word for it.
why would they? their army takes care of it for them with hi-tech weaponry.
Israeli soldiers use airplanes when they bombed Lebanon. Why would they bother running into crowds?
by 'better protect themselves' do you mean kill more people?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/country
as far as I know, Palestine fits the definition of a country. it has an elected government, citizens, etc..... just cause the Western powers refuse to recognize it, does NOT mean I can't call it a country.
Should the Irish have just surrendered after Bloody Sunday? Geurilla warfare is by no means pretty, but it's sometimes the only option available to countries who've been under a very brutal thumb for years, decades, or in Ireland's case, centuries.
"Information Clearing House" is not quite the reliable source.
Calling Israeli's child killers is so ridiculous. Go do some research and look up the rights and privileges people enjoy in Israel (whether they are Jewish, Muslim or Christian) and compare those to countries in the surrounding region. Take a look at the medical progress that Israel has made which has led to the saving of many lives. Surely a country as blood thirsty as many of you claim Israel to be would be to occupied with 'killing children' to possibly develop so much incredible technology.
Surely a country as bloodthirsty as Israel would not have returned the Sinai region to Egypt for a peace treaty document. Of course the Sinai region is bigger than Israel itself, and Israel won Sinai from Egypt during a way they were defending themselves in. (Even if they were the aggresors, which they weren't, normally in history a country actually keeps the land they win in a war!!!).
Now just because Israel is backed by the USA, doesn't make their actions any better or any worse. Now just because in previous years, the development of a self-sustaining Palestinian society was not at the top of the PLO agenda, doesn't make Israel's actions now any better or any worse.
Look at both sides of the situation. Sympathize for numerous Palestinians who live in poverty at no fault of their own. But be sure to truly understand the entire situation from both sides before you place all the blame solely on Israel's shoulders, when their are clearly other reasons why Palestinians live in rough conditions.
Everyone hates seeing civilians die. But could you imagine how many more innocents would die if Israel didn't carefully target to the best of their ability specific homes/locations. If Israel carried out their attacks in the same fashion as the Americans in Iraq, there would be way more deaths. Just look up the figures to see for yourself.
no you can't
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-71337437.html
Dateline: GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip An Israeli helicopter fired a missile at an apartment building in Gaza City early Tuesday, witnesses said, killing a Palestinian and wounding two others
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/world/middleeast/10cnd-mideast.html?pagewanted=print
Chiyah, a poor Shia area two miles from the center of Beirut, has been bombed or shelled several times. More than 40 people died on Monday after an apartment building, which Israel said housed Hezbollah leaders, was bombed at dinner time.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E7D71E39F933A15757C0A960958260
But members of the delegation said that the Israeli authorities had given the Red Cross only enough time to make a few short stops before leaving Nabatiye, where an Israeli rocket attack on Thursday leveled an apartment building and left 11 people dead, including a 4-day-old child.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/06/11/Child_dies_in_Israeli_air_strike_in_Gaza/UPI-69411213186786/
Child dies in Israeli air strike in Gaza....but the missile missed its mark, striking a yard where the child and mother were
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/08/AR2006110800518.html
'Shells Kept Falling' On Gaza Apartment, Killing 17 in Family.....Palestinian health officials said 20 civilians were killed, 17 of them from Islam's extended family. At least seven of the dead were children asleep at the time of the blasts, which left heavy jagged shrapnel on rooftops and in living rooms More than 60 people were wounded, including Islam's 5-year-old sister, Israh, and 3-year-old brother, Mohammed, who tossed in a hospital bed here with thickly bandaged legs, crying for his wounded mother. Islam's father, two grandparents, an uncle and many cousins were among the dead.
http://edition.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/10/08/mideast.violence/index.html
Israeli military blows up Palestinian apartments....
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,120213,00.html
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Under heavy cover fire from helicopters, Israeli troops combed this refugee camp for weapons and gunmen Tuesday in the biggest Gaza (search) offensive in years. Twenty Palestinians were killed, including two teenagers shot as they gathered laundry....Last week, Israel destroyed about 100 houses, making more than 1,000 Palestinians homeless.....In all, 19 Palestinians in Rafah were killed by Israeli fire -- 10 in two missile strikes, and nine by machine-gun fire, said Dr. Moawiya Hassanain, a Palestinian Health Ministry official. A 20th man was killed while handling explosives.
Israel said both missile strikes, including one outside a mosque, were aimed at gunmen.......Palestinian ambulance drivers reported coming under fire, and Hassanain said several ambulances were unable to evacuate the wounded.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/11/mideast/index.html
Israel fires rocket at car in Gaza City....
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
They are child killers. And there's ample evidence to prove it.
Israel Kills Some More Children
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41424
'Like Tamer, other children are dying, and their mothers' dreams with them. A six-month infant named Mohammed al-Bourai was killed when an Israeli missile crashed into the house Wednesday this week, moments after he'd been fed. The family house happens to be close to the offices of Gaza's ministry of interior, and to the house of de facto Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Hanyieh.
The same day, three other Palestinian children were killed in an air strike. The following day, four Palestinian children were killed near the Jabaliya refugee camp while playing soccer. Two of the boys, all aged 7 to 14, were from the same family. A child's body was found in eastern Gaza, a victim of Israeli shelling.'
Israel kills 34 kids in Qana
http://www.counterpunch.org/fisk07312006.html
Palestinian Children Killed by Israel - 2004
http://ifamericansknew.org/stats/child_41304.html
'The Israeli occupation army and paramilitary Jewish settlers have killed 545 Palestinian children and minors since the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000.
Among these victims, 266 children were 14 or younger while the ages of the remaining 279 ranged from 15 to 18. Moreover, as many as 20,000 Palestinian children were injured, with nearly 1500 sustaining life-long disabilities.
The total number of Palestinians killed by Israel during the current Intifada is around 2700, the vast majority of them civilians.'
Israel targets civilians and UN personnel with impunity
By Jean Shaoul
12 December 2002
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/dec2002/isra-d12.shtml
Israeli air barrage kills children playing football - 2008
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/israeli-air-barrage-kills-children-playing-football-1302288.html
And you need to open your eyes before you post on this board. The article was reprinted from an article in the Guardian, as you would have seen if you'd read it.
Why don't you try looking at the facts?
You can begin with the factual record as documented by various human rights organizations such as 'Human rights watch', and 'Amnesty' which both conclude that Israel is guilty of war crimes in it's deliberate targeting of civilians.