Wednesday, May 21, 2014

VIDEO: Israeli Occupation Forces kill two Palestinian teens in cold blood during Nakba demonstration

Dear friends,
please find below the shocking footage of the cold blooded murder of two Palestinian teenagers during the Nakba demonstration outside Ofer Prison. Muhammad Abu Thahr (15 years) and Nadim Nuwara (17 years) were both shot in the chest. The video footage below shows that there was a lull in the clashes between the Israeli Occupation Forces and Palestinian youth and the the Israeli military forces were in no danger.  The footage reveals that both boys were killed as they were simply walking in near a building.

The video footage is very graphic and very upsetting.  Now that the footage has come to light, the Israeli Occupation Forces are claiming that it is fabricated and/or the two youth were shot by Palestinians.  According to Haaretz: "Israeli military investigators said, however, the shots may have been fired by the Palestinian side, rather than by Israeli troops, and senior Israeli officials said a video of the shootings that has that sparked an outcry was likely forged"

These two contradictory claims are a standard and regular defence offered up by the Israeli miltary to such incidents and is one which should not be believed automatically. Already, Zionists and Israeli apologists are claiming the video is the work of "Pallywood".  For those who aren't aware of this term, it is used by Zionists and Israel apologists to claim that any human rights abuses by Israel document on film by either Palestinians or Palestine supporters or even by the media is fabricated. It is a racist term, used to try and discredit Palestinian claims and to justify and sanctify Israel's human rights abuses and atrocities against Palestinians.


The video was obtained by Defence of Children International (Palestine), who told Electronic Intifada, in part: (you can read the full EI article by clicking here):
The CCTV footage was captured by cameras mounted on the building where the incident took place, which is owned by Fakher Zayed.
“The images captured on video show unlawful killings where neither child presented a direct and immediate threat to life at the time of their shooting,” said Rifat Kassis, executive director of DCI-Palestine. “These acts by Israeli soldiers may amount to war crimes, and the Israeli authorities must conduct serious, impartial, and thorough investigations to hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes.”
Nadim Siam Nuwara, 17, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. Muhammad Mahmoud Odeh Abu al-Thahir, 16, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the back.
I have also included the official statement released by  DCI-P on the shooting of the boys.

In solidarity, Kim


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WARNING: 
VIDEOS CONTAINS EXTREME VIOLENCE AND GRAPHIC CONTENT.  
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.








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Israeli forces shoot and kill two Palestinian teens near Ramallah  
Defence of Children International (Palestine): 17 May 2014

Israeli forces fatally shot Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, on May 15 during clashes following a demonstration marking Nakba Day.
Ramallah, May 17, 2014—Israeli forces killed two Palestinian teens during clashes on Thursday outside the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Abu Daher, 16, were both fatally shot in the chest with live ammunition near Ofer military prison in the West Bank city of Beitunia. Both boys were transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah where they were later pronounced dead.

The boys were participating in a demonstration near Ofer military prison to mark Nakba Day and express solidarity with hunger striking prisoners currently held in administrative detention by Israel. The demonstration reportedly began peacefully and then turned violent when Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian youths, according to The New York Times


“Israeli forces continue to use excessive force and recklessly fire live ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets on unarmed protesters, including children, killing them with impunity,” said Rifat Kassis, executive director of DCI-Palestine. “While Israel claims to open investigations into such incidents, they are not transparent or independent, and seldom result in a soldier being held accountable.”

Mohammad Abdullah Hussein al-Azzeh, 15, sustained a gunshot wound when he was hit with live ammunition in the back and left lung while taking part in the same demonstration. He is currently in stable condition at the Ramallah Medical Complex.

Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip held marches on May 15 to commemorate the Nabka or “catastrophe”, which marks the forced displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian homeland in 1948.

The use of live ammunition by soldiers on unarmed Palestinian civilians, including children, has been a recent area of concern to human rights groups. In February, Amnesty International released a report finding that the Israeli army uses reckless force throughout the West Bank.

An Israeli army spokesperson said that the killings were under investigation and claimed that only rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades and tear gas were used by Israeli forces at the time of the incident, not live ammunition, according to Haaretz.

The deaths on Thursday raise the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in 2014 to four, according to data collected by DCI-Palestine. Over 1,400 Palestinian children have been killed as a result of Israeli military and settler presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 2000.

In March, Israeli forces shot and killed Yousef al-Shawamrah, 14, with live ammunition in the southern West Bank near his village of Deir al-Asal al-Fawqa. He was shot while looking for thistle in an area of land belonging to the village that now sits on the other side of Israel’s separation barrier. As he and two friends crossed through an open area, soldiers fired live ammunition toward the boys, hitting Yousef in the hip and back.

In December 2013, Wajih Wajdi al-Ramahi, 15, from Jalazoun refugee camp north of the West Bank city of Ramallah was fatally shot with live ammunition fired by an Israeli soldier. Documenting the killing, DCI-Palestine found that Wajih had been shot in the back from a distance of 150-200 meters (about 500 feet).

The Israeli military’s own regulations dictate that live ammunition must be used “only under circumstances of real mortal danger,” but the regulations are not enforced and frequently ignored by Israeli soldiers, according to research by DCI-Palestine and a recent report by B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group.  

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