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Palestinian mother mourns son killed by Israeli forces. (Reuters)
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GAZA
CITY, January 13 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israeli
occupation forces Thursday, January 13, gunned down a Palestinian as
he drove his pregnant wife to hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip
and killed another in an incursion into a refugee camp.
The
escalation came as a harsh reminder to Palestinians that peace remains
a far-fetched dream, with continued suffering at stringent Israeli
checkpoints under the shadow of the separation wall, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Alaa
Hassuna, 23, was shot dead by trigger-happy Israeli soldiers shortly
after leaving his family home in a Bedouin village nearby Beit Lahiya.
He
was driving his pregnant wife, who was also wounded in the shooting,
to hospital in the north of Gaza Strip.
“He
was shot in the right eye and the bullet exited from the back of the
brain. There were no scratches to show that he had been in an
accident,” Mahmud al-Asali, director of the Beit Lahiya hospital,
told AFP.
The
pregnant woman, Hanan Ahmed Al-Beshawi, 27, later gave birth to a
healthy boy, the hospital said.
The
Israeli army initially denied shooting the Palestinian man, claiming
the soldiers had only fired warning shots at the car.
However,
an Israeli military source later told AFP soldiers had fired directly
at the vehicle.
“The
vehicle was speeding towards the force, seemingly about to carry out
some form of attack,” he claimed.
Few
hours later, another Palestinian breathed his last and several others
were wounded in an Israeli incursion into the Bereij refugee camp,
which lies between Gaza City and Deir al-Balah.
Said
Abdesalaam, 22, was shot in the chest by Israeli occupation forces,
Palestinian eyewitnesses said.
The
latest death brings the overall toll since the September 2000 start of
the Palestinian Intifada to 4,686, including 3,638 Palestinians and
973 Israelis, according to an AFP tally.
Far-fetched
Dream
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Palestinian child walks near a section of Israel's separation wall in Al-Quds (Reuters)
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Finally
managing to cross to the other side of the Qalandia checkpoint after
three hours standing in wait, 73-year-old Julia Saabah feels little
hope her newly-elected president can do anything to save the
Palestinian people from the Israeli separation wall and checkpoints.
“Mahmud
Abbas will not be able to get us out of this prison,” she said,
glancing up at the towering eight-meter (25-foot) concrete wall
looming over the checkpoint.
“The
wall only serves to separate Palestinians from Palestinians. I have to
cross here if I want to visit my daughter even though both of us live
on Palestinian land -- her in Ramallah and me in (occupied) east
Jerusalem.”
Walking
hesitant toward Israeli soldiers, she stressed that the world “has
to understand that this wall is robbing us of any hope of peace.”
Israel
claims the wall is necessary for maintaining its security.
Palestinians
- backed by international community and the UN - maintain that the
wall is nothing but an Israeli land-grab
and a bid to pre-empt the borders of their future state.
The
Hague-based International Court of Justice, the top UN legal body,
ruled that Israel must dismantle the barrier and pay reparations for
damages caused during construction.
Palestinian
Prison
Like
in other parts of the West Bank, the Qalandia section of the
separation wall has become a blank page where Palestinians vent their
frustration and anger with graffiti.
“The
West Bank -- the Palestinian prison” reads one.
“Get
out of here” and “We are not terrorists” said others, painted in
bold letters just yards from the checkpoint.
The
Qalandia checkpoint is the main gateway for the Palestinians between
Al-Quds and Ramallah.
However,
no one can cross between the two cities without passing the
checkpoint, which will soon become part of the huge barrier which
Israel is currently building across the West Bank.
“Before,
going to Al-Quds took us 15 minutes, now it can take hours and you
also need a permit,” said Malah, a Palestinian living in the
Qalandia camp.
The
Washington Post reported on
Monday, November 29, that beatings, shootings, harassment, humiliation
in front of children and wives and life-threatening delays are but a
few examples of the appalling conditions at the sandbagged Israeli
checkpoints.
