Murdering
Childhood
Left: Pictures that shook the
world; Mohammad al-Durra, 12 year old, died huddled in his father's arms'
caught in a hail of Israeli bullets and captured by a viewfinder of a
television camera in a shocking scene viewed all over the world. Amid a welter of brutal scenes from street battles that have swept the
West Bank and Gaza Strip since September 28, 2000, the boy's death was a singularly
horrific one.
Television footage shot by French TV during Saturday's pitched battle
outside the heavily guarded Israeli settlement of Netzarim showed Mohammed
clinging to his father, Jamal, and screaming in terror as a sustained
burst of gunfire raked a concrete wall behind them.
As the two huddled behind a tiny abutment, the father vainly stretched
a protective arm in front of his son.
Most stations that aired the footage cut away before the stricken boy
could be seen slumping over, loosing his grip on the father, who himself
twitched convulsively as he was struck by round after round.
The child’s
father, who was questioned at his hospital bed, said he had gone to look
for a car and was caught up in the gun battle by chance. He said that the
ambulance come to help him was held up for 45 minutes at an Israeli
roadblock.
Sara,
2 years old, receives a farewell kiss from her father. The family was on
way to hospital, when they were caught in Israeli fire; Sara became the
youngest victim of the continuing clashes.
FAQ
Q:
What is this all about??
A:
The bloodshed began on Thursday, September 28, after Ariel
Sharon (now Prime Minister of Israel) forced his way into the Haram Al-Sharif, Islam's holiest site in
Jerusalem, accompanied by 1,000 heavily armed occupation troops. Palestinians
protesting this provocation have been brutally suppressed by the Israeli troops.
Q:
But what are Israeli troops doing in Palestinian territories?
A:
Israel occupies the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1967. Since
then, Israelis have refused to implement UN resolutions calling for their
full withdrawal from the occupied territories. Palestinians have regained
a small percentage of their land according to peace agreements, but Israel
still has significant military presence, and often violates these
agreements by invading cities and towns supposed to be under full
Palestinian control.
Q:
Why is that large number of victims?
A:
Because Israeli forces are using rubber and live bullets in response to
stone-throwing from the Palestinian side. They have even used anti-tank missiles
and helicopters to attack demonstrators and Palestinian security forces.
Q:
What the hell did the kids do?
A:
Nothing! Israeli bullets are fired at everybody in the streets of Gaza
and the West Bank. The 12-year-old Mohammad Durra is not the only child killed
by the Israelis. No less than 9 people under the age of 17 have died since the
eruption of violence, including a 2-year-old girl.
