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<font size=3>Instead of easing restrictions on freedom of movement,
Israeli forces beat 16 year girl<br>
<a href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1357" eudora="autourl">
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1357<br>
<br>
</a>(Bethlehem) Najib Farag <br>
Wednesday, 03 January 2007 <br><br>
Sixteen year old Amarna Ibrahim lies in Bethlehem's Government Hussein,
Beit Jala, Hospital. She has broken bones, is covered with bruises and is
shaken-up. She and three other girls were passing through a section of
the Wall in Abu Dis that many Palestinians use to arrive in the
Palestinian towns of East Jerusalem. Often the Israeli army is on the
other side, and sometimes the people are let through, and other times are
sent back. <br><br>
Often Palestinians have documentation of official appointments in
Jerusalem with consulates or hospitals. Sometimes they have previously
issued “permission” granted by Israeli forces to move freely. And
sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. <br><br>
What happened to the teenaged girls is typical. They passed through the
Wall, the Israeli army was there, and soldiers questioned the girls.
Keeping in mind that the Israeli Prime Minister pledged to “ease
restrictions” on mobility and “remove several barriers,” this day should
have been easier than usual. <br><br>
But instead Israeli soldiers began beating this girl, hitting her with
their fists, rifle butts, and kicking her in the face, hands and body.
The girl's friends stood horrified, unable to stop the soldiers, unable
to help. And then the soldiers left, just like that. Other Palestinians
in the area called for an ambulance which arrived quickly and rushed her
to Bethlehem's main hospital. <br><br>
It happened at about 5:00 pm yesterday, Tuesday, while on the girls were
on their way for Eid Al Adha holiday visits. The soldiers came from a
checkpoint that is several meters from this area of the Wall. <br><br>
Beit Jala Hospital sources report that the Deheisha Refugee Camp girl is
still in the Emergency Room. Palestinian sources commenting on the
incident say that the proof is right there: the Israelis had no intention
of honoring their promise to ease restrictions against the freedom of
movement. Apparently Ibrahim is not the only one who has been beaten at a
checkpoint this Eid Al Adha, while hundreds of others have been prevented
passage throughout the West Bank. <br><br>
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