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<h1 class="title">Israeli soldiers tell Palestinians: ‘We will gas
you until you die'</h1>
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<div class="stamp">Oct. 30, 2015</div>
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<div class="PhotoContainer" style="width: 650px"><b><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=768559">http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=768559</a></small></small></b><br>
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<div class="authorClass">By: Megan Hanna<br>
<br>
</div>
<div><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight:
normal; line-height: 150%;" face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; font-style:
italic;"></span></font></div>
<font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;" face="Helvetica"><span style="font-size:
11pt; line-height: 150%; font-style: italic;">Megan Hanna is
a freelance photographer and journalist based in Palestine.<br>
<br>
</span></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size:
11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight:
normal; line-height: 150%;" face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">On October 29,
Israeli military forces issued a disturbing message to
residents of Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, telling them
that unless they stopped throwing stones "we will gas you
until you die."<br>
<br>
</span></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size:
11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight:
normal; line-height: 150%;" face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Israeli military
forces raided the camp and fired tear gas and flash grenades
indiscriminately at people’s windows, balconies, and down
the narrow streets, allegedly in response to Palestinian
youths throwing stones at the Israeli separation wall that
borders the community.<br>
<br>
</span></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size:
11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight:
normal; line-height: 150%;" face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">During the raid,
an Israeli soldier in a military vehicle addressed the </span><span
style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 22px;">protesters
</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">and
residents of the camp through a loudspeaker in Arabic. The
disturbing </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;
line-height: 22px;">incident</span><span style="font-size:
11pt; line-height: 150%;"> was caught on film.<br>
<br>
</span></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size:
11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight:
normal; line-height: 150%;" face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">“Inhabitants of
Aida, we are the Israeli occupation forces, if you throw
stones we will hit you with gas until you die. The children,
the youth, and the old people, all of you – we won’t spare
any of you”.<br>
<br>
</span></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size:
11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight:
normal; line-height: 150%;" face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">During the
assault of the</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;
line-height: 22px;"> protesters, </span><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Qassan Abu Aker,
25, was arrested. <br>
<br>
The speakerphone announcement continued, “We have arrested
one of you, he’s with us now. We took him from his home, and
we will kill him while you’re watching as long as you throw
stones.”</span></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica;
font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;
font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%;" face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">The chilling
message concluded: “We will blind your eyes with gas until
you die, your homes, your families, brothers, sons, everyone."<br>
<br>
</span></font>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 22px;"></span></font><font
face="Helvetica"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height:
150%;">Subsequently after the announcement, Israeli forces
fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets </span><span
style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 22px;">indiscriminately
</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">in
the streets.<br>
<br>
</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">The use of
force was so extreme that children from Aida’s two
community </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;
line-height: 22px;">centers</span><span style="font-size:
11pt; line-height: 150%;"> and residents of nearby houses
had to be evacuated to another part of the camp, and at
least one youth was taken to hospital with respiratory
problems. </span></font><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">The clashes
are part of a spate of violence that has unfolded across
Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory over the
past month, in which at least 64 Palestinians and 9
Israelis have been killed.</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"></span>
<div class="fb-video" data-allowfullscreen="1"
data-href="/abu.yazan.gaza/videos/vb.1570184079/10206874369369003/?type=3"
style="font-size: 14.6667px;">
<div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore">
<blockquote
cite="https://www.facebook.com/abu.yazan.gaza/videos/10206874369369003/">
<p>Israeli military vehicles invaded Aida refugee camp
and used loud speakers to leave the Palestinians a
message.. Watch, listen and share.. (English
subtitles) #Palestine</p>
Posted by<a
href="https://www.facebook.com/abu.yazan.gaza">Mohammed
Matter</a>on Thursday, 29 October 2015</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-size: 11pt;
line-height: 150%;">
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight:
normal; line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></font></div>
Alongside the disconcerting language used to inspire
terror </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;
line-height: 22px;">among </span><span style="font-size:
11pt; line-height: 150%;">the residents -- the majority of
whom weren’t involved in the stone throwing -- the film
provides evidence of a member of the Israeli army
admitting to the potentially lethal application of tear
gas.<br>
<br>
</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Last week, on
Oct. 21, Hashem al-Azzeh, 54, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=768426">died</a>
in Hebron due to excessive tear gas inhalation used by
Israeli forces to subdue </span><span style="font-size:
14.6667px; line-height: 22px;">protesters</span><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">, and two days
earlier an <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=768342">elderly
woman</a> in the Batan el-Hawa area of Silwan, East
Jerusalem, died from the effects of tear gas fired during
clashes.<br>
<br>
</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">“In this
statement, we see -- among a range of potential criminal
offenses -- a public threat to kill Palestinian civilians,
and to execute a prisoner," </span></font><span
style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.6667px;
line-height: 22px;">Simon Reynolds, Legal Advocacy
Coordinator at the BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian
Residency and Refugee Rights, told Ma'an.<br>
<br>
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height:
150%; font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height:
150%; font-family: Helvetica;">"Though such threats are
appalling, they are not necessarily surprising. In light of
the mounting civilian death toll among Palestinians, such
threats merely add words to the deed.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><br>
“What we are seeing is an apparent policy of lawlessness
in which Israeli forces can wield deadly force with
virtual impunity. Especially troubling is that this is a
policy that seems to have, at the very minimum, the tacit
acceptance of the highest levels of government.”<br>
<br>
</span></font><font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-size:
11pt; line-height: 150%;">Numerous rights groups have </span><span
style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 22px;">publicly
</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">condemned
Israel’s disproportionate military response while policing
demonstrations and responding to alleged attacks.<br>
<br>
</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">“Indiscriminate
or deliberate firing on observers and demonstrators who
pose no imminent threat violates the international
standards that bind Israeli security forces," </span></font><span
style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.6667px;
line-height: 22px;">Kenneth Roth, executive director of
Humans Rights Watch said on Oct. 11, after a HRW research
assistant was shot and injured while observing a
demonstration near Ramallah.<br>
<br>
</span></div>
<div><font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-size: 11pt;
line-height: 150%;">Earlier this week, Amnesty
International </span></font><span
style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font
face="Helvetica"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;
line-height: 20.24px;"><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=768524">demanded</a>
that Israel stop unlawful killings in occupied
Palestinian territory, stating that Israeli forces
appeared to have "ripped up the rulebook."<br>
<br>
</span></font></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">“There is
mounting evidence that, as tensions have risen
dramatically, in some cases Israeli forces appear to have
ripped up the rulebook and resorted to extreme and
unlawful measures,"</span></font><span style="font-size:
14.6667px;">Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and
North Africa Programme at Amnesty International said. </span><font
face="Helvetica"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height:
150%;">"Intentional lethal force should only be used when
absolutely necessary to protect life," he added. "Instead
we are increasingly seeing Israeli forces recklessly
flouting international standards by shooting to kill in
situations where it is completely unjustified."<br>
<br>
</span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><font face="Helvetica"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></font></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-style:
normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;
line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In February last
year, Amnesty released a report entitled 'Trigger-happy',
which found that Israeli forces display a "callous
disregard" for human life, with near total impunity for the
killing of Palestinian civilians in cases examined since
2011.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
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San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
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