<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body>
<div class="container content-width3" style="--font-size:20px;">
<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element" dir="ltr"> <font
size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/gruesome-gaza-scene-sets-two-days-violence">https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/gruesome-gaza-scene-sets-two-days-violence</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Gruesome Gaza scene sets off two days
of violence</h1>
<p class="node__submitted">
<span class="field field-author"><a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/people/maureen-clare-murphy">Maureen
Clare Murphy</a></span> <span class="field field-blog"><a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blog/rights-and-accountability">- </a></span>
<span class="field field-publication-date"><span
class="date-display-single"
content="2020-02-24T22:21:41+00:00">24 February 2020</span></span>
</p>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content line-height4 reader-show-element"
dir="ltr">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div>
<article>
<figure id="file-89476"><source media="(min-width:
72rem)"><img
src="https://electronicintifada.net/sites/default/files/styles/original_800w/public/2020-02/240220_ash_00_24.jpg?itok=ZnK3k36i×tamp=1582578345"
alt="" title=""><figcaption>
<p>An Islamic Jihad fighter guards the site of an
Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza,
on 24 February.</p>
<small>
<span>APA images</span></small></figcaption></figure>
<p>Uncertainty reigns amid unconfirmed reports of a
unilateral ceasefire declared by Palestinian fighters
after two days of intense fire across the Gaza-Israel
boundary, and Israeli strikes on Damascus.</p>
<p>Israel, due to hold elections next week, <a
href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/rocket-attack-targets-israeli-south-despite-reported-ceasefire/">claimed</a>
that more than 90 rockets were launched from Gaza on
Sunday and Monday. Schools in the south of the country
were ordered closed on Tuesday for the second
consecutive day.</p>
<p>The Israeli military targeted what it described as
multiple Islamic Jihad sites across Gaza. Israel also
closed Gaza’s fishing zone and its checkpoints along
the boundary, halting the movement of people and goods
in and out of the territory.</p>
<p>The latest episode of armed confrontation <a
href="http://mezan.org/post/30018">began early
Sunday</a> after Israeli forces <a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-bulldozer-body-palestinian.html">fired
artillery shells</a> at two men near Khan Younis,
southern Gaza.</p>
<p>Israel <a
href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-fires-on-gazans-it-says-were-planting-a-bomb-along-border-2-reported-killed/">claimed</a>
the men planted a bomb along the boundary and released
surveillance footage showing two figures placing an
object near the fence, as well as a photo purporting
to show the explosive device.</p>
<h2>Horrific incident</h2>
<p>Soon after the Israeli fire, medical crews and locals
arrived at the scene. Soldiers shot toward them as
they attempted to evacuate the two people injured
during the shelling.</p>
<p>Nearly two hours after the initial shelling,
Palestinians managed to evacuate one of the wounded
men, who was taken to hospital and reported to be in
critical condition. Israeli soldiers shot one of the
rescuers in the leg with live fire, according to Al
Mezan, a human rights group in Gaza.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, an Israeli military bulldozer and a tank
reached the other man injured during the shelling
“amid heavy gunfire that caused the injury of another
citizen,” Al Mezan added.</p>
<p>The rights group said that soldiers operating the
bulldozer ran over the body of the man injured by the
shelling hours earlier, and dropped him to the ground
to “confirm the kill.”</p>
<p>Witnesses <a
href="https://twitter.com/ShehabAgency/status/1231473597664940032">recorded
video</a> of the horrific incident:</p>
<div id="file-89491">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<p dir="rtl" lang="ar"><a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%AF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#شاهد</a>
قوات الاحتلال تنكل بجثمان شهيد وتنقله بواسطة
جرافة عسكرية بطريقة بشعة وتصيب أحد الشبان الذين
حاولوا انتشاله شرقي بلدة عبسان الجديدة شرقي
خانيونس جنوبي قطاع غزة <a
href="https://t.co/3oHmKLjVXE">pic.twitter.com/3oHmKLjVXE</a></p>
— وكالة شهاب (@ShehabAgency) <a
href="https://twitter.com/ShehabAgency/status/1231473597664940032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February
23, 2020</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>The first of three clips in the video shows the mouth
of the bulldozer crushing and flipping the injured
man’s body multiple times.</p>
<p>The second clip shows the man’s body dangling from
the mouth of the bulldozer. The third shows the
bulldozer and tank moving towards the boundary fence
while carrying the man’s body.</p>
<p>It is not clear how much time passed between the
various clips in the video, which went viral after it
was published on Twitter by Shehab News Agency.</p>
<p><em>The New York Times</em> reported that an Israeli
military spokesperson falsely claimed that al-Naem and
the other man wounded in the shelling were in Israeli
territory.</p>
<p>Following the wide circulation of the video, Israel’s
propaganda apparatus kicked into gear to justify its
army’s actions:</p>
<div id="file-89496">
<div>
<blockquote data-width="550">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
<p>A horrifying recent video showed an Israeli
bulldozer dragging the dead body of a
Palestinian in Gaza.</p>
<p>Israel’s app has 4 “missions” dedicated to
justifying this disgusting incident. <a
href="https://t.co/NqMOUezGN3">pic.twitter.com/NqMOUezGN3</a></p>
</div>
— Behind Israel's Troll Army (@AntiBDSApp) <a
href="https://twitter.com/AntiBDSApp/status/1232055828582035461?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February
24, 2020</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<h2>“Blatant violations”</h2>
<p>Adalah, a human rights group in Israel, <a
href="https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/9909">stated</a>
that the video of the incident shows Israeli forces
committing “war crimes and blatant violations” of
international law, and demanded a criminal
investigation.</p>
<p>Al Mezan likened the abuse of al-Naem’s body to the
2003 killing of American solidarity activist <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/rachel-corrie">Rachel
Corrie</a>, who was crushed by an Israeli soldier
operating a bulldozer in Gaza.</p>
<p>The rights group added that the impunity enjoyed by
Israel encourages such crimes by its occupation
forces, and called on third states to support
investigations of alleged Israeli war crimes by the
International Criminal Court.</p>
<p>Last September, Israel’s high court <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israeli-court-approves-use-palestinian-bodies-bargaining-chips">approved</a>
withholding the remains of Palestinians slain by
occupation forces to use them as bargaining chips in
future negotiations.</p>
<p>Naftali Bennett, Israel’s defense minister, <a
href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-fights-with-gazans-over-bodies-of-suspected-bomb-planters/">stated</a>
last week that “We are hoarding the corpses of
terrorists in order to put pressure on the other
side.”</p>
<p>Islamic Jihad stated that the slain man, Muhammad Ali
Hasan al-Naem, 27, was one of its fighters.</p>
<p>Islamic Jihad retaliated by firing rockets toward
Israel from Gaza later in the day on Sunday. The
rockets were answered with airstrikes targeting what
Israel claimed were Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza and
Syria.</p>
<p>Ziyad Ahmad Mansour, 23, and Salim Ahmad Salim, 24, <a
href="http://www.actionpal.org.uk/ar/post/13047">both
Palestinian refugees</a> from Yarmouk refugee camp
who belonged to Islamic Jihad, were among the six
people reported killed in Israeli strikes on Damascus.</p>
<p>Israel also <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/ten-killed-gaza-israel-instigates-new-war">targeted
Islamic Jihad figures</a> in Damascus during the
last episode of direct hostilities in November last
year. It hit the home of Akram al-Ajouri, the head of
the resistance group’s military wing, in an airstrike,
reportedly killing one of his sons.</p>
<p>During those two days of fighting, Israel <a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/palestine-pictures-november-2019/29046">killed
more than 35 Palestinians</a> in Gaza, around half
of them civilians.</p>
<br>
</article>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://freedomarchives.org/">https://freedomarchives.org/</a></div>
</body>
</html>