Rights and Accountability 3 January 2014
In an email to The Electronic Intifada, @zalameh, a resident of Jerusalem, gave his eyewitness account of the incident:
This afternoon after work I headed to the Old City, I entered through Damascus Gate. Right at the entrance I saw more commotion than usual so I headed close to where people were congregating. There were about 8 soldiers (as I counted) surrounding this girl and handcuffing her, she was quiet but her eyes showed fear, she seemed bewildered and was offering no resistance.
It all seemed surreal to see all these soldiers armed to the teeth overwhelming this child and the soldiers were behaving as if they had caught a dangerous criminal. The soldiers did not want people around, especially as they had their phone cameras out, and started pushing them away. Despite being handcuffed and completely restrained, two soldiers were holding her arms each.
She was wearing a sweater saying “I <3 Palestine.” I tried asking what was happening and I couldn’t get anything concrete from people there, most were passers-by and they were as surprised as I was by what they were seeing. More soldiers started coming after about 10 minutes until they were 15 in total, all surrounding the girl, they formed a corridor and rushed her out of the Old City to a police car.
Claimed “stabbing” attempt
While it is unclear if it is referring to the same incident, The Jerusalem Post also reported today that a “16-year-old Arab girl attempted to stab a border police officer with a knife near Nablus Gate in Jerusalem on Friday. The suspect is a resident of the Jabal al-Mukaber neighborhood in east Jerusalem, police said.”The newspaper claimed that “Security personnel succeeded in disarming the woman and bringing her under control but in the process, one of them was injured lightly in the leg. The injured man received medical treatment at the scene.”
Doubtful account
However, @zalameh casts doubt on this version of events if indeed it refers to the same incident. He writes:First, I saw no soldier injured. I am confident I came there just as she was arrested and I saw no one being taken out from Damascus Gate as I entered. That would have been obvious and second, it is common for Israelis to treat any form of reaction from Palestinians as an “attack.” And what Israel often calls stabbing could be with anything, even if the girl had a go at a soldier with a pen, they would have called it a “stabbing attempt.”
“A more credible version would be that she lost her temper after a particular provocation or humiliation, which for those who live in Jerusalem is a daily reality and this triggered the arrest,” @zalameh added.
The human rights groups B’Tselem reported last year that Israeli occupation forces frequently accuse Palestinian youths and children of violent attacks and then subject them to abuse and torture, including solitary confinement and threats of rape in order to get them to confess.
WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, reported, citing “eyewitnesses,” that Israeli occupation forces arrested a 16-year-old Jerusalem girl near the Damascus Gate “after assaulting and beating her” and then took her to a police station on Salah al-Din Street.
Arrests of Palestinian children are common in occupied Jerusalem.
In November, Israeli occupation forces raided the Jerusalem home of Zine al-Majid in order to arrest his four-year-old son.
Comments
What is her name?
Permalink Henry Lowi replied on
If she tried to stab a soldier, she is a hero. Much more of a hero than the impotent slobs who are negotiating Palestinian capitulation to Zionism. Much more of a hero than the impotent terrorists who randomly attack non-military targets, thus distorting the liberating goals of the Palestine revolution. An IDF soldier or Border Guard in occupied Jerusalem is a legitimate target of a popular resistance movement. So, let us be prepared to praise this young Palestinian woman as a hero of the struggle for Palestinian dignity and freedom. Of course, if she was a mere passive bystander, then she is a victim of arbitrary Zionist oppression. But, the difference is important. Let's make note of her name.
Heavily armed Israeli occupation soldiers arrest Jerusalem girl
Permalink Tom Hill replied on
Fifteen big, brave IDF soldiers to arrest one, slight Palestinian girl. Hope you feel proud of yourselves boys, real macho stuff. Bet you will bragging about this in some Tel Aviv bar to some sexy piece: she sure will be impressed.