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Razan Ashraf Najjar 21, june 1 2018
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4 july 2018
by Yvonne Ridley
A new petition circulating on social media serves as a reminder that the Israeli sniper who shot Palestinian paramedic Razan Al-Najjar on 1 June could be a British citizen with dual nationality. This is a real possibility as there are many British Jews, both men and women, serving in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
The identity of the soldier, however, is being protected by the Israeli military pending an investigation into the killing of the 21-year-old volunteer paramedic from Gaza.
Now Theresa May’s government is being called upon to ban all British citizens, even if they have dual nationality, from joining and serving in the Israeli military, police or other security forces. The reason is simple; Israel tops the league of countries who regularly violate and ignore UN regulations and sanctions. It often faces accusations that its soldiers routinely commit acts which many lawyers and human rights groups deem to be war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Among the charges levelled at Israel is that it tortures suspects in military detention, including children; deliberately bombs schools and hospitals; and routinely carries out the collective punishment of civilians, all of which violate international law. The organisers of the petition say that, “No UK citizens should be allowed to possibly contribute to further war crimes by serving in the Israeli military, police or security apparatus.”
A preliminary investigation by the military in Israel insists that its soldiers did not fire directly at Razan Al-Najjar while she was helping demonstrators injured during the Great March of Return protests on the Gaza border. Around 133 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began on 30 March; almost 15,000 have been wounded. The death toll is expected to rise, as at least 366 of those taken to hospital are suffering from serious injuries.
The peaceful protests are demanding the implementation of the legitimate right of return for Palestinian refugees, who were forced to leave their villages, towns and cities during and since the 1948 Nakba. Protesters are also calling for the 11-year Israeli-led air, land and sea blockade of Gaza to be lifted.
The death of the 21-year-old volunteer paramedic sent shockwaves around the world, not least because Razan had become an iconic symbol before she was shot dead. Mainstream media images of her were widespread, making her an easily recognisable personality in her medic’s uniform.
Journalists from local and international media outlets interviewed her as an unarmed first responder helping those injured during the demonstrations. She was last caught on video with her hands in the air, wearing her readily identifiable medic’s jacket and moving through the conflict area.
“I’m here at the front line as a human shield and rescuer for the injured,” Razan told journalists in May. “Being a medic is not only a job for a man, it’s for women too.” She was keen to show that women can play an active role in Gaza.
“Women are often judged,” she explained, “but society has to accept us. If they don’t want to accept us by choice, they will be forced to accept us. Because we have more strength than any man.” Razan was clearly becoming a role model for other young women and her presence helping the victims of Israel’s deadly response to the peaceful protests also confounded critics who accuse the de facto Hamas government in Gaza of oppressing and sidelining women.
Now, pending the outcome of the military investigation, speculation is being fuelled that she was targeted deliberately by the IDF. It is a claim that the army denies, but the day before she was shot and killed the IDF tweeted this statement: “Yesterday we saw 30,000 people; we arrived prepared and with precise reinforcements. Nothing was carried out uncontrolled; everything was accurate and measured, and we know where every bullet landed.”
Within 24 hours of that statement being made, Razan was dead. Outrage was universal and the tweet disappeared suddenly from the social networks. What are we to make of that? Did the IDF deliberately target the young medic? Equally important is the question of the identity and nationality of the soldier who killed her.
Born in a farming village east of the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Razan Al-Najjar was the eldest of six children. Her family still live in an apartment owned by relatives in Khuza’a. She did not attend university, but instead completed two years’ paramedic training at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and then volunteered her services with the Palestinian Medical Aid Society. Her father, Ashraf Al-Najjar, has been unemployed ever since his business was destroyed in an Israeli air strike during the 2014 military offensive against the people of Gaza. The last time that he saw his daughter was when she rose early to eat something before the start of the dawn to sunset Ramadan fast.
He told AFP that he never expected that his daughter would be targeted while involved in her humanitarian work but it looks as if that is exactly what happened. Razan was less than 100 metres from the border fence bandaging a man struck by a tear gas canister when, say witnesses, Israeli soldiers fired from across the border. She was hit in the upper body and fell instantly.
The probe by the IDF is based primarily on interviews with soldiers who were on the scene. The investigation is said to be ongoing, and details have yet to be released about who opened fire during the protest on that day, and how much ammunition was used.
The IDF appeared to be intent on inflicting further pain on Ashraf Al-Najjar and his family. Not content with killing their daughter and sister Razan, there are those within the military who have also attempted to assassinate her character. Avichay Edraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesman, released a video showing a paramedic from the back, possibly Razan, flinging away a smoke grenade that soldiers had thrown at her. Seizing on this, the IDF portrayed the young paramedic as a terrorist. Her aforementioned interview, in which she described herself as a “human shield”, was cited, but her words “and rescuer for the injured” were edited out.
This desperate propaganda move by the IDF was seized upon with outrage by Israeli newspaper columnist Gideon Levy: “An Israeli army investigation, based only on the testimony of the soldiers of course, showed that she had not been deliberately shot. Clearly. The propaganda machine went further and hinted that she may have been killed by Palestinian weapons fire, which has rarely been used over the past two months.” Maybe, he asked, she shot herself? “Anything is possible. And do we remember any Israeli army investigation showing otherwise? Israel’s ambassador in London, Mark Regev, who is another top, polished propagandist, was quick to tweet about the ‘medical volunteer’ in quotation marks, as if a Palestinian could be a medical volunteer. Instead, he wrote, her death is ‘yet another reminder of Hamas’ brutality’.”
Levy is a courageous commentator who says things that most Israelis would prefer not to hear, especially those in the upper echelons of the government and armed forces. Tackling Regev’s outrageous suggestion, he continued: “The Israeli army kills a medic in a white uniform, in an outrageous violation of international law, which provides protection for medical personnel in combat zones. And that’s despite the fact that the Gaza border does not constitute a combat zone. But it’s Hamas that is the brutal one.”
Addressing Regev directly, he said, “Kill me, Mr. Ambassador, but who could possibly follow this twisted, sick logic? And who would buy such cheap propaganda other than some of the members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews — the largest representative organisation of UK Jewry – along with Merav Ben Ari, the Knesset member who was quick to take advantage of the opportunity and state: ‘It turns out that the medic, yes that one, wasn’t just a medic, as you see.’ Yes, that one. As you see.”
Gideon Levy was not alone in his anger. Razan may be dead and buried but her story will continue to raise questions about the methods and tactics of the Israeli military for a long time to come, as well as the nationality of those who sign up to serve in the ranks of an army with a questionable record on war crimes and human rights violations. Should the petition attract the required number of signatures, MPs at Westminster will have to debate the issue of British citizens serving in the Israeli security forces.
“We know where every bullet landed,” claimed the IDF in that short-lived tweet. In that case, it shouldn’t be too difficult to identify who pulled the trigger and killed Razan Al-Najjar. How, I wonder, will British MPs — especially those “Friends of Israel” in the Labour and Conservative Parties — react if that person turns out to be a British Jew?
- British journalist and author Yvonne Ridley provides political analysis on affairs related to the Middle East, Asia and the Global War on Terror. Her article appeared in MEMO.
A new petition circulating on social media serves as a reminder that the Israeli sniper who shot Palestinian paramedic Razan Al-Najjar on 1 June could be a British citizen with dual nationality. This is a real possibility as there are many British Jews, both men and women, serving in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
The identity of the soldier, however, is being protected by the Israeli military pending an investigation into the killing of the 21-year-old volunteer paramedic from Gaza.
Now Theresa May’s government is being called upon to ban all British citizens, even if they have dual nationality, from joining and serving in the Israeli military, police or other security forces. The reason is simple; Israel tops the league of countries who regularly violate and ignore UN regulations and sanctions. It often faces accusations that its soldiers routinely commit acts which many lawyers and human rights groups deem to be war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Among the charges levelled at Israel is that it tortures suspects in military detention, including children; deliberately bombs schools and hospitals; and routinely carries out the collective punishment of civilians, all of which violate international law. The organisers of the petition say that, “No UK citizens should be allowed to possibly contribute to further war crimes by serving in the Israeli military, police or security apparatus.”
A preliminary investigation by the military in Israel insists that its soldiers did not fire directly at Razan Al-Najjar while she was helping demonstrators injured during the Great March of Return protests on the Gaza border. Around 133 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began on 30 March; almost 15,000 have been wounded. The death toll is expected to rise, as at least 366 of those taken to hospital are suffering from serious injuries.
The peaceful protests are demanding the implementation of the legitimate right of return for Palestinian refugees, who were forced to leave their villages, towns and cities during and since the 1948 Nakba. Protesters are also calling for the 11-year Israeli-led air, land and sea blockade of Gaza to be lifted.
The death of the 21-year-old volunteer paramedic sent shockwaves around the world, not least because Razan had become an iconic symbol before she was shot dead. Mainstream media images of her were widespread, making her an easily recognisable personality in her medic’s uniform.
Journalists from local and international media outlets interviewed her as an unarmed first responder helping those injured during the demonstrations. She was last caught on video with her hands in the air, wearing her readily identifiable medic’s jacket and moving through the conflict area.
“I’m here at the front line as a human shield and rescuer for the injured,” Razan told journalists in May. “Being a medic is not only a job for a man, it’s for women too.” She was keen to show that women can play an active role in Gaza.
“Women are often judged,” she explained, “but society has to accept us. If they don’t want to accept us by choice, they will be forced to accept us. Because we have more strength than any man.” Razan was clearly becoming a role model for other young women and her presence helping the victims of Israel’s deadly response to the peaceful protests also confounded critics who accuse the de facto Hamas government in Gaza of oppressing and sidelining women.
Now, pending the outcome of the military investigation, speculation is being fuelled that she was targeted deliberately by the IDF. It is a claim that the army denies, but the day before she was shot and killed the IDF tweeted this statement: “Yesterday we saw 30,000 people; we arrived prepared and with precise reinforcements. Nothing was carried out uncontrolled; everything was accurate and measured, and we know where every bullet landed.”
Within 24 hours of that statement being made, Razan was dead. Outrage was universal and the tweet disappeared suddenly from the social networks. What are we to make of that? Did the IDF deliberately target the young medic? Equally important is the question of the identity and nationality of the soldier who killed her.
Born in a farming village east of the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Razan Al-Najjar was the eldest of six children. Her family still live in an apartment owned by relatives in Khuza’a. She did not attend university, but instead completed two years’ paramedic training at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and then volunteered her services with the Palestinian Medical Aid Society. Her father, Ashraf Al-Najjar, has been unemployed ever since his business was destroyed in an Israeli air strike during the 2014 military offensive against the people of Gaza. The last time that he saw his daughter was when she rose early to eat something before the start of the dawn to sunset Ramadan fast.
He told AFP that he never expected that his daughter would be targeted while involved in her humanitarian work but it looks as if that is exactly what happened. Razan was less than 100 metres from the border fence bandaging a man struck by a tear gas canister when, say witnesses, Israeli soldiers fired from across the border. She was hit in the upper body and fell instantly.
The probe by the IDF is based primarily on interviews with soldiers who were on the scene. The investigation is said to be ongoing, and details have yet to be released about who opened fire during the protest on that day, and how much ammunition was used.
The IDF appeared to be intent on inflicting further pain on Ashraf Al-Najjar and his family. Not content with killing their daughter and sister Razan, there are those within the military who have also attempted to assassinate her character. Avichay Edraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesman, released a video showing a paramedic from the back, possibly Razan, flinging away a smoke grenade that soldiers had thrown at her. Seizing on this, the IDF portrayed the young paramedic as a terrorist. Her aforementioned interview, in which she described herself as a “human shield”, was cited, but her words “and rescuer for the injured” were edited out.
This desperate propaganda move by the IDF was seized upon with outrage by Israeli newspaper columnist Gideon Levy: “An Israeli army investigation, based only on the testimony of the soldiers of course, showed that she had not been deliberately shot. Clearly. The propaganda machine went further and hinted that she may have been killed by Palestinian weapons fire, which has rarely been used over the past two months.” Maybe, he asked, she shot herself? “Anything is possible. And do we remember any Israeli army investigation showing otherwise? Israel’s ambassador in London, Mark Regev, who is another top, polished propagandist, was quick to tweet about the ‘medical volunteer’ in quotation marks, as if a Palestinian could be a medical volunteer. Instead, he wrote, her death is ‘yet another reminder of Hamas’ brutality’.”
Levy is a courageous commentator who says things that most Israelis would prefer not to hear, especially those in the upper echelons of the government and armed forces. Tackling Regev’s outrageous suggestion, he continued: “The Israeli army kills a medic in a white uniform, in an outrageous violation of international law, which provides protection for medical personnel in combat zones. And that’s despite the fact that the Gaza border does not constitute a combat zone. But it’s Hamas that is the brutal one.”
Addressing Regev directly, he said, “Kill me, Mr. Ambassador, but who could possibly follow this twisted, sick logic? And who would buy such cheap propaganda other than some of the members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews — the largest representative organisation of UK Jewry – along with Merav Ben Ari, the Knesset member who was quick to take advantage of the opportunity and state: ‘It turns out that the medic, yes that one, wasn’t just a medic, as you see.’ Yes, that one. As you see.”
Gideon Levy was not alone in his anger. Razan may be dead and buried but her story will continue to raise questions about the methods and tactics of the Israeli military for a long time to come, as well as the nationality of those who sign up to serve in the ranks of an army with a questionable record on war crimes and human rights violations. Should the petition attract the required number of signatures, MPs at Westminster will have to debate the issue of British citizens serving in the Israeli security forces.
“We know where every bullet landed,” claimed the IDF in that short-lived tweet. In that case, it shouldn’t be too difficult to identify who pulled the trigger and killed Razan Al-Najjar. How, I wonder, will British MPs — especially those “Friends of Israel” in the Labour and Conservative Parties — react if that person turns out to be a British Jew?
- British journalist and author Yvonne Ridley provides political analysis on affairs related to the Middle East, Asia and the Global War on Terror. Her article appeared in MEMO.
17 june 2018
By Ramona Wadi
The latest Human Rights Watch (HRW) report titled “Israel: Apparent War Crimes in Gaza” commences with a sentence that mars the rest of its investigation and analysis. “Israeli forces’ repeated use of lethal force in the Gaza Strip since March 30 2018, against Palestinian demonstrators who posed no imminent threat to life may amount to war crimes.”
Juxtaposing “International Law and Israeli Claims” in one of the report’s sections, HRW clearly shows that “when there is doubt as to a person’s civilian status, they must be presumed to be a civilian and may not be targeted”.
Article 8(2) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court gives eight acts that are considered as war crimes, among which are “wilful killing” and “wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body and health” and “intentional directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives”.
The absence of a judiciary power’s ruling leaves room for debate from a legal framework as regards accountability for war crimes. Yet the repetitive reports detailing Israeli atrocities while adorning the colonial power with the benefit of the doubt, knowing that holding Israel accountable so far has amounted to an empty slogan that is not even taken up by international diplomacy, harms Palestinian prospects severely.
HRW’s report details, from witness accounts, that the Israeli army’s snipers targeted civilians and personnel when clearly posing no threat. Palestinians were shot when moving away from the fence, unarmed. Civil defence worker Mohammad Meqdad stated: “The last people I evacuated before I was shot were three women, all in their late 20s, who were shot in the neck or in the head.”
In mentioning Israel’s targeting of civil defence workers and medics, there is a reference to Razan Al-Najjar, also murdered by Israeli snipers and which the Israeli army has attempted to shield itself from accountability by stating that “no shots were deliberately or directly aimed towards her”. This latter statement purportedly renders Israeli snipers as incompetent when it is well-known the opposite is true. Yet the same rhetoric was also applied during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, when Israel attempted – and failed – to convince the world that precision targeting was not the cause of civilian deaths in Gaza.
The report also refers to Defence for Children International – Palestine documenting the killing of seven Palestinian children on 14 May.
Another witness, Samer Nasser, described how he had attempted to evacuate a wounded man when Israeli forces again targeted the injured with a shot to his head and killed him.
Despite all the detailed atrocities, the recommendations offered by HRW are for the UN General Assembly to “support a resolution that calls for exploring measures to guarantee the protection of Palestinians in Gaza”, as well as a UN inquiry to identify the Israeli officials responsible for the killings. Both suggestions are not feasible for Palestinians.
According the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary General has 60 days in which he has to present “proposals on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation, including recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism”.
It must be remembered that when the international community was strongly in favour of an interventionist agenda there was no delay between resolution and implementation – the result being additional “collateral damage” sponsored by the international community.
In this case, the delay allows Israel to increase the number of victims while giving the UN enough time to mellow the resolution into another purportedly neutral stance that gives Israel additional advantage. Is there any recognition of the fact that resolutions to ostensibly protect Palestinians can be rendered obsolete not by the usual UN inaction, but a unified effort to dismantle Israel’s colonial project?
- Ramona Wadi is an independent researcher, freelance journalist, book reviewer and blogger. Her writing covers a range of themes in relation to Palestine, Chile and Latin America. Her article appeared in MEMO.
The latest Human Rights Watch (HRW) report titled “Israel: Apparent War Crimes in Gaza” commences with a sentence that mars the rest of its investigation and analysis. “Israeli forces’ repeated use of lethal force in the Gaza Strip since March 30 2018, against Palestinian demonstrators who posed no imminent threat to life may amount to war crimes.”
Juxtaposing “International Law and Israeli Claims” in one of the report’s sections, HRW clearly shows that “when there is doubt as to a person’s civilian status, they must be presumed to be a civilian and may not be targeted”.
Article 8(2) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court gives eight acts that are considered as war crimes, among which are “wilful killing” and “wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body and health” and “intentional directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives”.
The absence of a judiciary power’s ruling leaves room for debate from a legal framework as regards accountability for war crimes. Yet the repetitive reports detailing Israeli atrocities while adorning the colonial power with the benefit of the doubt, knowing that holding Israel accountable so far has amounted to an empty slogan that is not even taken up by international diplomacy, harms Palestinian prospects severely.
HRW’s report details, from witness accounts, that the Israeli army’s snipers targeted civilians and personnel when clearly posing no threat. Palestinians were shot when moving away from the fence, unarmed. Civil defence worker Mohammad Meqdad stated: “The last people I evacuated before I was shot were three women, all in their late 20s, who were shot in the neck or in the head.”
In mentioning Israel’s targeting of civil defence workers and medics, there is a reference to Razan Al-Najjar, also murdered by Israeli snipers and which the Israeli army has attempted to shield itself from accountability by stating that “no shots were deliberately or directly aimed towards her”. This latter statement purportedly renders Israeli snipers as incompetent when it is well-known the opposite is true. Yet the same rhetoric was also applied during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, when Israel attempted – and failed – to convince the world that precision targeting was not the cause of civilian deaths in Gaza.
The report also refers to Defence for Children International – Palestine documenting the killing of seven Palestinian children on 14 May.
Another witness, Samer Nasser, described how he had attempted to evacuate a wounded man when Israeli forces again targeted the injured with a shot to his head and killed him.
Despite all the detailed atrocities, the recommendations offered by HRW are for the UN General Assembly to “support a resolution that calls for exploring measures to guarantee the protection of Palestinians in Gaza”, as well as a UN inquiry to identify the Israeli officials responsible for the killings. Both suggestions are not feasible for Palestinians.
According the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary General has 60 days in which he has to present “proposals on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation, including recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism”.
It must be remembered that when the international community was strongly in favour of an interventionist agenda there was no delay between resolution and implementation – the result being additional “collateral damage” sponsored by the international community.
In this case, the delay allows Israel to increase the number of victims while giving the UN enough time to mellow the resolution into another purportedly neutral stance that gives Israel additional advantage. Is there any recognition of the fact that resolutions to ostensibly protect Palestinians can be rendered obsolete not by the usual UN inaction, but a unified effort to dismantle Israel’s colonial project?
- Ramona Wadi is an independent researcher, freelance journalist, book reviewer and blogger. Her writing covers a range of themes in relation to Palestine, Chile and Latin America. Her article appeared in MEMO.
16 june 2018
By Aayesha Soni
"We have one goal: to save lives and evacuate [wounded] people."
These were the words of 21-year-old volunteer paramedic Razan al-Najjar in an interview with The New York Times last month. Today, she lies buried after being shot in the chest by an Israeli sniper.
At the time of her killing, Najjar’s hands were in the air as she moved towards an injured protester, wearing her white medical coat. This was obviously no deterrent to the Israeli sniper who killed her, and it is indicative of the Israeli army's culture of plain disregard for basic human rights, wanton intention to harm and flagrant abuse of power.
Breaking international law
The Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory, has protocols that afford special protections to medical personnel and humanitarian staff. It also guarantees respect for their freedom of movement and ensures that they are granted all necessary material facilities to perform their duties, including the removal of victims and attending to and transferring injured and sick civilians.
Besides breaking international law, Najjar’s killing violates human decency. The Israeli military said that it would investigate her death, but added that its troops worked “in accordance with standard operating procedures”. To actively target and kill a healthcare worker - as, surely, we cannot excuse the shooting of a medic through her chest as collateral damage - truly transgresses all bounds of barbarity.
As a doctor and human being, I can say with confidence that Israel has crossed all limits with its latest actions. This is a dangerous, slippery slope of amorality and brazen disregard for consequences.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been protesting in the Gaza Strip since 30 March, intending to shed light on the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, and also calling for the “right of return” for the 750,000 Palestinian refugees displaced by the 1948 founding of Israel.
Hospitals struggling
I had the privilege of visiting Gaza as a medical student in 2013. Evident in all facets of daily life was the effect of Israel’s blockade, resulting in a shortage of all supplies, especially medical. Also evident was the fallout from its routine massacres and bombardment of the civilian population.
Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital was as short-supplied and struggling as all of the public hospitals where I've worked in South Africa. How Shifa has managed the stream of casualties since 30 March is baffling. Any healthcare system in a First World country would struggle under the burden of treating as many gunshot wounds as Gaza saw in a single day - yet Gaza’s medical system, which for years has been on the brink of collapse as a result of the Israeli blockade, has coped amazingly well.
The protests along the Gaza border have injured thousands of people, including hundreds of children. Many were injured by live ammunition. Among the dead was a paramedic from the Palestinian Civil Defence, shot on 14 May on the way to rescuing an injured protester.
Between 13 and 20 May, another 24 medical personnel were injured - eight by live ammunition, six by bullet shrapnel, one by a tear gas grenade and nine by exposure to tear gas, according to a report in Haaretz. These are just some of the dozens of medical personnel who have been injured since the peaceful protests began.
While these may read merely as statistics to some, I am flabbergasted by the abolition of the sanctity that usually accompanies being a healthcare worker. We take oaths, dedicate countless hours and sacrifice so much in the hopes of serving humanity. Najjar was dedicated to this cause completely, and Israel’s actions were beyond unethical.
Lives on the line
Why Israel is not held to the same standards of morality as the rest of the world is a question that has long been left unanswered. The United States has contributed to this situation by vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israel’s use of “excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force” against Palestinians. As long as these two countries continue to disregard all basic human rights, there is little hope for peace in the region.
Healthcare workers in Gaza put their lives at risk to an extent greater than many other healthcare workers across the globe. By staying on duty for the civilian population of Gaza, they knowingly jeopardise their own lives - and yet every single doctor I met in Gaza indicated that this was a sacrifice they would make over and over again.
Najjar will forever be immortalised as a hero, but how many more young people must lose their lives in the line of duty before the Israeli occupation will be recognised for the monster it is?
- Dr Aayesha J Soni is a medical doctor and member of the Media Review Network (MRN). Her article appeared in the Middle East Eye.
"We have one goal: to save lives and evacuate [wounded] people."
These were the words of 21-year-old volunteer paramedic Razan al-Najjar in an interview with The New York Times last month. Today, she lies buried after being shot in the chest by an Israeli sniper.
At the time of her killing, Najjar’s hands were in the air as she moved towards an injured protester, wearing her white medical coat. This was obviously no deterrent to the Israeli sniper who killed her, and it is indicative of the Israeli army's culture of plain disregard for basic human rights, wanton intention to harm and flagrant abuse of power.
Breaking international law
The Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory, has protocols that afford special protections to medical personnel and humanitarian staff. It also guarantees respect for their freedom of movement and ensures that they are granted all necessary material facilities to perform their duties, including the removal of victims and attending to and transferring injured and sick civilians.
Besides breaking international law, Najjar’s killing violates human decency. The Israeli military said that it would investigate her death, but added that its troops worked “in accordance with standard operating procedures”. To actively target and kill a healthcare worker - as, surely, we cannot excuse the shooting of a medic through her chest as collateral damage - truly transgresses all bounds of barbarity.
As a doctor and human being, I can say with confidence that Israel has crossed all limits with its latest actions. This is a dangerous, slippery slope of amorality and brazen disregard for consequences.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been protesting in the Gaza Strip since 30 March, intending to shed light on the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, and also calling for the “right of return” for the 750,000 Palestinian refugees displaced by the 1948 founding of Israel.
Hospitals struggling
I had the privilege of visiting Gaza as a medical student in 2013. Evident in all facets of daily life was the effect of Israel’s blockade, resulting in a shortage of all supplies, especially medical. Also evident was the fallout from its routine massacres and bombardment of the civilian population.
Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital was as short-supplied and struggling as all of the public hospitals where I've worked in South Africa. How Shifa has managed the stream of casualties since 30 March is baffling. Any healthcare system in a First World country would struggle under the burden of treating as many gunshot wounds as Gaza saw in a single day - yet Gaza’s medical system, which for years has been on the brink of collapse as a result of the Israeli blockade, has coped amazingly well.
The protests along the Gaza border have injured thousands of people, including hundreds of children. Many were injured by live ammunition. Among the dead was a paramedic from the Palestinian Civil Defence, shot on 14 May on the way to rescuing an injured protester.
Between 13 and 20 May, another 24 medical personnel were injured - eight by live ammunition, six by bullet shrapnel, one by a tear gas grenade and nine by exposure to tear gas, according to a report in Haaretz. These are just some of the dozens of medical personnel who have been injured since the peaceful protests began.
While these may read merely as statistics to some, I am flabbergasted by the abolition of the sanctity that usually accompanies being a healthcare worker. We take oaths, dedicate countless hours and sacrifice so much in the hopes of serving humanity. Najjar was dedicated to this cause completely, and Israel’s actions were beyond unethical.
Lives on the line
Why Israel is not held to the same standards of morality as the rest of the world is a question that has long been left unanswered. The United States has contributed to this situation by vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israel’s use of “excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force” against Palestinians. As long as these two countries continue to disregard all basic human rights, there is little hope for peace in the region.
Healthcare workers in Gaza put their lives at risk to an extent greater than many other healthcare workers across the globe. By staying on duty for the civilian population of Gaza, they knowingly jeopardise their own lives - and yet every single doctor I met in Gaza indicated that this was a sacrifice they would make over and over again.
Najjar will forever be immortalised as a hero, but how many more young people must lose their lives in the line of duty before the Israeli occupation will be recognised for the monster it is?
- Dr Aayesha J Soni is a medical doctor and member of the Media Review Network (MRN). Her article appeared in the Middle East Eye.
