Israel’s crackdown on the border area injures four more

11 December 2010 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

The Israeli Offensive Forces are cracking down on people working in the buffer zone. In the past two weeks 20 people have been shot, four of whom were children. Today the atrocities continued: this morning three people were injured in Beit Lahiya; in Khuza’a, near Khan Younis, the army shot a child of 16.

Early this morning Nidal Hasan El Najar, age 16, set out to work with his two brothers and grandmother in the family’s bean field, which is in the border area. At approximately 7 am, a military jeep approached and quickly pulled over for a soldier to jump out and shoot Nidal in the upper leg. The jeep then just took off again. No warning shots were fired.

The boy was taken to Europa hospital in Khan Younis where he underwent surgery for a commuted bone fracture. At the time ISM volunteers visited him, Nidal was regaining consciousness from surgery while his family stood by with worry. One of his uncles exclaimed in disbelief: “Every day, every day! Every day things like this happen.”

The family owns 9 dunams, or 9 square km, of land in Khuza’a, stretching close to the south east border of the Strip. The family lives off the farming land they have there and previously had no problems with the Israeli army. This attack comes unexpected, but seems to be part of Israel’s crackdown on any presence in the border area. Israel has declared 300 meters from the fence to be a no-go-zone and does not hesitate to fire at anyone in or nearing this zone.