Jenin in mourning for three miltary activists and a 17-year-old girl, all assassinated by the Israeli army Sunday
from Ma’an News, 23 April 2007
Jenin – Ma’an – Only a few hours separated the assassination of three Palestinian military activists and that of a high school student, a 17-year-old girl called Bushra Bargheish, from Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
The Israeli soldiers’ bullets penetrated her head while she was revising for her final school exams, the ‘tawjihi’. She had been dreaming of pursuing her higher education in political science in the hope of becoming an eminent Palestinian woman in the future. She was known amongst her peers as friendly and giving, and they were stunned to hear about her death.
The bereaved mother
Bushra’s mother, who is in her fifties, said: “At around 9:30 pm on Saturday evening, my daughter and I completed the evening prayer (‘Al-‘Isha’). After she finished, she sat down and began praying that she passes her exams, and then she kissed me. She said, ‘Mom, I need your prayers that I pass my exams.’ Then I kissed her for the last time in my life, and she continued with her studying.”
She added: “After a long day filled with bad news of deaths, I began thinking of my son Abdur-Rahman, who is being persecuted by the Israelis as a wanted resistance fighter. As I began worrying about all this, I heard a crack of bullets in my own home coming from Bushra’s room. I ran quickly, and saw the remains of bullets on the closet and the walls. I shouted at Bushra who was lying on the floor; I thought she got down to protect herself from the gunshots. However, I saw a pool of blood spilling out from her head, and then I realized that she had been hit. I called her several times, yet I received no answer because her soul had departed. I hurried to the door in order to call for help, but an Israeli soldier stopped me at the door and ordered me to evacuate everybody from the house. I yelled at him, ‘You are the cold-blooded killer of my daughter!'”
Ambulance denied entry
The mother added that the soldiers prevented the ambulance from approaching the house to transfer Bushra to hospital until a paramedic approached forcibly against the soldiers’ will.
“He told me that my daughter has departed [this world],” Mrs. Bargheish said, “and he carried her body after he wrapped it, and approached the soldiers yelling that she had been killed.”
“Nevertheless,” added the mother, “the soldiers insisted on seeing the victim’s face and body to make sure she was a female, before they let the paramedic take her to the ambulance.”
Mass funeral and calls for revenge
Thousands of Palestinian mourners took part on Sunday in the funeral procession for yesterday’s four fatalities in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
Three Palestinian military activists had been assassinated by the Israeli forces and the high school student, 17-year-old Bushra Bargheish. The assassinated activists were Mahmoud Jalil, 21, an activist in the Al-Quds brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad; Abbas Ad-Damj, 21; and Ahmad Al-‘Issa, 24, both activists in the Al-Aqsa brigades, the main military wing of Fatah.
The funeral started from the governmental hospital in Jenin. Thousands of local residents took part with brigades’ fighters in the lead, who fired gunshots in the air to express their anger at the Israeli criminal acts of assassination. The mourners condemned the Israeli practices and called for immediate retaliation.
The body of Ahmad Al-‘Issa was taken to his village of origin, Sanur, located south of Jenin city, where he was buried. Meanwhile, the funeral rally continued with the other three bodies taken to Jenin refugee camp for burial. Both the Al-Aqsa and the Al-Quds brigades pledged to take revenge.
Young girl killed in Jenin refugee camp, eight Palestinians killed by Israeli troops in 24 hours
by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC, Sunday April 22, 2007
Palestinian medical sources in Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank, reported on Saturday evening that a 17-year old girl was shot and killed by Israeli military fire during an invasion of Jenin refugee camp. The invasion is the third in less than 24 hours. A total of eight Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army in 24 hours.
The sources identified the girl as Boshra Naji al Wash; she was hit by a round of live ammunition in the head causing instant death. At the time, Boshra was reportedly on the roof of her home revising for her final school examinations
She was at home in the Jenin refugee camp when the army randomly fired at dozens of houses. . The invasion was carried out by thirty armored vehicles and jeeps, and was concentrated in Jenin refugee camp and the western section of Jenin city close to the camp.
Eyewitnesses reported that dozens of fighters exchanged fire with the invading forces. Several residents suffered after inhaling gas fired by the army, and several houses were hit by live rounds; damage was reported.
On Saturday evening, soldiers assassinated three fighters of the Al Aqsa brigades, the armed wing of Fateh and the Al Quds brigades the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad during an invasion of Kafer Dan town, west of Jenin.
Also in Jenin, one resident was killed on Saturday at dawn after the army invaded Kafer Dan village, west of the city. The resident was identified as Mohammad Abed, 22; he was hit by several rounds of live ammunition as he was standing on the rooftop of his house.
Two other fighters were assassinated on Saturday night after midnight in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The two were identified as Amin Abu Lubbada and Fadel Nour. They were killed after the army invaded Al Qasaba neighborhood and exchanged fire with resistance fighters.
Also on Saturday, one resident was killed and two others were injured after the Israeli air force fired missiles at a vehicle they were driving in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The resident was identified as Kamal Anan, 37.
The army claims that the fighters fired homemade shells at the Israeli Negev town of Sderot. Israeli sources reported that three homemade shells were fired at Sderot after the army assassinated three fighters in Jenin.
Two Israelis were reportedly injured and damage was reported to some houses.
Several armed groups said that these assassinations and attacks put an end to the fragile truce, and vowed fierce retaliation.
Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyya, slammed the military escalation and said that these “crimes show the brutality of the occupation and the clear Israeli intentions of escalation in the area”. The Palestinian legislative council also slammed the attacks and the assassinations.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the Al Quds Briagdes stated that fighters of the brigades along with fighters of the Al Aqsa brigades carried out several attacks against military targets near Jenin.
He added that these attacks come in retaliation “to the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.”