Israeli officer: I was right to shoot 13-year-old child

Israeli officer: I was right to shoot 13-year-old child

Radio exchange contradicts army version of Gaza killing

Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
Wednesday November 24, 2004
The Guardian

An Israeli army officer who repeatedly shot a 13-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza dismissed a warning from another soldier that she was a child by saying he would have killed her even if she was three years old.
The officer, identified by the army only as Captain R, was charged this week with illegal use of his weapon, conduct unbecoming an officer and other relatively minor infractions after emptying all 10 bullets from his gun's magazine into Iman al-Hams when she walked into a "security area" on the edge of Rafah refugee camp last month.

A tape recording of radio exchanges between soldiers involved in the incident, played on Israeli television, contradicts the army's account of the events and appears to show that the captain shot the girl in cold blood.

The official account claimed that Iman was shot as she walked towards an army post with her schoolbag because soldiers feared she was carrying a bomb.

But the tape recording of the radio conversation between soldiers at the scene reveals that, from the beginning, she was identified as a child and at no point was a bomb spoken about nor was she described as a threat. Iman was also at least 100 yards from any soldier.

Instead, the tape shows that the soldiers swiftly identified her as a "girl of about 10" who was "scared to death".

The tape also reveals that the soldiers said Iman was headed eastwards, away from the army post and back into the refugee camp, when she was shot.

At that point, Captain R took the unusual decision to leave the post in pursuit of the girl. He shot her dead and then "confirmed the kill" by emptying his magazine into her body.

The tape recording is of a three-way conversation between the army watchtower, the army post's operations room and the captain, who was a company commander.

The soldier in the watchtower radioed his colleagues after he saw Iman: "It's a little girl. She's running defensively eastward."

Operations room: "Are we talking about a girl under the age of 10?"

Watchtower: "A girl of about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death."

A few minutes later, Iman is shot in the leg from one of the army posts.

The watchtower: "I think that one of the positions took her out."

The company commander then moves in as Iman lies wounded and helpless.

Captain R: "I and another soldier ... are going in a little nearer, forward, to confirm the kill ... Receive a situation report. We fired and killed her ... I also confirmed the kill. Over."

Witnesses described how the captain shot Iman twice in the head, walked away, turned back and fired a stream of bullets into her body. Doctors at Rafah's hospital said she had been shot at least 17 times.

On the tape, the company commander then "clarifies" why he killed Iman: "This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed. Over."

The army's original account of the killing said that the soldiers only identified Iman as a child after she was first shot. But the tape shows that they were aware just how young the small, slight girl was before any shots were fired.

The case came to light after soldiers under the command of Captain R went to an Israeli newspaper to accuse the army of covering up the circumstances of the killing.

A subsequent investigation by the officer responsible for the Gaza strip, Major General Dan Harel, concluded that the captain had "not acted unethically".

However, the military police launched an investigation, which resulted in charges against the unit commander.

Iman's parents have accused the army of whitewashing the affair by filing minor charges against Captain R. They want him prosecuted for murder.

Record of a shooting

Watchtower
'It's a little girl. She's running defensively eastward'
Operations room
'Are we talking about a girl under the age of 10?'
Watchtower
'A girl of about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death'
Captain R (after killing the girl)
'Anything moving in the zone, even a three-year-old, needs to be killed'


http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Sto...358173,00.html

الاخ أبو مرتضى

مو كل الناس تعرف عنقريزى

ياليت تترجم الكلام من أحد المواقع اللى فيها ترجمة ، وتخليه مع النص الأصلى العنقريزى علشان يفتهم الناس شنو مكتوب .

ولا شنو شرايك يا بو جونى glass

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله
لعنه الله الف لعنة ولعنة
اسال الله ان ينتقم لها بالف الف من امثاله اين حماس والجهاد عن امثال هذا

الاخ العزيز جمال القصة وما فيها ان فتاة فلسطينية عمرها 13 سنة تم قتلها ب17 رصاصة اثنان منها في الراس من قبل ضابط اسرائيلي بالرغم من تاكيدات زملائه انها طفله لا تتجاوز العاشرة
هذه هي القصة باختصار عزيزي

اخي الكريم جمال ...
المقال يتحدث عن الطفلة الفلسطينية ايمان ذات ال 13 عشر ربيعا زاهرا و التي اغتالتها يد الاحتلال و الفساد الصهيوني بطريقة وحشية ... فبعد ان اطلق النار عليها قناصة العدو رغم انها كانت تتوجه نحو المخيمات و كانت تبعد ما لا يقل عن 100 ياردة عن اي جندي للعدو ... توجه ضابط من جيش العدو و افرغ طلقاته في جسد هذه الطفلة البريئة ... 17 طلقة في جسد طفل! يا لهذا الانسان ما اقساه! ... و ينقل المقال الحديث المسجل الذي دار عبر الللاسلكي بين قوات العدو ... فبعد ان حددوا عمر الفتاة بانها نحو العاشرة و انها تتوجه نحو المخيمات و انها خائفة من الموت و انها تهرب ... رماها بالرصاص احد قناصتهم لعنهم الله ... و بعدها انبرى لها اشقاها فكان تجسيدا لوحشية هذا الشيطان المحتل!
و قد اخلى جيش الاحتلال ساحة جنوده من اي تهمة .. الا ان مع الزخم الاعلامي الشديد اضطرول لعمل فلم تحقيق نال اثره المذنبون عقوبات عسكرية بسيطة ... كانزالهم رتبه ... و تريد عائلة الشهيدة ايمان ان يحاكم الفاعلون بتهمة القتل!
المثير ان المقال الموجود في جريدة بريطانية معبترة كالجارديان ... مما يدل على موضوعية اكبر في الاعلام البريطاني قياسا بالاعلام الامريكي المنغلق!