Qalandiya

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Place: 
Observers: 
Tamar Fleishman; Translator: Tal H.
Nov-12-2018
|
Afternoon

Indictment for murder

The newspaper headline in the latter half of September read as follows:

“During Yom Kippur Eve prayers a terrorist attack attempt was thwarted in the Old City of Jerusalem. The terrorist, resident of the Qalandiya refugee camp, was shot and killed.”

There is partial truth in the above item. Very partial truth.

The true parts of the item are its date (September 19, 2018), the place, and the existence of a dead body.

The weapon photographed next to the man’s body was not a knife, not a screwdriver, not even a vegetable peeler. The weapon was a tester (tiny instrument for checking electrical charge). Clearly a tester is no murder weapon, and still the man holding it was shot by the police.

Nor did the Israeli media mention the Palestinian’s name. Perhaps because whoever is defined as a terrorist is better off (or we, or they are better off) anonymous?

But this fellow, too, has a name given to him by his parents, and his name is Mohammad Alian.

Moreover, and in spite of Islamic law, just like Jewish law, stipulating that the dead must be buried on the day of his death, Mohammad Alian was not handed over to his family until Friday, November 9. Only then, weeks after his murder, did his funeral take place and his picture was posted publicly.

מוחמד עליאן, תושב מחנה הפליטים בקלנדיה, נורה ונהרג 18.9.2018
מוחמד עליאן, תושב מחנה הפליטים בקלנדיה, נורה ונהרג 18.9.2018
Photo: 
תמר פליישמן

Slowly, tripping along, laden with luggage, the daily group of patients exited the checkpoint, on their way back home to Gaza after being hospitalized. Some raise their eyes and answer a greeting smile with some tattered smile of their own, while others’ faces express such suffering and pain that smiling is beyond their power.

The children always look directly ahead, curious, always nod in greeting, always glad to answer questions, hold out a hand and blow a kiss.

First out was a boy who hurried to catch a window seat. Asking him about his illness was superfluous as the mask on his face, placed there by the medical team at his release from hospital told the story.

Last was a woman whose heart was ailing and was forbidden to walk, and even if she were allowed to do so, the way to the vehicle was too much for her. Three men, the transport driver and two of the other patients carried her out on a plastic chair. For some unclear reason, the wheelchairs that are always available at the DCO office were nowhere to be found.

חולת לב נישאת על כסא פלסטיק לרכב ההסעות
חולת לב נישאת על כסא פלסטיק לרכב ההסעות
Photo: 
תמר פליישמן

Seeing them eager to get back home to Gaza on such a day, when all day and all night the Israeli army was bombing the Gaza Strip from land and from the air, and where they have no protection or shelters from bombings, makes one wonder about their fate once back in Gaza, in such an ominous reality.