It has happened again. With Tristan Anderson, the shot was to the head, leaving him near death with horrific brain injuries. This time, the shot ws to the chest, killing 30-year-old Bassem Ibrahim Abu-Rahma from Bil'in. And there is video too, horrible video of his killing. One thing is clear; this was no 'accident'.
30-year-old Basem Ibrahim Abu Rahmeh, a resident of the West Bank village of Bil'in, near Ramallah, marching in a non-violent demonstration in the spring of 2006. He was killed today, April 17 2009, while attending a non-violent demonstration in Bil'in, when an Israeli soldier shot him at close range with a high-velocity tear gas canister. This is the fourth year of protests at the village of Bil'in, and he is the 18th Palestinian to be killed at anti-wall demonstrations.
So let's run down the news for the day on this;
Palestinian man killed by tear-gas canister in Bil'in
A Palestinian man was killed on Friday when Israeli forces opened fire on demonstrators in the West Bank village of Bil'in, near Ramallah. Palestinian medical officials identified the man as 30-year-old Basem Ibrahim Abu Rahmeh, who had previously been listed in serious condition following a direct shot to the chest from an Israeli fired tear-gas canister on Friday afternoon.
Nasir Samara, a member of the Popular Committee Against the Wall, explained, "Ibrahim was not even close to the wall when he was a shot from a distance of less than 20 meters. He was carrying a Palestinian flag and shouting that this was a nonviolent demonstration. The tear gas canister hit and entered his chest, killing him."
This is the second time soldiers have fired on unarmed demonstrations from a lethal range in the past two months. On 13 March 2009, American human rights worker Tristan Anderson was shot in the head by the same type of ammunition, putting him in a coma and nearly killing him.
Read the Ynet News article, here is the video of his killing;
Palestinian killed in Bilin protest
A left wing-activist who took part in the demonstration called the IDF's conduct "murderous," adding "we are like sitting ducks." Roni Barkan, a member of the "Anarchists Against the Fence" group, told Ynet that the rally was peaceful and that "no stones were thrown."
"The soldiers, who were standing less than 30 meters (about 100 feet) from us, immediately began to throw stun grenades in our direction," he said. "A few minutes later I overheard the commander tell the soldiers to prepare to throw tear gas canisters. There were two or three shots, and then Abu-Rahma was hit. I tried to stop the bleeding."
According to Barkan, "it seems that since Operation Cast Lead IDF soldiers and commanders have been conducting themselves in an even less moral and humane manner; they are firing at anything that moves."
its also on YouTube and the ISM has some more pictures. According to a friend, "he's shouting "officer, wait a moment, wait" (presumably he saw them preparing to shoot)"
Here's a better translation, thanks palestinian professor
"He was shouting at the soldiers
"wait a second wait a second listen" (hebrew)
then he says to Israeli protestor
"show them your Israeli identity card." (hebrew)
His accent is heavily Palestinian.
The person next to him was also shouting at the middle aged Israeli guy with a poster on his chest next to the fence (in Palestinian Arabic). He said
"dude wait hold on."
The person with the poster on his chest is obviously Israel or even American. Because he obviously thinks that he can stand next to the fence with a God damn poster on his chest.
The Palestinians freaked out thinking the soldiers will surely harm this individual protester from Israel. Instead they shot your friend."
Here is more video footage from the demo;
with more translation
The demonstrators are telling the soldiers in Hebrew that there are children and Israelis present and they are asking them not to shoot. Bassem is shouting "listen, wait a minute, wait a minute" before he falls to the ground. The soldiers then fire another round of tear gas as the demonstrators yell that he is injured and needs an ambulance.
In the longer video, as [Mohammed] Khatib is arguing with the soldier, I can't make out all of it because they're talking over each other, but you can clearly hear the soldier say, "do you want more gas?" They can see someone is on the ground and bleeding and because they know it's a Palestinian, they don't care.
And the soldier is telling Khatib "Are you going to shut up?" as Khatib pleads with him to stop shooting. The Israeli who's next to Bassem right after the shooting is just saying, there's an injured man, bring an ambulance quickly. He asks Bassem where he was hit. The demonstrators also repeat throughout, this is a non-violent demonstration. The soldiers merely respond with teargas.
Again, this is no accident, it is a pattern, a cruel and murderous one; Here is some video from 2007 to provide context. In my time in Bil'in, I saw many demonstrators, Palestinian and Israeli, hit by tear gas canisters shot at them directly, and at close range;
This is all the more horrifying as I demonstrated with this man on so many occasions in Bil'in. I remember one night, I was sleeping in a small shack that the villagers had set up on the 'Israeli' side of the fence where the land was (and still is) vulnerable to settlement by the nearby settlers. The fellow I was there with decided to put the small broiler that was there inside the shack to help keep us warm, as it was a cold winter night. I was kind of not so thrilled with this decision, as the smoke coming from it wasn't pleasant, but I was to tired to get up and make a fuss over it. As I was about to fall asleep, Bassem burst into the shack, and he proceeded to scold us for having the broiler there. It seems that a similar situation had ended up killing some young people in another part of the West Bank; they died in their sleep from inhaling the smoke. I had forgotten about this until this morning, but who knows, Baseem probably saved my life that night. And now he is gone.
He is the 18th Palestinian killed by the Israeli military while non-violently demonstrating against the wall and the theft of their land. May he be the last, and may his killers be brought to justice.
Here is a list of the 18. "Although such a needless death is a tragedy at any age, please note how young some of those killed have been:"
Friday, 17 April 2009: A resident has been killed by Israeli forces during a demonstration. Basem Abu Rahme, 29 years of age, was shot in the stomach with a high-velocity tear gas projectile. The tear-gas projectile, labeled "40 mm bullet, special/long range" in Hebrew has also critically injured American national, Tristan Anderson at a demonstration in Ni’lin on 13 March 2009 when he was shot in the head from 60 meters.
Basem Abu Rahme is the 18th individual to be killed by Israeli forces during a demonstration against the Wall.
February 26th, 2004:
Muhammad Fadel Hashem Rian, age 25 and Zakaria Mahmoud ‘Eid Salem, age 28
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu.
February 26th, 2004:
Abdal Rahman Abu ‘Eid, age 17
Died of a heart attack after teargas projectiles were shot into his home during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu.
February 26th, 2004:
Muhammad Da’ud Saleh Badwan, age 21
Shot during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu. Muhammad died of his wounds on March 3rd 2004.
April 16th, 2004:
Hussein Mahmoud ‘Awad ‘Alian, age 17
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Betunya.
April 18th, 2004:
Diaa’ A-Din ‘Abd al-Karim Ibrahim Abu ‘Eid, age 23
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu.
April 18th, 2004:
Islam Hashem Rizik Zhahran, age 14
Shot during a demonstration against the wall in Deir Abu Mash’al. Islam died of his wounds April 28th.
February 15th, 2005:
‘Alaa’ Muhammad ‘Abd a-Rahman Khalil, age 14
Shot dead while throwing stones at an Israeli vehicle driven by private security guards near the wall in Betunya.
May 4th, 2005:
Jamal Jaber Ibrahim ‘Asi, age 15 and U’dai Mufid Mahmoud ‘Asi, age 14
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Beit Liqya.
February 2nd, 2007:
Taha Muhammad Subhi al-Quljawi, age 16
Shot dead when he and two friends tried to cut the razor wire portion of the wall in the Qalandiya Refugee Camp. He was wounded in the thigh and died from loss of blood after remaining a long time in the field without being treated.
March 28th, 2007:
Muhammad Elias Mahmoud ‘Aweideh, age 15
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Um a-Sharayet - Samiramis.
March 2nd, 2008:
Mahmoud Muhammad Ahmad Masalmeh, age 15
Shot when trying to cut the razor wire portion of the wall in Beit Awwa.
July 29th, 2008:
Ahmed Husan Youssef Mousa, age 10
Killed while he and several friends tried to remove coils of razor wire from land belonging to the village.
July 30th, 2008:
Youssef Ahmed Younes Amirah, age 17
Shot in the head with rubber coated bullets during a demonstration against the wall in Ni’lin. Youssef died of his wounds August 4th 2008.
December 28th, 2009:
Arafat Khawaja, age 22
Shot in the back with live ammunition in Ni’lin during a demonstration against Israel’s assault on Gaza.
December 28th, 2009:
Mohammad Khawaja, age 20
Shot in the head with live ammunition during a demonstration in Ni’lin against Israel’s assault on Gaza. Mohammad died in the hospital on December 31st 2009.
wish I could be there for this;
For immediate release:
Bil’in residents to carry Basem’s body through Ramallah at 11am, village conference on popular resistance still continuing as planned
Bil’in villagers will carry the body of Basem Abu Rahme through the
streets of Ramallah at 11am on 18th of April, 2009. Residents will
then continue to Bil’in to conduct his funeral at 1pm.
Basem, 29 years of age, was shot and in the stomach with a high-
velocity tear gas projectile at Bil’in’s nonviolent weekly
demonstration on the 17th of April. He was evacuated to Ramallah
hospital in critical condition, where he died of his injury. According
to eyewitnesses, Basem was on a hill with several journalists to the
side of other demonstrators. Soldiers opened fire from 40 meters,
aiming directly with the tear-gas projectiles.
Now more than ever, Bil’in residents are committed to holding the
Fourth International Conference on Popular Nonviolent Resistance from
the 22nd until the 24th of April. The Bil’in Popular Committee
invites everyone to stand with them during this time of grief and
continued nonviolent resistance.
For a full schedule of events, please see below.
Date: 22 April - 24 April 2009
Location: Bil'in Village, West Bank, Palestine
Registration: register online on the Bil'in Village webpage
Cost: accommodation per night is 20 Euros, plus conference
registration of 30 Euros
Program:
DAY 1: Wednesday, 22 April 2009 (panels)
Welcome speeches 9:30-10:45
• Eyad Burnat head of Bil’in Popular Committee
• Salam Fayad, Prime Minister of Palestine
• Luisa Morgantini, Vice President of the EU Parlament
• Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize
• letter from Jimmy Carter, Carter
Saving Jerusalem 10:45-11:30
• Rafiq Al Hussaini, Representative of the Palestinian President’s
office and Secretary general of Jerusalem Capital of Arab Culture 2009
• Atallah Hanna, Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
• Um Kamel al Khurd, activist with the Sheik Jarah popular committee
Break 11:30-11:40
Panel 11:40-12:40
• 10 minutes for each of the Heads of Delegations, including Adar
Grayevsky, activist from Israeli Anarchists Against the Wall
Break 12:40-12:50
Promoting a Culture of Resistance 12:50-14:35
• Zico Tamela, International Officer of SATAWU, South African
Transport and Allied Workers Union (Durban, SA)
• Iman Hammouri, Director of the Popular Art Center and Steering
Committee Member of PNGO (Jerusalem)
• Haidar Eid, Associate Prof. of English, Al-Aqsa University, Gaza,
and member of PACBI’s Steering Committee (via video conference)
Lunch 14:35-16:00
Examples on the ground of popular nonviolent resistance in Palestine
16:00-17:15
• Raid Salah, Representative of the Higher Monitoring Committee
(48)
• Abdullah abu rahma, Coordinator of the Bil'in popular
committee
• Ahed Al Hawaje Coordinator of the Naalin popular
committee
• Mahmud Zawahre, coordinator of the Maasera popular
committee
• Fathi Khderat, Coordinator of the Jordan Valley Campaign
Break 17:15- 17:30
Panel of representatives of Palestinian Political leaders on the
future of Popular Nonviolent Resistance 17:30-19:30
• Raiq al Natsha, one of the Fatah
leaders
Abed Elrahim Mallouh, Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Front of
Liberation of Palestine
• Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary general of the Palestinian National
Initiative, Mubadara
• Qais Samaria (abu Leila), Secretary general of the Democratic Front
of Liberation of Palestine
• Basem Salhi, Secretary General of the Palestinian Popular Party
• Samir Ghousha, Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Front
Presentation: Apartheid under Construction. The cantonization of
Palestine 19:30-20:30
• Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary general of the Palestinian National
Initiative, Mubadara
Cultural Event and Open Space for sharing materials of the
organizations that are participating in the conference 20:30 -22:00
DAY 2: Thursday, 23 April 2009 (workshops & field trips)
Workshops (4 parallel workshops) 8:30-10:00
• The BDS movement: challenges and perspectives
Coordinated by: Lubna Hammad (Adalah-NY), Muhammad Jaradat (Badil),
Omar Barghouti (PACBI)
• Legal Accountability for War Crimes
Coordinated by: Shawan Jabarin, General Director, Al-Haq, Michael
Sfard, Israeli legal counsel to Bil'in Village Council, Merrav Amir/
Dalit Baum, Project Coordinators, Who Profits? Exposing the Israeli
Occupation Industry
• Spreading and supporting the Popular nonviolent resistance (Bil’in)
Coordinated by: Eyad Morar (Abu Ahmed) Head of the popular committee
of Budrus, Fathi Khderat, Coordinator of the Jordan Valley campaign
• Building an international movement in solidarity with Palestine
Coordinated by: Luisa Morgantini, Vice-President of the European
Parliament
Field Trips to Locations 10:30-all day
• Hebron
• Beit Lehem
• Al Quds
• The Jordan Valley
• North West Bank
DAY 3: Friday, 24 April 2009 (reflections)
Presentation of the final agreements of the workshops 9:30-11:00
All the participants will have the opportunity to present their
opinion and vote the conclusions of the different workshops through a
participative methodology
• Spokesperson of the BDS movement: challenges and perspectives
workshop
• Spokesperson of the Legal Accountability for War Crimes workshop
• Spokesperson of the spreading and supporting the Popular resistance
workshop
• Spokesperson of the Building an international movement workshop
• Final discussion and agreements
Training for Internationals: preparing an action 11:30-12:30
Final demonstration against the Wall and settlements 12:30
More information can be found at
http://www.bilin-village.org/...
Please Contact:
Mohammad Khatib (Arabic, Hebrew & English) 059- 891-4541
Abedallah Abu Rahma (Arabic & English) 059-910-7069
Michael Sfard (Hebrew & English) 054-471-3930 or 03-620-6947
For general information:
ISM Media office: 02-297-1824
Sasha Solanas (Russian & English) 054-903-2981
