Here's another blog entry from a friend still over in Palestine. An English lad with a good education you have to wonder why he isn't turning a blind eye, and getting on with his life? Maybe he feels enough is enough, and that we have to be the media now?
"This morning we were sat on the balcony of the ISM apartment in Nablus, playing backgammon and drinking coffee. The local coordinator had come round to do an inventory of the flat, and whilst he was there he received a call saying that a Palestinian had been shot by settlers. We dropped what we were doing and left, but he was dead before he got to the hospital. In the chaos, it was difficult to ascertain exactly what happened – even his age seems uncertain. We were told he was twenty; Maan News have him at nineteen; Haaretz just eighteen. What provoked the attack is also unclear: an official for the PA said that he and 70 other villagers were marching towards the Yitzhar settlement when he was shot; Haaretz claims he and his cousin were throwing rocks at the settlers; the people we spoke to at the hospital said he was just out cutting wood for the fire. What is clear though is that the settlers kicked and beat him – his face was covered with blood and his body bruised – and shot him once through the chest. The entry-hole was on his right shoulder, and the doctor could feel the bullet beside his left lung. It was an hour before the ambulance got to him, and now he’s just another permanent victim of the occupation.
"This morning we were sat on the balcony of the ISM apartment in Nablus, playing backgammon and drinking coffee. The local coordinator had come round to do an inventory of the flat, and whilst he was there he received a call saying that a Palestinian had been shot by settlers. We dropped what we were doing and left, but he was dead before he got to the hospital. In the chaos, it was difficult to ascertain exactly what happened – even his age seems uncertain. We were told he was twenty; Maan News have him at nineteen; Haaretz just eighteen. What provoked the attack is also unclear: an official for the PA said that he and 70 other villagers were marching towards the Yitzhar settlement when he was shot; Haaretz claims he and his cousin were throwing rocks at the settlers; the people we spoke to at the hospital said he was just out cutting wood for the fire. What is clear though is that the settlers kicked and beat him – his face was covered with blood and his body bruised – and shot him once through the chest. The entry-hole was on his right shoulder, and the doctor could feel the bullet beside his left lung. It was an hour before the ambulance got to him, and now he’s just another permanent victim of the occupation.
We had plans to go to the demonstration in Nabi-Saleh tomorrow, but now we have to go to the funeral. What angers me most about this vicious and pointless killing is that nothing will happen to the criminals: the settlers deny involvement, and the Israeli authorities are not going to bother about one more dead Arab - there have been several killings over the last month, although most by the IDF and border police. The settlers have apparently been relatively calm of late, but recently some were accused of torching a car just south of Yitzhar, and spraying “we won’t forget the evacuation” next to it in Hebrew – a reference to the dismantling of an illegal Israeli outpost near the settlement on January 12th. This murder will most likely change little, but it will no doubt add to the growing anger in the occupied territories. Today in the centre of Nablus, the PA organised a demonstration against Al Jazeera, accusing them of slander and libel for the publication of the WikiLeaks documents, but this is just a weak publicity stunt to divert attention from the terrible revelations in the Palestine Papers. With arrests becoming more frequent – one of my friends is currently being held in an Israeli cell – and anti-government protests being held across the Middle East, talk of a third intifada is not uncommon. I hope and pray that this does not happen, but only time will tell; things may be heating up here in Palestine and I fear that, before too long, the situation may boil over one more time."
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