Court holds state responsible for shooting of Palestinian girl
In civil suit, judge orders government to pay damages to family of Abir Aramin, a 10-year-old Palestinian girl killed by a rubber bullet in the West Bank in 2007.
By Chaim Levinson Tags: Israel news West Bank PalestiniansA Jerusalem court on Monday held the state responsible for killing killing a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in January 2007.
In a civil suit, the court ruled that border guards had either been negligent or disobeyed orders in shooting Abir Aramin with a rubber bullet, calling the incident 'totally unjustifiable'.
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Israeli soldiers stand guard as Palestinians protest in the West Bank on May 9, 2010. |
| Photo by: AP |
The judge ruled ordered the government to pay damages to the girl's family, with the exact amount to be determined later.
Aramin was killed while walking home from school in the West Bank village of Anata with her sister and two of her friends. They had just left a shop where they had bought sweets when she was hit in the head by a rubber bullet.
She was taken to Mukassed Hospital in Jerusalem, where she was pronounced dead.
Police opened a criminal investigation but later decided against indicting the border guards who opened fire.
Aramin's family and the human rights organization Yesh Din appealed the decision in the High Court. In February, the court ordered the state to investigate further the circumstances of the girl’s death and to update the court on its progress by the end of August.
In Monday's civil ruling, Judge Orit Efal-Gabai dismissed the possibility that Aramin had been struck by an errant stone, determining gunfire as the cause of death.
"There is no debate over the conclusion that Abir was injured by a rubber bullet shot by border guards, which in turn leads to the conclusion that the shooting of Abir occurred out of negligence, or in violation of the rules of engagement," Efal-Gabai said.
"We are not talking about injury by shots fired at a crowd of rioters and rock-throwers, near which a little girl just happened to be standing,"she said.
"Abir and her friends were walking down a street where there were no rock-throwers, therefore there was no reason to shoot in their direction. It is clear that Abir's death, caused by a rubber bullet shot by border guards, was due to negligence by the defendant."
Aramin's father is one of the founders of Combatants for Peace, a group of former Israel Defense Forces soldiers and Palestinian gunmen that tour schools to foster coexistence.
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Start paying attention to any court ruling which decided for a Palestinian? There is a long record of Israeli Courts trying to do the just thing, and being thwarted by the simple refusal of the government to comply.
a 10 yr old walking home from school buying sweets to eat , so innecent so sad . so many children r killed just in the same matter by moral, tough IDF SOLDIERS...i wonder what will the guard who shot her say to god ,maybe god wont judge him or her becuse u r the chosing people...shame on all jews who now and dont speak out for the innecent , shame,shame shame .
It's great to see that the state of Israel takes violations of human rights seriously. If only all her Arab neighbours did the same thing, the region would improve immensly.
Lots of questions are being raised in my head about this article. The artcile and judge's statements do not rely on forensic evidnece . I think this little girl was MURDERED .Forensic scienece and proper investigative techniques can shed truth on this sad incident. It seems to me that either the Israeli police ( or IDF ivestigators) are unprofessional and incompetent or there is a deliberate un willingness on the IDF or Israeli police to truly investigate deaths of Palestinians on the hand of the IDF or Police.. Which is the case from the pattern of lack of investigations in many simiklar incidents involving the killing of Palestininan civilians. Disgusting...
So, the High Court decision said there was no way to determine whether the cuase of death was from a rock thrown by Palestinians or a rubber bullet fired by border police. Yet a CIVIL case apparently ruled against the border police on the SAME evidence? Huh? It would seem that the coroner's report and opinions should count here. Did the district court just decide it knows better then the corononer what the cause of death was? This whole thing raises about 100 questions, none of which are answered in this article. I think we are entitled to a little more depth. We are, instead, merely being spoon fed what they want to give us.
NOT!!!
These are Israeli values served up without apology. If Hamas shoots a Qassam which hits nothing, they are branded as child killers because it might have hit a school. When an Israeli deliberately shoots and kills a Palestinian child, he is not even scolded. Is this too harsh for the censor? Would it be too harsh if the roles were reversed?
Since the young girl was hit by a rubber bullet it seems likely that the rifleman shot from a relatively close range.
Indeed. We've all heard numerous stories of this kind, and each and every time their excuse is always that they thought it was A: "mistaken for a terrorist" or B: "I didn't know the person was there/i was aiming at something else/my weapon went of by accident"... One moment we are told that the IDF is the most professional army in the world, full of competent and intelligent people, the next moment it's "unfortunate human errors" on a weekly basis . So which is it ? Let's face it. Though I obviously wasn't there so don't know what this soldier was indeed up to, the depressing thought is that it's yet another case of an innocent person, in a mean twist of fate, having the bad luck to come to the attention of a bored soldier with a sadistic streak.
The Turkish TV series featuring Israeli soldiers killing Palestinian civilians including a girl on point blank range must have factored into this decision! Israel beginning to do a little soul-searching?
..that in your pipe and smoke it, those who proclaim that the Israeli army is the most moral army in the world... or maybe this judge is anti-semitic as well?
At least Israel is democratic enough to hold a just trial and find the state responsible - within a conflict, incidents happen all the time. The question is whether they are brought to light or not. Do you think if a citizen of Gaza murdered an Israeli citizen, Hamas would hold a trial seeking justice? I think we both know the answer to that.
At least Israel is democratic enough to hold a just trial and find the state responsible - within a conflict, incidents happen all the time. The question is whether they are brought to light or not. Do you think if a citizen of Gaza murdered an Israeli citizen, Hamas would hold a trial seeking justice? I think we both know the answer to that.