Israeli military contradicts account of Palestinian’s death

January 4, 2011

JERUSALEM (JTA) — There is no evidence that a Palestinian woman reportedly killed at a West Bank security fence protest died from tear gas poisoning, Israel’s military said.

Jawaher Abu Rahma, 36, died on the morning of Jan. 1, hours after she was said to have inhaled tear gas at a demonstration near the West Bank village of Bilin. She reportedly died of complications from inhaling the tear gas.

Her brother, Bassem, was killed in April 2009 during a demonstration in the same area after being hit in the chest with a tear gas canister as it released its contents.

Israel Defense Forces sources cited in Israeli media reports said that inconsistencies in the medical report of the woman’s death provided Monday by the Palestinian Authority call into question the circumstances of her death and contradict the family’s account.

Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak disputed IDF claims that Abu Rahma was not at the demonstration, telling The Jerusalem Post that he saw her there, though not on the front line, and watched her being loaded into an ambulance.

While the file shows that her blood was collected for testing at a Ramallah hospital at 2:45 p.m. Dec. 31, the admission form says she entered the hospital at 3:20 p.m.

Abu Rahma’s medical file also showed that she was taking strong drugs for a medical condition that could have been leukemia, and that she had been treated in the same hospital 10 days prior to her death. Pollak told The Jerusalem Post that Abu Rahma was treated in the hospital for an ear infection, though Haaretz reported that during the earlier hospitalization a Palestinian ear, nose and throat doctor ordered a CT scan.

No other protester had a serious reaction to the tear gas used at the demonstration, according to reports.

Abu Rahma’s death sparked demonstrations outside of the U.S. ambassador to Israel’s home and the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, leading to arrests.

Palestinian protests, which are joined by Israelis and international activists, take place at the site every Friday. Abu Rahma reportedly had been attending the weekly protests for the past five years. A second brother, Ashraf, was wounded several years ago after being shot during a demonstration against the security fence near the village of Naalin.

The IDF on Sunday released photos showing that the Dec. 31 demonstration at Bilin became violent and thus required the use of tear gas, despite Palestinian claims that the protest was nonviolent. The photos show Palestinians throwing rocks using large slingshots.

It was instructive to compare this report to the prior one on the death of 21 Copts in Egypt. The 21 Copts were not personalized in any way, although the report was sympathetic to them. Palestinians especially are always personalized, while Israelis are invariably faceless “soldiers”, “settlers”, etc, – except when they espouse anti-Israel views.

Of course, the primary bias is in the choice of issues. We aren’t told about the ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza, nor about injuries to teenagers, disruption of life from these rocket attacks. How long will it take to stop giving the PA a free pass, and report some of their actions and statements?

In recent weeks,
(1) Mahmoud Abbas again rejected ever recognizing Israel as a Jewish homeland, even as he demands a Judenrein Palestinian state.

(2) The PA issued an official report (written by one of its ministers) denying any Jewish connection to the Wsetern Wall, and Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest sites. The report was taken off websites for 3 days after US protests – but then went back onto official PA sites.

(3) The PA continues to have town squares, streets, computer centers, named after perpetrators of terror attacks that occurred decades ago (such as Dalal Mugrabi).

(4) Last year, President Mahmoud Abbas and PM Salaam Fayad, both hailed as “moderates” posed with pictures and clay models showing all of Israel as part of PA territory. See http://www.palwatch.org, and http://www.palwatch.org/pages/allmaps.aspx?fld_id=550&doc_id=736

(5) Mahmoud Abbas continues to demand resettlement of descendants of refugees NOT in a future Palestinian state, but in pre-1967 Israel. This denies the rights of the similar numbers of Jewish refugees from Arab lands. It makes a mockery of a two state solution. It sidesteps Arab resposibility for starting the wars that led to BOTH refugee issues.

(6) Mahmoud Abbas last year eulogized the mastermind of the Munich massacre.

Above all, how long will it take to even hint at the real core issue, and most legitimate Jewish concern: Arab refusal to accept a permanent Jewish state, no matter how small?