Ramallah, 10-05-07, 16:30: In a press conference held today in Ramallah, Minister of Information Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi detailed the Israeli military‘s most recent violations of Palestinians‘ human rights, including the shooting of a pregnant Palestinian woman by Israeli soldiers, killing her 7-month-old unborn baby; the shooting of a teenage Palestinian girl by an Israeli sniper; and the demolition of a care home for disabled children in East Jerusalem.
Pregnant Woman Shot by Israeli Military, Killing Unborn Baby
A pregnant Palestinian woman lost her 7-month-old unborn baby today when she was shot in the abdomen by Israeli soldiers whilst in her bedroom. Maha Mohammed Rafat Katouni, aged 29, was hit when Israeli soldiers fired on her home during a raid on the Ein Beit Ilma neighbourhood in west Nablus in the early hours of Thursday morning. The bullet entered 3 centimetres below her umbilicus, blowing up the baby‘s head in the womb and hitting the mother‘s colon.
The baby died instantly, while the mother suffered heavy bleeding when the Israeli army prevented emergency services from reaching the house. Doctors at the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus were finally able to operate, but Maha remains in critical condition.
Video footage filmed following the attack can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0cVm0ysF9M
The dangers that the Israeli attacks pose to mothers and children comes on top of the numerous indirect deaths caused by the Occupation. Access of mothers to post-natal health care services is frequently blocked due to Israel‘s Apartheid Wall and the presence of 530 permanent and 600 ‘flying‘ Israeli military checkpoints throughout the West Bank.
A recent study on perinatal and infant mortality published together with the John Hopkins University found that four out of every 1,000 Palestinian children born die before the age of one due to Israel‘s matrix of restrictions on the movement Palestinians in the West Bank.
Demolition of Care Centre for Disabled Children
A building that served as a residence for children with physical and mental disabilities was demolished by Israeli authorities in the early hours of last Tuesday morning. Staff and children were forced from the centre at around 5:30 AM by Israeli police and border police, who then proceeded to demolish the building with bulldozers.
The centre was already demolished once before and was rebuilt by Israeli, Palestinian and international peace activists. This second destruction has left the disabled children served by the centre with no access to specialised care.
Video footage of the demolition can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0cVm0ysF9M
Teenage Girl Shot by Israeli Sniper While Studying in Bedroom
On 21 April, 17-year-old Bushra Bargis was killed by a shot to the forehead fired by an Israeli sniper while in her bedroom as she was preparing for an exam the following day. All evidence suggests that she was shot in cold blood during an Israeli military raid on Jenin. Her relatives were forced from the house by Israeli soldiers after the shooting and prevented by Israeli soldiers from calling an ambulance until at least 30 minutes after Bushra had been hit.
"Flagrant Violations"
Palestinian Minister of Information Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi said that these were yet more examples of Israel‘s flagrant violations of Palestinians‘ human rights enshrined in international law, and drew attention to the special protection afforded to women and children under the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
He further highlighted that 24 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in April alone, four of whom were children. Some 120 Palestinian children were killed in 2006, an average of 10 per month, while 854 children have been killed by the Israeli military during the last six years.
Dr. Barghouthi stressed that the regular killing of innocent Palestinian children, women and other civilians is always met with complete impunity. He added that Israel‘s continuous breaches of international law undermined the potential for peace and rendered recent meetings between Palestinians and Israelis pointless.
Faced with these massive violations by Israel, Dr. Barghouthi questioned the US Administration‘s and European Union‘s weak reaction to these crimes and the continuation of the embargo against the Palestinian people. He reiterated that the National Unity Government has a platform that responds to all the requests of the Quartet but continues to be left with no Israeli partner for peace.