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Not Guilty: Israeli Soldier Shot Palestinian Girl 17 Times
An Israeli army officer, who killed a 13-year-old Palestinian girl by shooting her 17 times, has been acquitted on all charges by an Israeli military court.
Last year, Iman al-Hams walked into a security zone at an Israeli army post along the Gaza Strip border, an area forbidden for all non-military personnel. She was also carrying a backpack, which is a common carrying-case for explosives for suicide bombers.
A soldier in a watchtower saw the girl, and radioed troops on the ground. In a recording obtained by an Israeli television station, the soldier describes Iman as "a little girl" who was "scared to death." Troops opened fire. She dropped the bag and started running. They then fired at the bag, establishing that it did not contain explosives. The recording reveals she was running away from the army post when she was shot.
An officer identified only as "Captain R" moved in for "confirmation of the kill," which is apparently standard procedure. But Palestinian witnesses say while she was lying on the ground, Capt. R opened fire at the girl, emptying his weapon.
On the tape, Captain R "clarifies" to the soldiers under his command why he killed Iman: "This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the (security) zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed."
Captain R was not charged with her killing, rather he was charged with illegal use of his weapon, conduct unbecoming an officer and perverting the course of justice by asking soldiers under his command to alter their accounts of the incident.
Captain R claimed he did not fire the shots at the girl, only near her. But Dr. Mohammed al-Hams, who inspected the child's body, counted numerous wounds.
"She has at least 17 bullets in several parts of the body, all along the chest, hands, arms, legs," he told the British newspaper the Guardian shortly afterwards. "The bullets were large and shot from a close distance. The most serious injuries were to her head. She had three bullets in the head. One bullet was shot from the right side of the face beside the ear. It had a big impact on the whole face."
Following the verdict, Captain R burst into tears, turned to the public benches and said: "I told you I was innocent."
After the verdict, Iman's father, Samir al-Hams, said the army never intended to hold the soldier accountable.
"They did not charge him with Iman's murder, only with small offenses, and now they say he is innocent of those even though he shot my daughter so many times," he said. "This was the cold-blooded murder of a girl. The soldier murdered her once and the court has murdered her again. What is the message? They are telling their soldiers to kill Palestinian children."
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even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed
There's the real good rightwing Pro Life nazi message.
If people don't fit in the Zionist or should I say NAZI plan they are murdered.
Interesting...
"But Dr. Mohammed al-Hams, who inspected the child's body, counted numerous wounds.'
And, who is Dr. al-Hams? A Palestinian? Isn't it interesting that he has the same last name as the 13 year old girl?
Wasn't there an autopsy? There seems to be some ambiguity in this particular "fact."
Careful reading of the article seems to indicate that the information is based on the recording of a radio conversation, NOT video.
No explanation of how she "wandered" into a security zone?
The fact that she was "scared to death" somehow means she wasn't a suicide bomber? Or was she simply acting to give her a better chance of penetrating Israeli security?
Why didn't the individual who posted the story here (mostly plagiarized from a UK Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/nov/16/israel2 ) not include this portion:
"The prosecution case was damaged when a soldier who initially said he had seen Capt R point his weapon at the girl's body and open fire later told the court he had fabricated the story."
Interesting that Mr. Berman left that out...
BTW, the transcript of the radio conversastion is available at the above link. It also shows that the girl was hiding behind an embankment when she was shot: "A girl about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death."
Yet Mr. Berman asserts that she was running away. What is your source for that information, Mr. Berman?
Still don't think the shooting was justified? Check out this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_suicide_bombers_in_the_Israeli %E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict
Also:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0 ,7340,L-3443790,00.html
BTW, firing into explosives will not necessarily detonate them. So, did the backpack contain explosives or not? Where did it go? It must have been examined afterwards...
This article: http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-court-acquits-officer-accused-of-confirming-kill-of-gaza-girl-1.174173 reveals more information:
"The witnesses, Givati Brigade soldiers from R's company, said they lied during the military probe of the incident and in statements they provided the court in an effort the cause the ousting of R from the company."
Apparently, Captain R wasn't Jewish, and wasn't popular among his troops. According the UK Guardian article cited above: "Capt R claimed that the soldiers under his command were out to get him because they are Jewish and he is Druze."
Now, parents, if you lived near a security checkpoint that you knew was a free-fire zone, wouldn't you warn your children about it? A 13 year old is quite capable of comprehending "you don't go there. Period." Or did her parents "sacrifice" their daughter in support of the "Intafada?"
Also, he was tried - and acquitted - in a Court of Law, and it WAS NEVER ESTABLISHED that he "emptied his magazine into her."
BTW, when are the Palistinians going to release Cpl Gilad Shalit?
when are the Palistinians going to release Cpl Gilad Shalit?
Possibly when he is an Old Man. :)
That is an interesting
paragraph to drop...about the lie on the bullets.
People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid. - Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
Typical Liberal Tactic...
Just tell the part of the truth that supports the Liberal agenda, oppressing the rest of the information....
One second here...
Whether the girl was walking in that direction or wherever she was, it is criminal to shoot a child. Did they not shoot at the backpack and figure out it did not contain explosives? The point here is not that Captain R was guilty, the issue is that the Israeli government is guilty of murder.
Then they wonder why the Palestinians hate them and are so willing to blow themselves up just to kill a few of them... if I were the girl's father, I would be a Jihadist of the worse kind by now. Just saying. How many of these cases must there be before the world does a double take and refuses to stand for it?
Neither side is free of sin, but this type of behavior will solve nothing and only inflame the hatred. There is no "better man" in this situation it seems.
" it is criminal to shoot a child."
Muslim terrorists across the Middle East use children as human shields, suicide bombers, and aggressors towards their "enemies" on a routine basis.
Apparently you're not aware of that. Isn't it criminal to INTENTIONALLY put children in danger of being shot?
That very well may be...
And since when do two wrongs make a right? Oh, yea, since Israel and the US decided everyone ELSE is expendable.
Muslim extremists made that determination.
Or have you forgotten 3/11?
Don't even try to spin some ETA yarn ala self-serving Anzar. Maybe you need to taste dust in the air in order to remember why little girls get gunned down when they act like bombers.
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What
Happened March 11?
But if you meant September 11th. Don't get me started. How many soldiers have you lost since? Has it exceeded the death toll of September 11? Was it worth it? Yes, I guess the Iraqi oil was all worth it. Along of course, with the billions stolen from your purses in Iraq.
The equivalent of showing up to court to defend your rapist.
The death toll during Katrina exceeded that of September 11, yet no wars have been started over that one. Not so much as a project to prevent the next one. Just privatization. Money, all about money. Not wrong, just not jiving with your bullshit.
Ok to attack terrorism, just don't use the excuse you are doing to protect lives. Your government gives two shits about protecting lives. It's all about protecting financial interests.
"It is infinitely better to "be one" and not "look like one" than it is to "look like one" and not "be one".
Go dunk your head.
When you calm back down, wipe the spittle from your keyboard.
As for your defending terrorists, I cannot argue against so much crazy.
"If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, its probably a duck."
"Where there is smoke there is fire."
"When you hear hoof-beats, you think horses, not zebras."
Unless you are a professional victim, or a martyr, when you are approached by someone who in all likely-hood is there to blow you and your men apart, you don't check the bag, you put the threat down.
Not that you'd know anything about it, safe in your warm bed since your country turned tail and split.
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Also...
Canada did not follow you into Iraq either. It went as far as Afghanistan.
Canada's Just Like France...
They only support America when they need us... I guess it's pretty easy to opine on world events and the war on terrorism when you're from Canada and you don't actually have to participate, just hide behind America's skirt...
It is something
You started. By having a meddling foreign affairs policy. BTW, if we use you when we need you, we only learned that from you. You taught us well.
I noticed that.
That's fine. You can keep buying Alaskan oil & gas. More's the better.
I suppose we should thank you, yarr.
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We sell you oil from BC..
really don't need your oil if it came to it, we have plenty more than we need.
Meh, who cares.
We're the hegemony, so who cares about the little things.
Speaking of little things, and tying a neat little bow on this thread: Imagine my surprise when I discovered that 'your country' has more rapists than it needs as well.
Yep, that's right. Turns out that, per capita, Canada has more than double the rapes than the "horrible, evil" U.S of A.
No wonder you relocated, señor.
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Hmm...
Care to cite the source? A statement such as that, without citing the source, is worth the sweat you left on your keyboard to type it.
The US is a horrible and evil place. Unless you are you. A nonessential, nonthreatening, tax-raped subject. You, are allowed to believe you live in the freest country in the world. Not to mention the most democratic, ahem.
Spain leaving Iraq was the result of a democratic voting result, simply put, the Spanish citizens decided they were against the war, and were able to force their government to comply with their wishes, thereby savings thousand's of their kid's lives. I applaud that democracy. Of course, you're too busy hating the rest of the world to notice that in some parts, we live a heck of a whole lot better than you do.
Source:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap_percap-crime-rapes-per-capita
Thanks for your opinion. Have you ever lived in America?
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These are rapes...
Not child rapes. But funny you should say you live in a free country when you have the most prisoners per capita in the world. Yep, you hold the number one spot. That's great when you claim to be free, yet you feel you must imprison everyone. BTW, Canada comes in at around the 70's.
Maybe if you lock up your rapists, you'll catch up.
But seriously, America suffers from self-inflicted wounds of institutional racism. Blacks, who constitute the lion's share of our prisoners, are largely stuck in a poverty/ crime -cycle, many ending up in jail instead of college. However, we have tilted the scales and more blacks are now in college than in the penal system. We are making progress through concerted effort and are headed in the right direction.
This is one of the many things which makes America so great: we are forward-looking and with the inherent freedom of a representative constitutional republic, acting as the lifting wind beneath our wings, we can even cure societal problems which are as deep as institutional racism.
When Canada cures whatever is causing such poor diversity as is reflected in the demographic breakdown shown here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Canada then its subjects can speak magnanimously about how "evil and terrible" America is.
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Yes...
As a child. For a few years.
Thanks for this debate. I am enjoying myself. Hope you are not taking it personally, as I am not. Thank you.
Well, I'm not the one dropping f-bombs.
So you'll have to excuse me for thinking that your claims of not taking things personally are full of shite.
Did you have any color commentary on the proof I gave you backing up my assertion? Or are you going to pretend it never happened?
As for your limited experience with the greatest nation on this earth, you have no idea what you are missing. Happily, I know what I am missing not having someone like you breathing free air.
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Dropped the f-bombs
Because I felt insulted by your insinuations. But do not hold it against you. Call me a pedophile, I drop the f-bomb to you. Simple.
Try to keep your "feelings" in check.
In keeping with Civility 101.
I know it might be difficult for someone who is highly emotional, but at least try.
http://www.opposingviews.com/civility
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My country is Canada...
My geographical location should not be used to draw dimwitted conclusions.
So, it's ok to treat little girls who act like whores as whores. There are ways of putting down a threat without having to resort to killing kids. You are no better than the terrorists.
Spain acted sanely. Humanely, and was level headed in not following your sick country into a war for financial gains. Just my opinion. You call it cowardice, I have another name for it, I call it sovereignty, you can fight your own made up wars.
I see.
With the spanish name, flag, and city in your profile, the conclusion makes itself. I am not sure how that makes for a "dimwitted" conclusion, but if it helps your ego to try and insult my intelligence, have at it. We Americans have thick enough skin to take whatever you can dish out. Regardless of which limp-wristed nation of which you are a subject.
Whatever you do with tween whores is your business; I'd rather not know. Please stop trying to force your fantasies upon me, I'm not interested. Please stop bringing it up, it is revolting.
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Maybe you should
as well, stop attempting to justify the death of this girl by turning her into a terrorist, which she clearly was not. Just as there is no excuse for the rape of a girl who acts as a prostitute, then there should not be one for the death of a girl who acted like a terrorist.
I resent your claim that this is my fantasy. So fuck you.
What do you mean "Clearly"?
Were you there?
Oh, yeah. Canadian-Spaniard. Of course you weren't.
The exonerated "shooter" was found not guilty. Do you have some magic knowledge about the incident nobody else is privy to? By all means, do tell.
Again, I don't know why you feel the need to keep talking about child prostitutes, but I know what Freud would say...
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I didn't get
my information other than from the article, which, if you would have read, said the girl was found not to have been a terrorist.
Better a Canadian Spaniard than an ignorant American I think. At least I feel more secure when I travel than you ever will. But you probably don't travel. I am sure you are much nicer in person. I hope.
As for child prostitutes, if you can't see the point, then I think we know who needs help.
I'll type this really slowly for you.
She was found, after the fact, to have not been a terrorist. Unless you demand that Israelis have crystal balls or ESP at their disposal, there was no way they could have known. Understand the stakes: a whole group of soldiers would have been blown to chunks, by what could have very plausibly been a terrorist suicide bomber, if they took a "wait and see" attitude.
Would you have?
Armchair quarterbacking the incident does nothing to understand how the incident unfolded. You and I have the benefit of hindsight, the Israelis did not have that luxury. Expecting them to risk their own deaths, expecting them to very likely leave all of their families without a bread-winner is absurd. Sometimes you have to think things through instead of running on 100% emotion.
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Sorry, not running on emotions here
There are ways to keep dogs in yards that are more humane than what was done to this little girl. She DROPPED the backpack, which incidentally, the article claims backwards, that the terrorists use to carry bombs, when in actuality, everyone uses backpacks, I do, my kids do, my wife, and I see plenty of backpack usage around to know that not all backpack users are terrorists. The girl was running, they shot at the backpack and this determined that it was not a bomb.
Back to the girl, the soldier in the tower takes her down with a shot. She is down, neutralized. This should have signaled the end of the incident. The girl should have been placed under arrest, healed of her wounds and released if she was not a terrorist.
This is the part that irks me, this Captain, after the girl has been neutralized, walks over to her and pumps her full of bullets. And you sit there and tell me this is not murder? You are seemingly horrified by pedophilia, but not by this? You are either kidding me, and a shill, or you are every bit as twisted as the worse pedophile if you can't see the horror behind this.
I understand you to be patriotic, but even the Germans who patriotically supported their government's killing of the Jews were later considered to be criminals. Regardless of who commits a crime and whether at the time they thought they were acting in good faith, the crime remains a crime.
The Israelis have gone from victims to oppressors, leaning on their victim past in order to oppress the Palestinians. This should be stopped. And your country should not be condoning the murder of little children in the name of defense. Today we have tasers, electrical fences, and the mere arrest of this girl would have sufficed. Separating her from her backpack turned out to be easy when the first shots were fired. After that, it is murder, straight and simple.
Justify it as you will, but murder is murder. And this captain, as well as the Israeli government, is guilty of it, and you are guilty of it by association.
I have two little girls, right now playing in my living room while I take a break from my work to argue with you, I consider any emotional outburst on my part, wholly justified as a father to two very young girls. I see no difference between a pedophile and the israeli government, and would hate them both or either one if they caused my daughters anywhere near this much harm. The father is justified in taking his position, whatever that may be.
Always run full tilt on half a story?
How foolish of you. I hope you don't pass that 'skill' on.
You are consumed by irrational emotions. Were you not, you'd have already at least googled this and found out that the guy who originally claimed that "R" did the shooting lied about it.
That's right, he lied.
Now look at you, driven by emotion from having daughters, taking it out on a person pointing out to you that you jumped to conclusions while ignoring the fact that "R" was found not guilty.
Did it cross your mind that he was exonerated for a reason? This is the problem with forsaking logic for emotion like a woman.
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My comments go beyond
Captain R. Is the girl alive now because the guy lied? Dead, a dead little girl who probably liked pink dresses and playing in the tub. I always blamed the Israeli government for having policies that allowed this kind of thing to happen.
His exoneration is purely a smoke screen so people like you can condone and agree to their barbarism. "R" in this case, a faceless soldier in the hundreds of others.
Children are being used by both sides. Children are being killed and maimed. Children. This should be the central theme.
Of course it should.
That is what I mean by "emotional".
What role do Palestinians play in setting up the stage for this tragedy? Or are they blame-free?
No, that girl is not alive. Nor would you or I be if we acted just like she did.
Is Israel blameless in my mind? No, of course not. It is a complicated, convoluted situation which does not lend itself to mind-numbingly simplistic reasonings like "It is only about the poor, pretty-pink-dress-liking-children!!11"
I suggest you nut up a little and act like an intellectual. Learn the realities of the situation on that border region and step back to allow you to see the whole picture. Study the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Get some facts so you don't have to rely solely on emotional "logic".
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Love your use of the word emotional...
I have no more emotions on this as I would eating a piece of cake, or drinking a cup of coffee. By nature, I am a seemingly emotional person at times. This may be one of them.
I understand the Israel/Palestinian conflict well enough to know that it is not something that has an easy solution. Thank you for giving me that Israel is not blameless. Finally, I got my point across.
Too many players involved to share the blame. Mostly, people using the conflict to enrich themselves or cement a position of power within their country, and even to advance political and economical agendas we can only begin to dream about.
Follow the money. Follow the money and get inside any conflict or war in the last 50 years. Not one has been fought like the 2nd world war where men and women fought for what they believed in. Sure, money was made, but there was a certain honor in having fought it. Vietnam was a shambles, and any skirmish or war after that has had the dollar sign rule the tactics.
I have no more answers than the next guy on this except to say that public outcry should demand a stop to this and these country's and people should be shunned by the rest of the world until this is done with. War only enriches those who fuel it. This Iraq war is not a proud war, there is no moral ground, no helping the poor Iraqi people.
Israel has no plans of easing up their war on terror , they're stock market has tripled since the start of the war on terror. There is no incentive to stop, on the contrary, they consistently take positions to maintain the pressure. They could have reached a settlement back in the 90's, they had a cease fire, it actually looked feasible to come to some win/win terms. What did they do? Sealed the borders.
Again, my comments about Israel or against it by no means represent a willingness to exculpate the Muslims. They are a warring nation living in the 18th century. They openly keep their people ignorant and therefore unable to pull themselves from the never-ending cycles of war that keep them in power.
I have nothing good to say about either side. Nothing. I feel pain for their children. And the future of their children's children.
Thanks
That was a stupid comment...
So, your defnition of "two wrongs" is killing suicide bombers before they can kill innocents?
Just another example of the insanity known as "moral equivalency" that demonstrates once again:
Liberalism is a mental disorder...
And the proof of
this girl being a suicide bomber is where? And where did you hear I was a liberal? From where do you know me?
Innocent of what?
That wasn't a verdict of innocence. Sorry to drop that bomb. Gross.
Am I missing something? Is their a video of him shooting her or only recordings?
And why was she walking over there if it's clear what they'll do and EVERYONE knows it? What kind of parent doesn't teach their child where they shouldn't be?
People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid. - Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
You are correct..
See my comment http://www.opposingviews.com/comments/interesting--85
Trespass
After she had been shot other IDF said he walked up to her and shot her 3 times in the head, started to walk away, turned around and emptied his magazine into the, probably, already dead child.
Do you have a source for that assertion?
Anywhere?
See http://www.opposingviews.com/comments/interesting--85
Iman Al-hams death
Yes. Israeli News for one. Google her name. The shooter said he would have killed her if she had been a three year old. Other IDF members were horrified. The facts are not disputed, he carried out orders to kill anyone that came in to the zone. He only got in trouble for lying and trying to get others to do same. Did you not read the story on this site?
Yes, I did...
Read the story on this site. Did you not read my comment linked above where I refuted and corrected a number of factual errors in the story on this site?
There's no proof at all that the Captain ever shot her. The individual who claimed she did admitted he lied. There's no video, and she had been shot - and presumably killed - before he arrived on the scene. If he had shot her, and there's no evidence he did, it would have been after she was dead.
Please. Try to keep up.
Why
was she walking that direction?
People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid. - Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855)