Letters to the Editor: Murder of a Saint in Gaza
SOURCE: WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
An Israeli sniper killed 21-year-old Palestinian medic Razan al-Najjar on June 1, as she ran toward the border fence to provide medical aid to a wounded protester.
Unconcerned that Israel persistantly violates international law, the U.S. dutifully protected Israel by vetoing a United Nations resolution that urged protection of Palestinians. Ironically, this occured on the same day that Najjar was shot to death.
James Heenan, head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, stated there was no justification for the killing. “Razan posed no threat to heavily-armed, well-protected Israeli forces,” he said.
Najjar was taken to a hospital, where she died from her injuries. In total, the Israeli military has killed at least 132 Palestinians and wounded more than 13,000 as part of the brutal crackdown against the Gazans demanding an end to the Israeli siege. A volunteer ambulance worker told the Associated Press that he and Najjar were planning to announce their engagement at the end of Ramadan.
The morally challenged U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, said the resolution was “one-sided.” It’s a pity Haley has abandoned her Sikh religious traditions of speaking truth to power to pander to the immoral behavior of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). By its actions, the U.S. is complicit in Razan al-Najjar’s murder.
Jagjit Singh, Los Altos, CA
Instead of expressing remorse for killing Najjar, the IDF attempted to smear the heroic medic’s image. Shortly after her murder, the IDF released a video purportedly showing Najjar saying that she serves as a “human shield” for Hamas. Unsurprisingly, the IDF selectively edited the video, in which Najjar actually expressed her commitment to protecting the vulnerable people of Gaza from Israeli violence, not to providing cover for Hamas. Israel accusing a medic of being a terrorist is unsurprising, given that the country’s Defense Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, recently remarked that there are “no innocent people” in Gaza. Militant or peaceful, the IDF views any Palestinians standing up for their rights as an existential threat to Israel.
