Murder of a Saint in Gaza
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 persistently
violates international law, the U.S. dutifully protected Israel by vetoing a
United Nations resolution that urged protection of Palestinians. Ironically,
this occurred 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.
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.
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