15 mar 2015
From defensive to offensive
Hamas hits Israel where it hurts most—not with rockets this time, nor with tunnels.
Thursday morning Palestinian Resistance Movement- Hamas announced it will start an initiative to talk to the West and to answer their questions.
Unwittingly, or so it seemed to us, they revealed the hashtag of the campaign, #AskHamas well before the initiative commenced. That is a no no on twitter! Pro-Israel took the bait.
Faster than anyone could imagine, Israelis and pro-Israelis, racists, Islamophobes from around the globe swarmed the hashtag with their hasbara. The majority of what they posted was old, recycled Israeli propaganda, and discriminatory and racial remarks. Very few of them asked questions seeking answers and very few of those were serious about that the answers they sought. Before the start of the campaign, there were about 25,000 tweets, many of which sarcastic and closed-minded.
Civility in the face of bigotry
The spokesperson of the campaign, Taher al-Nunu, told PIC they expected the risk and were betting on what he called, “our readiness to talk to all.”
“We have seen during the war what Israel is capable of when it comes to online campaigns. We know Israel pays an army of twitter users to spread their lies. But we will win. We are telling the world we are ready to talk, to work for a better life for all. And they’re pouring their hatred, racism, and bigotry. We’ve displayed our civility,” he added.
#AskHamas in figures
- More than 120,000 tweets after two sessions.
- Trending globally at number 4
- Trending number 2 in the United States
- Trending number 5 in the United Kingdom
Hamas: open-mindedness and maturity
Hamas has emerged as open-minded, smart, and savvy. With this skill and savvy in the field of social media, Hamas seems to be extending a hand to all, regardless of the differences. Commentators praised Hamas’s ability to deal with the torrent of pro-Israeli racism and hateful remarks and answer calmly the questions they received.
“We have been receiving tens of thousands of notifications and questions. Our speakers did their best to answer as many questions as time allowed. Despite pro-Israel’s trolls’ failed attempts to hijack the hashtag, we received plenty of constructive questions,” al-Nunu added.
“The whole world saw the bigotry and hatefulness of the occupiers and their supporters. And Hamas showed they are open-minded and mature. Hamas showed they are ready to talk to all and accept all."
Hamas hits Israel where it hurts most—not with rockets this time, nor with tunnels.
Thursday morning Palestinian Resistance Movement- Hamas announced it will start an initiative to talk to the West and to answer their questions.
Unwittingly, or so it seemed to us, they revealed the hashtag of the campaign, #AskHamas well before the initiative commenced. That is a no no on twitter! Pro-Israel took the bait.
Faster than anyone could imagine, Israelis and pro-Israelis, racists, Islamophobes from around the globe swarmed the hashtag with their hasbara. The majority of what they posted was old, recycled Israeli propaganda, and discriminatory and racial remarks. Very few of them asked questions seeking answers and very few of those were serious about that the answers they sought. Before the start of the campaign, there were about 25,000 tweets, many of which sarcastic and closed-minded.
Civility in the face of bigotry
The spokesperson of the campaign, Taher al-Nunu, told PIC they expected the risk and were betting on what he called, “our readiness to talk to all.”
“We have seen during the war what Israel is capable of when it comes to online campaigns. We know Israel pays an army of twitter users to spread their lies. But we will win. We are telling the world we are ready to talk, to work for a better life for all. And they’re pouring their hatred, racism, and bigotry. We’ve displayed our civility,” he added.
#AskHamas in figures
- More than 120,000 tweets after two sessions.
- Trending globally at number 4
- Trending number 2 in the United States
- Trending number 5 in the United Kingdom
Hamas: open-mindedness and maturity
Hamas has emerged as open-minded, smart, and savvy. With this skill and savvy in the field of social media, Hamas seems to be extending a hand to all, regardless of the differences. Commentators praised Hamas’s ability to deal with the torrent of pro-Israeli racism and hateful remarks and answer calmly the questions they received.
“We have been receiving tens of thousands of notifications and questions. Our speakers did their best to answer as many questions as time allowed. Despite pro-Israel’s trolls’ failed attempts to hijack the hashtag, we received plenty of constructive questions,” al-Nunu added.
“The whole world saw the bigotry and hatefulness of the occupiers and their supporters. And Hamas showed they are open-minded and mature. Hamas showed they are ready to talk to all and accept all."
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Read Hamas’s leaders’ answers here:
the Hamas official handle https://twitter.com/HamasInfoEn Huda Naim MP, female Hamas leader https://twitter.com/HudanaimMP Rawhi Mushtaha, ex-detainee who spent 25 years in Israeli prisons https://twitter.com/RawhiMushtaha Haneyya tweets on hashtag #AskHamas Sunday evening Ismail Haneyya, Deputy Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau, tweets on Sunday evening on the hashtaq #AskHamas to answer the Europeans’ questions on his Movement’s positions towards various issues. Haneyya’s office called for following Haneyya’s tweets on Tweeter on Sunday from 7-10 pm local time. The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, announced on Thursday an electronic campaign to talk to the West and to answer westerners’ questions on Hamas’s |
positions, and revealed the hashtag of the campaign, #AskHamas.
MP Huda Naim answered in the first day the questions raised on the role of women in Hamas Movement. In the second day, the Hamas leader and ex-detainee Rohi Mushtaha answered the questions on Tweeter.
Deputy Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Hanneya is answering the questions on the third day, whereas an official in Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, will be answering the questions on the fourth day.
Just a few hours after the campaign had commenced, the hashtag hit the highest percentage of international tweets which astonished the Israelis around the globe who started attacking the campaign and trying to distort it in various ways.
MP Huda Naim answered in the first day the questions raised on the role of women in Hamas Movement. In the second day, the Hamas leader and ex-detainee Rohi Mushtaha answered the questions on Tweeter.
Deputy Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Hanneya is answering the questions on the third day, whereas an official in Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, will be answering the questions on the fourth day.
Just a few hours after the campaign had commenced, the hashtag hit the highest percentage of international tweets which astonished the Israelis around the globe who started attacking the campaign and trying to distort it in various ways.
14 mar 2015
Activists, journalists and officials launched a large-scale campaign to fund the construction of a medical complex in Rafah, to the south of Gaza Strip, and created a hashtag for this purpose.
The campaign also included organizing press conferences and various activities in many areas to highlight the medical needs of the province.
The first activity was launched on Friday evening under the hashtag #Rafah_needs_hospital, marking the beginning of a series of activities aimed at realizing the idea of establishing the badly-needed medical complex. A big number of tweets were posted calling for interacting and participating in the activities and shedding light on the desperate need for a central hospital in Rafah.
Activist Abdullah Lafi said, "Residents of Rafah were victims of the Friday massacre during the Israeli aggression on the Strip and literally couldn't find a hospital", pointing to the horrific massacre committed in the Gaza Strip on the first of August during the last war on the Strip, when the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) unleashed intensive gunfire and shelling after the Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin went missing.
The heavy gunfire and shelling led to the killing of about 100 citizens in one day, out of 443 killed in Rafah throughout 51 days of aggression, and the injury of hundreds who haven't received medical treatment due to the lack of a hospital in the area, especially after shelling Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital and isolating Rafah from Khan Younis.
Do justice to Rafah
For his part, Dr. Khalid Abu Nada said: "Do Justice to Rafah, I address all officials…in the government…in the charity institutions…in the national and Islamic forces… Rafah is the only city where there is no hospital; al-Najjar is actually a clinic and not a hospital."
Rafah is located in the southernmost of Gaza, its area is 55 Km2 and its population is about 220 thousand people. It is bound on the west by the Mediterranean, on the east by the 1948-armistice line, and on the south by the Egyptian-Palestinian borders.
Plans are ready
According to Rafah activists, planning for the construction of a medical complex in Rafah started by a committee called Friends of Rafah Medical Complex formed by a number of social figures.
Activist Muhammad al-Sharif said: "The 52-acre ground is ready and so are the engineering plans and the initial perception of the project in accordance with the international standards for healthcare institutions. Moreoever, a founding committee of independent national and Islamic figures is being formed to follow up on the implementation of this governmental project."
The committee said that the project will be handed to the Palestinian Ministry of Health after its implementation.
The committee is headed by Jamal Abu Hashim with Isa al-Nashar as the treasurer in addition to six members.
The ground allocated for the project is located along Abu Bakr al-Siddeek St. in the western area of Rafah, and it can be reached easily as it is not crowded. It provides a possibility for future expansion, the environmental conditions are appropriate with a suitable sea view and the needed infrastructure is available in the area.
The campaign concentrates on funding the hospital, hoping that this project will be adopted by the Qatari grant for the reconstruction of Gaza.
The campaign also included organizing press conferences and various activities in many areas to highlight the medical needs of the province.
The first activity was launched on Friday evening under the hashtag #Rafah_needs_hospital, marking the beginning of a series of activities aimed at realizing the idea of establishing the badly-needed medical complex. A big number of tweets were posted calling for interacting and participating in the activities and shedding light on the desperate need for a central hospital in Rafah.
Activist Abdullah Lafi said, "Residents of Rafah were victims of the Friday massacre during the Israeli aggression on the Strip and literally couldn't find a hospital", pointing to the horrific massacre committed in the Gaza Strip on the first of August during the last war on the Strip, when the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) unleashed intensive gunfire and shelling after the Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin went missing.
The heavy gunfire and shelling led to the killing of about 100 citizens in one day, out of 443 killed in Rafah throughout 51 days of aggression, and the injury of hundreds who haven't received medical treatment due to the lack of a hospital in the area, especially after shelling Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital and isolating Rafah from Khan Younis.
Do justice to Rafah
For his part, Dr. Khalid Abu Nada said: "Do Justice to Rafah, I address all officials…in the government…in the charity institutions…in the national and Islamic forces… Rafah is the only city where there is no hospital; al-Najjar is actually a clinic and not a hospital."
Rafah is located in the southernmost of Gaza, its area is 55 Km2 and its population is about 220 thousand people. It is bound on the west by the Mediterranean, on the east by the 1948-armistice line, and on the south by the Egyptian-Palestinian borders.
Plans are ready
According to Rafah activists, planning for the construction of a medical complex in Rafah started by a committee called Friends of Rafah Medical Complex formed by a number of social figures.
Activist Muhammad al-Sharif said: "The 52-acre ground is ready and so are the engineering plans and the initial perception of the project in accordance with the international standards for healthcare institutions. Moreoever, a founding committee of independent national and Islamic figures is being formed to follow up on the implementation of this governmental project."
The committee said that the project will be handed to the Palestinian Ministry of Health after its implementation.
The committee is headed by Jamal Abu Hashim with Isa al-Nashar as the treasurer in addition to six members.
The ground allocated for the project is located along Abu Bakr al-Siddeek St. in the western area of Rafah, and it can be reached easily as it is not crowded. It provides a possibility for future expansion, the environmental conditions are appropriate with a suitable sea view and the needed infrastructure is available in the area.
The campaign concentrates on funding the hospital, hoping that this project will be adopted by the Qatari grant for the reconstruction of Gaza.
A few hours after the Hamas Movement on Friday launched its online campaign "#AskHamas," which is intended for European audiences, the hashtag has become one of the world's top trending topic on Twitter.
Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu stated that the global interaction with the campaign on its first day reflected that it had achieved the goal it was intended for.
Spokesman Nunu also said that the campaign aims to explain the justice of the Palestinian cause to the world and clarify the truth about Hamas away from Israel's lies and fabrications.
He stressed that the campaign provided the world with a chance to listen directly to Hamas leaders.
At 10 pm last night, the hashtag #AskHamas was ranked fifth as a global trending topic on Twitter and fourth in Britain and second in the US after it passed the 50,000-tweet mark.
Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu stated that the global interaction with the campaign on its first day reflected that it had achieved the goal it was intended for.
Spokesman Nunu also said that the campaign aims to explain the justice of the Palestinian cause to the world and clarify the truth about Hamas away from Israel's lies and fabrications.
He stressed that the campaign provided the world with a chance to listen directly to Hamas leaders.
At 10 pm last night, the hashtag #AskHamas was ranked fifth as a global trending topic on Twitter and fourth in Britain and second in the US after it passed the 50,000-tweet mark.
12 mar 2015
Saudi activists on Thursday created a Twitter hashtag intended for welcoming Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mishaal’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia.
The welcoming initiative has started on Twitter under an Arabic hashtag reading that "the kingdom, its government and people welcome the Hamas leader."
The hashtag was tweeted out more than 9,000 times in less than two hours.
Mishaal is expected to visit Saudi Arabia in response to an official invitation from King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz.
The welcoming initiative has started on Twitter under an Arabic hashtag reading that "the kingdom, its government and people welcome the Hamas leader."
The hashtag was tweeted out more than 9,000 times in less than two hours.
Mishaal is expected to visit Saudi Arabia in response to an official invitation from King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz.
Hamas media coordinator Taher al-Nunu announced the launch of a weeklong interactive campaign starting Friday on social media outlets under the hashtag #AskHamas.
The campaign aims at answering any questions that might be raised by European communities with the approach of the time limit, on March 18, of the EU appeal of an earlier court ruling calling for the removal of Hamas from EU's terrorism list.
Nunu said, in a speech during a media workshop on Thursday, that the campaign would primarily target western audiences, especially in the EU.
“It will send messages reflecting Hamas’s opinions and attitudes towards many issues that concern the western people and demonstrate that Hamas is not a terrorist group”, he explained.
The campaign will highlight the fact that Hamas is a national liberation movement and that the real terrorist is the Israeli occupation, he said.
He pointed out that the campaign will be focused mainly on social media in Question and Answer form in order to reach the largest number of the western people who showed solidarity with the Palestinian just cause.
Through the #AskHamas campaign, Hamas members – including senior leaders – will answer questions by western social media users in order to clarify Hamas's true positions.
He called on social media activists to support the campaign, and described it as a Palestinian national duty.
The campaign aims at answering any questions that might be raised by European communities with the approach of the time limit, on March 18, of the EU appeal of an earlier court ruling calling for the removal of Hamas from EU's terrorism list.
Nunu said, in a speech during a media workshop on Thursday, that the campaign would primarily target western audiences, especially in the EU.
“It will send messages reflecting Hamas’s opinions and attitudes towards many issues that concern the western people and demonstrate that Hamas is not a terrorist group”, he explained.
The campaign will highlight the fact that Hamas is a national liberation movement and that the real terrorist is the Israeli occupation, he said.
He pointed out that the campaign will be focused mainly on social media in Question and Answer form in order to reach the largest number of the western people who showed solidarity with the Palestinian just cause.
Through the #AskHamas campaign, Hamas members – including senior leaders – will answer questions by western social media users in order to clarify Hamas's true positions.
He called on social media activists to support the campaign, and described it as a Palestinian national duty.
8 mar 2015
Tunisian hackers infiltrated the Israeli Yesha Council’s website on Sunday morning, and published pro-Hamas slogans and images taken during the latest Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Identifying themselves as “The True Tunisian Army,” the hackers wrote anti-Israel slogans on the site, such as “Free Palestine,” as well as songs linked to Hamas Movement, Israeli media sources said.
Yigal Dilmoni, Vice-President of the Yesha Council, pointed out that the cyber attack came in response to the website's campaign against the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Identifying themselves as “The True Tunisian Army,” the hackers wrote anti-Israel slogans on the site, such as “Free Palestine,” as well as songs linked to Hamas Movement, Israeli media sources said.
Yigal Dilmoni, Vice-President of the Yesha Council, pointed out that the cyber attack came in response to the website's campaign against the establishment of a Palestinian state.
19 feb 2015
Facebook removes "Shehab" news page
The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate (PJS), on Wednesday, slammed Israel’s arrest of Ala’a al-Titi. Meanwhile, Facebook has removed the page of a Hamas-affiliated news agency.
A protest in solidarity with al-Titi was held in front of Ofer prison, in Israel, according to WAFA correspondence. Secretary General of PJS, Abdul Nasser al-Najjar, condemned the detention of al-Titi almost a month ago, expressing total rejection to the policy of arresting journalists on grounds of their work.
He stressed that Palestinian satellite channels work in line with regulations and laws, and that reporters have a right to practice their job inside the Palestinian territories.
Al-Titi was arrested three times, including the current arrest, under grounds of working for what the Israeli authorities described as a ‘terrorist satellite channel’ (Al Aqsa).
He was arrested on January 21, after Israeli forces brutally raided his home in Aroub refugee camp, to the north of Hebron, according to the Palestinian Information Center.
The center said that Titi’s arrest came only a week after his release from PA jails, where he was detained several times by PA security forces, in addition to spending four years behind Israeli bars.
The Palestinian Authority continues to work in close coordination with Israel, in regard to "security" issues, despite PA President Mahmoud Abbas' threats to dismantle the union.
Head of PJS called upon international and Arab journalist unions to dispatch a letter to the Israeli government, requesting the release of 15 Palestinian journalists currently being detained in Israeli jails.
To be noted, Around 17 journalists were killed and 30 others were wounded during the third Israeli offensive on Gaza in just seven years. Houses of other journalists were also demolished, displacing their families, while several media outlets were targeted and destroyed.
In a related vein, WAFA further reports that the online social networking website "Facebook" has removed the page of the Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency, after its followers had reached about 2.5 million users. Followers of the page have reported their inability to view its content.
Shehab is one of the widely spread social networking groups in the Palestinian territories, and reports daily on news related to the West Bank and Gaza.
Coverage of last summer's assault on the Gaza Strip, by Shehab, was extensive. Numerous photos collected from the page during the offensive, among others, can be seen here. (Please note the following.)
Facebook administration cited "graphic violence" as the reason behind deleting the page.
There have been several moves by Facebook against Palestinian-run pages, citing hate and violence pretexts, although Shehab is hardly central to the vicious political dialog found on many Facebook pages. In March of 2011, Facebook removed a group run by Palestinian activists calling for a third Palestinian uprising.
According to Israeli media, then Minister of Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, Yuli Edelstein, sent a letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, demanding that the page be shut down immediately. The page was later removed, after it had gathered over a million participants.
Up until then, the founders of the group, which was created in the heat of the widely publicized "Arab Spring" revolutions, said that they got the idea for that page from these uprisings, which eventually toppled Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.
The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate (PJS), on Wednesday, slammed Israel’s arrest of Ala’a al-Titi. Meanwhile, Facebook has removed the page of a Hamas-affiliated news agency.
A protest in solidarity with al-Titi was held in front of Ofer prison, in Israel, according to WAFA correspondence. Secretary General of PJS, Abdul Nasser al-Najjar, condemned the detention of al-Titi almost a month ago, expressing total rejection to the policy of arresting journalists on grounds of their work.
He stressed that Palestinian satellite channels work in line with regulations and laws, and that reporters have a right to practice their job inside the Palestinian territories.
Al-Titi was arrested three times, including the current arrest, under grounds of working for what the Israeli authorities described as a ‘terrorist satellite channel’ (Al Aqsa).
He was arrested on January 21, after Israeli forces brutally raided his home in Aroub refugee camp, to the north of Hebron, according to the Palestinian Information Center.
The center said that Titi’s arrest came only a week after his release from PA jails, where he was detained several times by PA security forces, in addition to spending four years behind Israeli bars.
The Palestinian Authority continues to work in close coordination with Israel, in regard to "security" issues, despite PA President Mahmoud Abbas' threats to dismantle the union.
Head of PJS called upon international and Arab journalist unions to dispatch a letter to the Israeli government, requesting the release of 15 Palestinian journalists currently being detained in Israeli jails.
To be noted, Around 17 journalists were killed and 30 others were wounded during the third Israeli offensive on Gaza in just seven years. Houses of other journalists were also demolished, displacing their families, while several media outlets were targeted and destroyed.
In a related vein, WAFA further reports that the online social networking website "Facebook" has removed the page of the Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency, after its followers had reached about 2.5 million users. Followers of the page have reported their inability to view its content.
Shehab is one of the widely spread social networking groups in the Palestinian territories, and reports daily on news related to the West Bank and Gaza.
Coverage of last summer's assault on the Gaza Strip, by Shehab, was extensive. Numerous photos collected from the page during the offensive, among others, can be seen here. (Please note the following.)
Facebook administration cited "graphic violence" as the reason behind deleting the page.
There have been several moves by Facebook against Palestinian-run pages, citing hate and violence pretexts, although Shehab is hardly central to the vicious political dialog found on many Facebook pages. In March of 2011, Facebook removed a group run by Palestinian activists calling for a third Palestinian uprising.
According to Israeli media, then Minister of Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, Yuli Edelstein, sent a letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, demanding that the page be shut down immediately. The page was later removed, after it had gathered over a million participants.
Up until then, the founders of the group, which was created in the heat of the widely publicized "Arab Spring" revolutions, said that they got the idea for that page from these uprisings, which eventually toppled Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.
17 feb 2015
Israeli hackers woking on launching counter cyberattacks
An Israeli newspaper on Monday claimed the armed wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, in the Gaza Strip was behind a spate of recent internet attacks against Israeli websites.
Israel Hayom newspaper said that Israeli experts in cooperation with US security agencies found out that a cell of hackers from Gaza had launched intensive cyberattacks against different Israeli institutions and breached their computer systems.
It added that the hackers managed to obtain sensitive intelligence information from internal networks.
The newspaper also affirmed that other groups from Egypt and Morocco also participated in cyberattacks and data breaches against Israeli targets.
Cyberattacks against Israel started about one year ago and focused on targeting Israeli official and national institutions in retaliation to Israeli violations and war crimes against the Palestinians.
Israel Hayom pointed out that this Israeli-US probe brought back to mind the Israeli military video recordings that had been released by Hamas following the last war in Gaza and prompted the army to launch an investigation into what it described then as leaks.
Hamas had released on its websites video recordings showing two commando operations that had been carried out by its armed wing al-Qassam Brigades inside Israeli military posts.
An Israeli newspaper on Monday claimed the armed wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, in the Gaza Strip was behind a spate of recent internet attacks against Israeli websites.
Israel Hayom newspaper said that Israeli experts in cooperation with US security agencies found out that a cell of hackers from Gaza had launched intensive cyberattacks against different Israeli institutions and breached their computer systems.
It added that the hackers managed to obtain sensitive intelligence information from internal networks.
The newspaper also affirmed that other groups from Egypt and Morocco also participated in cyberattacks and data breaches against Israeli targets.
Cyberattacks against Israel started about one year ago and focused on targeting Israeli official and national institutions in retaliation to Israeli violations and war crimes against the Palestinians.
Israel Hayom pointed out that this Israeli-US probe brought back to mind the Israeli military video recordings that had been released by Hamas following the last war in Gaza and prompted the army to launch an investigation into what it described then as leaks.
Hamas had released on its websites video recordings showing two commando operations that had been carried out by its armed wing al-Qassam Brigades inside Israeli military posts.
29 jan 2015
The families of Palestinian detainees indicted over Facebook posts on Wednesday urged the Red Cross to intervene to follow up the cases of their sons and work on having them released.
In a letter handed to the Red Cross representative in east Jerusalem, the families accused the Israeli authorities of dealing racially and selectively with the Palestinians who post certain remarks or materials on the internet and not taking any legal measure against Jewish settlers who incite against Arabs and call for killing them every day.
The families also complained about the deliberate postponement of the court hearings held for their sons in order to extend their detention.
For his part, the Red Cross representative promised to refer their letter to the department of prisoners' affairs at the agency.
In a letter handed to the Red Cross representative in east Jerusalem, the families accused the Israeli authorities of dealing racially and selectively with the Palestinians who post certain remarks or materials on the internet and not taking any legal measure against Jewish settlers who incite against Arabs and call for killing them every day.
The families also complained about the deliberate postponement of the court hearings held for their sons in order to extend their detention.
For his part, the Red Cross representative promised to refer their letter to the department of prisoners' affairs at the agency.
20 jan 2015
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Ghalya Abu-Rida 74
During the Israeli bombardment and shelling of the Gaza Strip last summer, an Israeli soldier approached a 74-year-old Palestinian woman Ghalya Abu-Rida to give her a sip of water. He gave her the water, took a photo with her and then he shot her in the head from a distance of one metre. He then watched as she bled to death, the Palestine Information Centre reported. This is how Ahmad Qdeh, a journalist in Al-Aqsa TV, described the scene that he witnessed during the latest Israeli aggression. The spokesman of the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, shared the photo of an Israeli soldier holding the water bottle and helping the old woman drink as an example of the “humanity” of the Israeli army towards the civilians in the Gaza Strip. |
The field executions were among the stories Qdeh reported during the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip. He said: “Ghalya Ahmad Abu-Rida lived in the Khuza’a area in the east of Khan Younis city. I live in that area too and I made a television report on her story after the Israeli soldiers executed her during the aggression.”
“During the aggression, an Israeli soldier approached the old woman and took a photo for another soldier while giving her water. They then executed her by shooting her in the head from a distance of one metre and let her bleed until she died,” he added.
Ghalya was born in 1941. She lived by herself in a room near her brothers’ house in the Abu-Rida neighbourhood of Khuza’a. She had no children. Her neighbourhood was one of the first places invaded by the Israeli army during the aggression.
Field Execution
Majed Abu-Rida, Ghalya’s nephew, confirmed to the media that his aunt was visually impaired and could hardly see. He said that the Israeli army had falsely claimed humanity while executing his aunt in cold blood.
Ghalya, with her weak body and white hair, refused to leave her house after the Israeli army ordered the residents of Khuza’a to evacuate. She thought her old age would protect her from being a target so she stayed in her home and refused to join the majority of the residents who left the area as the invasion began.
On 3 August, the Israeli forces announced a truce and allowed medical staff to reach the Khuza’a area. Ghalya was found dead after she bled to death as she was shot in the head near her house, Al-Aqsa TV confirmed to MEMO.
Her brother confirmed that the photo shared by the Israeli army supported the family’s belief that Ghalya was in the hands of the Israeli army. The family also believed that the area in which Ghalya appeared in the photo and in which she was found asserted that the Israeli forces killed her after taking the photo for the media.
Misinformation
Professor of media at the universities of Gaza, Ahmad Al-Farra, said: “The photo the Israeli army spokesman shared is misleading propaganda by the Israeli army to present a humane portrait of its soldiers. It can enhance the opportunity to pursue the Israeli army’s soldiers as war criminals before the International Criminal Court.”
“This photo proves the confusion of the Israeli army spokesman in defending his army. It proves that they killed civilians,” he added.
He continued: “The Israeli occupation lies and misinforms in an attempt to affect international public opinion. It exploits the Arab media and Palestinian diplomacy in exposing the Israeli occupation’s crimes.” He demanded launching a large campaign to expose the Israeli lies and falsifications.
Al-Farra stressed the need for a media enlightenment campaign to go side by side with the field battles to correct the false image that Israel presents about its army and the resistance.
Israel carried out a 51-day war that claimed the lives of around 2,200 Palestinians and wounded around 11,000 others.
“During the aggression, an Israeli soldier approached the old woman and took a photo for another soldier while giving her water. They then executed her by shooting her in the head from a distance of one metre and let her bleed until she died,” he added.
Ghalya was born in 1941. She lived by herself in a room near her brothers’ house in the Abu-Rida neighbourhood of Khuza’a. She had no children. Her neighbourhood was one of the first places invaded by the Israeli army during the aggression.
Field Execution
Majed Abu-Rida, Ghalya’s nephew, confirmed to the media that his aunt was visually impaired and could hardly see. He said that the Israeli army had falsely claimed humanity while executing his aunt in cold blood.
Ghalya, with her weak body and white hair, refused to leave her house after the Israeli army ordered the residents of Khuza’a to evacuate. She thought her old age would protect her from being a target so she stayed in her home and refused to join the majority of the residents who left the area as the invasion began.
On 3 August, the Israeli forces announced a truce and allowed medical staff to reach the Khuza’a area. Ghalya was found dead after she bled to death as she was shot in the head near her house, Al-Aqsa TV confirmed to MEMO.
Her brother confirmed that the photo shared by the Israeli army supported the family’s belief that Ghalya was in the hands of the Israeli army. The family also believed that the area in which Ghalya appeared in the photo and in which she was found asserted that the Israeli forces killed her after taking the photo for the media.
Misinformation
Professor of media at the universities of Gaza, Ahmad Al-Farra, said: “The photo the Israeli army spokesman shared is misleading propaganda by the Israeli army to present a humane portrait of its soldiers. It can enhance the opportunity to pursue the Israeli army’s soldiers as war criminals before the International Criminal Court.”
“This photo proves the confusion of the Israeli army spokesman in defending his army. It proves that they killed civilians,” he added.
He continued: “The Israeli occupation lies and misinforms in an attempt to affect international public opinion. It exploits the Arab media and Palestinian diplomacy in exposing the Israeli occupation’s crimes.” He demanded launching a large campaign to expose the Israeli lies and falsifications.
Al-Farra stressed the need for a media enlightenment campaign to go side by side with the field battles to correct the false image that Israel presents about its army and the resistance.
Israel carried out a 51-day war that claimed the lives of around 2,200 Palestinians and wounded around 11,000 others.
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