Israeli officer cleared in Palestinian girl's death Reuters via Khaleej Times 15 November 2005 http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2005/November/middleeast_November441.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
JERUSALEM - An Israeli army captain accused of riddling with bullets the body of a 13-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza after she was shot by his troops was cleared by a court on Tuesday of any wrongdoing, the army said. The officer, identified only as Captain R., acknowledged firing two shots from close range into Iman Al Hams after she had been hit, but denied allegations from some of his men that he then sprayed her with gunfire from head to toe. He was charged a year ago with conduct unbecoming an officer and illegally firing a weapon in the death of Iman Al Hams. Hams was shot some 20 times on Oct. 5, 2004, near an army outpost on her way to school in Rafah, a town on Gaza's border with Egypt that has seen frequent violence during a 5-year-old Palestinian uprising. Senior officers said the soldiers opened fire because they believed she was carrying a bomb or had been sent by militants to lure them out so they could be picked off by snipers. No bomb was found and the girl's family denied she was acting on behalf of militants. "The officer was found innocent of all charges," an army spokesman said, giving no further details. The Palestinian Authority condemned the verdict as racist. Israeli media reports said the military court found discrepancies in the testimony of troops from the outpost and that one witness had withdrawn his allegations, saying Captain R. had been unpopular and his men had lied in a bid to oust him. "I am delighted. There was only one accurate version from the start -- and that was my own, and I'm glad that is what the court found," the officer told reporters after his acquittal. His lawyer said during the trial that Captain R. had delivered a coup de grace in keeping with the military practice of firing into the bodies of combatants to ensure they presented no further danger, but did not continue shooting. The girl's brother, Ehab Al Hams, 26, accused the army of a whitewash. "We have never expected to be dealt with fairly by the Israeli judiciary system," he told Reuters. The Palestinian Authority issued a statement saying the ruling would only "encourage occupation soldiers to practice cold-blooded killing". http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2005/November/middleeast_November441.xml§ion=middleeast&col= ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
