Now a sniper has killed a Palestinian nurse, we know why Israel’s military deleted that tweet

IDF solider and Palestinian nurse
Support us and go ad-free

An Israeli sniper killed a 21-year-old Palestinian nurse on 1 June. Now, it seems even clearer why Israel’s military deleted a tweet earlier this year. The army wrote that it “know where every bullet landed”, while tackling protestors. But it looks like the bullet that killed Razan al-Najjar could represent a war crime.

Killing protestors

For two months, Palestinians have been protesting the conditions in occupied Gaza where less than 4% of water is drinkable. The Great March of Return rallies also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Israel, when  750,000 Arabs were forced out of Palestine. Israel has responded with force, killing at least 121 Palestinians and wounding over 12,000 since 30 March.

War crimes?

A witness told Reuters that medic al-Najjar was running to help a wounded person when Israeli forces killed her. The young woman was wearing a white uniform and “raised her hands high in a clear way, but Israeli soldiers fired and she was hit in the chest”, according to the witness.

Under the Geneva Convention, it’s a war crime to harm unarmed medics with distinctive identification signs. With killings like al-Najjar’s, it’s no wonder the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) thought again about the impression its tweet gave:

In response to the killing of al-Najjar, the IDF said it was looking into the report. The military also claimed that soldiers were acting “in accordance with the rules of engagement”.

But the young Palestinian is far from the only medic shot by the IDF. In a single day in May, Israeli forces injured 18 “clearly marked” paramedics with live fire. Of those 18, the IDF killed Mousa Jaber Abu Hassanein.

Israeli soldiers are killing medics, journalists and protestors with apparent impunity. So it seems clear why the military wants to maintain some ambiguity. That tweet gave the impression that soldiers are acting in line with orders from above. It had to go.

Get Involved!

– Support the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Also find out more about the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. And see previous Canary articles on Israel.

– Appreciate the work we do at The Canary? Please consider supporting us

Featured image via IDF – Wikimedia and screengrab

Support us and go ad-free

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us

Comments are closed