From: Palestine Media Center Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2001 1:23 PM Checkpoint Crimes Israeli Soldiers Critically Wound a Palestinian Infant 19 August 2001 Palestine Media Center – PMC http://www.palestine-pmc.com 7 month-old Nour Aldin Odeh is the latest infant shot by the Israeli occupation forces in Nablus. He is one of the many young Palestinian children who have recently fell victim to acts of Israeli aggression. Nour, her mother and her grandmother were on their way home from a doctor’s visit. They had to cross several Israeli military checkpoints in order to reach their home in the village of Baker Al Hatab, 15 km from Nablus. Halfway to their destination, Israeli occupation forces at the Surrah military checkpoint prohibited them from going any further. According to the mother, Ni’meh Odeh, “The soldiers were not allowing anyone to cross the checkpoint and enter the village, so we waited near the checkpoint. The soldiers began to throw tear gas towards us and our taxi retreated.” She added, “We waited at a safe distance and then our taxi returned to the checkpoint. Suddenly, the soldiers were shooting live bullets towards us.” “The soldiers opened fire without provocation and they could clearly see the passengers inside the taxi,” added the taxi driver Jaber Ishtaya, who was standing next to his taxi and could clearly see three of the soldiers involved in the shooting. The bullets penetrated the car. 7 month-old Nour, who was in her mother’s lap in the backseat of the taxi, was shot repeatedly. Nour was transported to the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus where doctors preformed emergency surgery in an attempt to remove the bullets and save him. Dr. Sameer Abu Za’rour, the doctor who operated on Nour, reported finding “three M16 rifle bullets in the baby’s lower abdomen.” Residents of the villages surrounding Nablus city must walk at least 3 km on rugged mountain roads in order to reach this checkpoint and any available transportation needed to cross. According to Ishtaya, “Sometimes soldiers let us pass, sometimes they fire tear gas or sound bombs. This time they used live ammunition and it is certainly a miracle that the bullets which wounded the baby were not fatal.”
