Haaretz reports in their article "Palestinian killed in suspected East Jerusalem terror attack":
A Palestinian driver was shot and killed in Jerusalem Friday after running over two Israeli border patrolmen, with an apparent intent to kill.
The man reportedly hit two the two policemen in East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi al-Joz, with reported light injuries sustained by both victims.
According to police officials, the driver drove on a short distance, and then proceeding to flee the scene on foot. Police officers called on the suspect to stop, and opened fire at him once it was clear he had ignored their instructions.
Open and shut case, right? Not so fast. One of the notable features of the media coverage of the flotilla attack (at least online) has been an unwillingness to take the Israeli account at their word. Will this positive trend continue with other examples of Israeli violence towards Palestinians? This story presents an interesting opportunity.
Ziad Al-Julani
First off, the driver has a name, Ziad Al-Julani (pictured right). He was 41 years old and a father to three girls pictured here. A report on Ma'an says he was a "a tradesman living in East Jerusalem's Shu'fat neighborhood." Al-Julani was killed at a temporary Israeli checkpoint that was set up in East Jerusalem following friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
A friend of Al-Julani's, who alerted us to the story, wrote us:
Ziad Jilani was a very family oriented man, a loving husband and a devoted father. No one who knew him believes that he intentionally tried to hit the border police at the checkpoint. I heard that a stone hit his car and caused him to swerve, starting the whole horrific chain of events. I don't know the whole story, but his wife told me that before her husband left the house that morning, they had discussed taking the kids out someplace fun that afternoon. This was no premeditated attack.
The Palestinian press is working on uncovering the story, Ma'an talks with eyewitnesses:
Sa’d Hamed As-Silwadi, from Silwan and the father of a child injured during the shoot-out, told the center he parked his car beside a butchery and saw Al-Julani driving toward the Al-Hadmi neighborhood in Wadi Joz, where he was killed.
He said he saw Al-Julani get out of his vehicle when he was first shot by Israeli forces. A relative of Al-Julani tried to help him, As-Silwadi said, but was kicked by Israeli forces. As-Silwadi returned to his vehicle to find his five-year-old child with a rubber bullet wound to the neck and head, and rushed him the Maqased Hospital on the Mount of Olives.
Ahmad Qutteneh told the center he saw Al-Julani running from four members of Israel's Special Forces, approaching him and opening fire at close range. "Then I saw one of them come near him and shoot him in the face and body," Qutteneh told the center.
Palestine Monitor helps round out the story a bit, and presents a situation where Israeli soldiers could have overreacted while under pressure from Palestinian protests:
A shopkeeper on the main street said he saw Israeli soldiers chasing ten people were shouting about the recent flotilla massacre prior to the arrival of Al-Julani’s vehicle. “Look, it’s every Friday like that. It’s normal. The people and the army are like Tom and Jerry,” said the shopkeeper, who identified himself solely as Ahmed. “But when they shot, I didn’t know what’s going on.” Ahmed speculated that the vehicle was malfunctioning, claiming out that the prevalence of Palestinian residents in the street would prevent the driver from attempting to harm Israeli forces there.
All reports confirm that Al-Julani was killed at point blank range. His friend who contacted us said, "From what I understand, Ziad fell to the ground and the police walked up to him and fired point blank into the side of his face and body. I was told the bullets left a mark in the cement under his body." The Ma'an report adds, "Others told the center the shooter was seen 'dancing beside the body singing and cheering 'I killed an Arab, I killed an Arab'.'"
In the past, many would accept a story from the Israeli press about soldiers killing a Palestinian "terrorist" at face value. Is this still true after the flotilla?
Another life ruined.
Not just a life. A family. Scarred and fractured forever.
In the past, many would accept a story from the Israeli press about soldiers killing a Palestinian “terrorist” at face value. Is this still true after the flotilla?
Of course this will pass by without incident. He has already been labeled a terrorist by the military. The IDF has been declared the defensive army in the report when it claims that it warned the ‘fleeing’ terrorist. If the mainstream media even picks up on the story, these statements will form the bulk of the details (probably with some Hamas/Hezbollah ties thrown into the mix for good measure if the media inquires). Perhaps a few details from the Palestinian account will find their way into a select few reports, but of course they will require microscopic investigation into the articles.
Horowitz, have you been reading the news from Palestine compiled by Seham, posted on this very site?
This could very well be one of the items on the list.
As for the IDF murderer singing and dancing by the corpse, are we learning something about the Israelis we didn’t know before?
“are we learning something about the Israelis we didn’t know before?”
No. We already knew they are a bunch of murdering arseholes.
Israel delenda est.
Another war crime by israelis. They get away with it because they own america.
Image Orwell’s 1984 was not fiction, but history, and at the same time, imagine the nazis won WW2. Then put the two nightmares together.
now now, let’s not be nihilistic. boys will be boys. mistakes were made. The guards have every right to defend themselves.
Another one “shot while attempting to escape.”
Israeli hasbara lost track completely. In recent years they were used to report a “drop weapon” to justify their deliberate killings. Seems they think it’s not needed anymore to tell such tales.
Evidently Ziad was executed by Israeli police.
Israel needs to be reigned in. This cannot go on.
How many more families is Israel going to destroy?
Israelis do not value human life, unless it’s Jewish life. It’s time for Jews of conscience around the world to speak up against this monstrosity, against this lunatic entity. Make your voices heard, for if you don’t you are complicit in these crimes.
They don’t even value that. Look how many Jews were killed by Zionist Militias and The “IDF” Border Police et-al. Only certain ones matter, and Arab life barely at all.
Time to slam the cyber-door shut on the Israelis. Phil should proudly advertise Mondoweiss as “an Israel-free site” in accordance with principles of BDS.
We should try to get as many websites as possible worldwide closed to the Israelis. Let the bastard scum build their own internet.
Israelis OUT.
Such a ban could be easily subverted by the use of a proxy.
And it is counter-productive to the site’s mission of promoting dialogue.
We don’t engage the Ku Klux Klan in a dialogue. We don’t engage the Nazi party in a dialogue. It is immoral to even propose a dialogue with the Israelis. They are a disease to be combatted. Nothing more.
sherbrsi,
Please don’t take this the wrong way, I’m just really upset right now and the photo of Ziad’s daughters breaks my heart.
The so-called dialog has been going on too long. Israel is not interested in dialog. To say so is to dilute one’s self. Dialog implies that both parties are interested in an equitable resolution. Israel is not interested in dialog, it is merely interested in wiping out every Palestinian. I am actually amazed at the Palestinians’ patience and restraint in dealing with this sick-to-the-core entity called Israel.
Israel is an abomination.
I agree 100% with everything you said.
I probably have a lower opinion of the Israelis as you do, for I am absolutely disgusted that their “moderates” that can do nothing but claim victimhood while continually electing governments that push the demeaning occupation, the racist settlers and the never ending ethnic cleansing. That is to say nothing of their Zionist brethren in America funding and supporting those very activities, pushing for the next proxy war against some other Middle Eastern state.
The reason that I am against banning Israeli IPs is because
A) It simply won’t work. It is trivial to use a proxy and access a banned website.
B) It will only undermine the crucial and important work of the authors of this site. There aren’t many prominent bloggers or journalists speaking the voice of this community, and doing the stated act of prohibiting Israelis will only be used as further giving credence to their victimhood ideology, and be used as ammunition for allegations of anti-semitism.
And, to make it clear, as much as I am supportive of open dialogue, I also realize that this website wouldn’t be suffering from a loss in any quality posts from Israeli contributors (if wondering jew is to be used as an example), if such a ban were to be instated.
But as I expressed, this hasty move is going to be cynically exploited by a group that has refined to perfection the art of PR, and is going to inevitably use it as a way to sideline and ostracize the vital contributions of Weiss and Horowitz to the discussion of this conflict.
I understand you are upset. So am I. But I can’t find myself shocked or angered on this incident, for its nothing new for Israel. But it’s eventual cover up and justification is sure to further lower my view of Israel and its supporters even more.
One can only hope that if Weiss and Horowitz continue documenting the truth in these incidents on this blog, more people will get to see the depravity of the Zionist project.
Maybe you’re right, sherbrsi. Hell–I have absolutely no clue anymore what is to be done. So much of the movement’s efforts have been aimed at getting the US to change its position. I have to admit, on learning of the killings aboard the Mavi Marmara, amidst the rage and disgust, some part of me felt–almost giddy. Surely things MUST change now. The US simply won’t be able to allow something like this to pass without punishment. US citizens in a humanitarian aid convoy, butchered in international
waters?!? Not even Israel can get away with something that brazen!
Wrong. Completely dead wrong. In fact, when a rumor surfaced that the US might request an independent investigation of this outrage, Obama went out of his way to make clear that nothing could be further from the truth.
Blind an American art student in a non-violent protest and this is allowed to pass, without a word from our government? This is completely beyond belief.
I thought after everything, I was unshockable. I’m shocked. I think these events radically alter the terms and change what we can ever reasonably expect from the US government. If they are so determinedly against us, where do we turn? Where is there any credible hope?
Today when I hear people talk about one state or two states, it sounds to me like beggars arguing about whether to buy a Maserati or a Lambourgini. I don’t see the Palestinians getting anything. Why should they wind up with one or the other? Who can bring that about?
“And it is counter-productive to the site’s mission of promoting dialogue.”
“Dialogue”?!! With Zionists?!!…vsxewlkqwerfvaxwtf!
Did you try to have a dialogue with a Jehovah witness or a member of any other cult?
According to Haaretz, Ziad “[ran] over two Israeli border patrolmen, with an apparent intent to kill,” and the two Israelis suffered “light injuries.” “Light injuries,” I suspect, means no injuries at all. Even in the unlikely event that there were actual light injuries, how does one get run over by a car and suffer only light injuries? And how would one infer an intent to kill from such an event? What will happen next time a Palestinian motorist encounters Israeli border guards? Chances are, he’ll panic and run, thereby “proving” he’s a terrorist who intends to kill and deserves to die. As long as Israel allows it’s police and army to kill with impunity, they will continue to do so. As long as influential people believe their idiotic explanations, or at least pretend to, they will keep coming.
Even in the unlikely event that there were actual light injuries, how does one get run over by a car and suffer only light injuries?
David,
Although the original Haaretz article in Hebrew was shamefully biased (immediately calling it a “terrorist attack in E. Jerusalem”), the “run over” bit is simply a mistranslation. In Hebrew there is no difference between “hit” and “run over” (both expressed by the verb “daras”). When I read the story and saw the “lightly injured” part, I immediately understood the verb was used in the former sense, and that the entire story was extremely fishy. The Palestinian version of events is far more consistent with the actual account – even as published in Haaretz. Another clue that the police are lying is the standard formula: “correct arrest procedure was followed, first calling to the suspect to stop, firing warning shots in the air, etc.”
Even if the police story is given far more credit than it deserves, Jews are not shot for hit and run in Israel – certainly not when the victims injuries are “light” (non-existent?). Plate numbers are taken and an investigation is opened. For a Palestinian however, it can be a capital offence, without trial.
Thanks, Adam. What a terrible tragedy – what a terrible crime.
For a Palestinian however, it can be a capital offence, without trial.
There was a trial. He ran away. That was his admission of guilt, and his murder the subsequent execution.
That’s how the only democracy in the Middle East operates.
A very handsome face. May he rest in peace.
They shot him when he was running and didn’t obey a command? Border Police who are renowned as the scum of the earth or Special-Forces? Does anyone doubt these people will be getting their asses kicked in a big way when facing a well armed dedicated fighting cadre. Nobody likes a bully.
Never EVER believe ANYTHING Israel says or claims. It should be a law! Without the lies Israel wouldn’t have come to exist in the first place. It wouldn’t have survived all those years and by the same token it will not survive with lies..That’s why they lie with a bold face, through their teeth, eye in the eye, brazenly and unashamedly.
“by the same token it will not survive with lies”
Without lies..
Not lies. An alternative perspective.
To see how it works, here is an example using the Gulf of Mexico oil blowout.
link to henrymakow.com
I hate to agree with the stream of negativity in the comments on this post, but it simply can’t be rationally denied that Israeli officialdom deceive and lie like they breathe.
I have been working on another story which I am pleased Alternet picked up:
link to alternet.org
This is a story about piggy backing on (what I believe to be) a maritime accident in order to create an incident for geopolitical advantage.
Reading this story about Ziad Al-Julani makes me wonder how many accidents or even crimes are used in similar manner by the Israelis. It must be so easy once the “terrorist” meme is established, to take the everyday tragic occurrences and attribute them to “terrorism”.
@Brewer
You are absolutely right, it’s very easy to do so when having enough infuence on media and as long as the public eats it.
History has proven, that false flag attacks were always part of zionist strategy. Just to name a few well known zionist false flag ops:
1924: Jaacov Jisroel DeHaan
1950: Baghdad bombings
1954: Operation Suzannah
1967: USS Liberty
And here are some more, which smell a lot like zionist false flags and require further investigation:
1984: AMIA bombing
1984: Israeli Embassy Attack in London
2005: Rafiq al-Hariri
And, of course, the mother of all attacks: 9/11
‘By Way Of Deception, Thou Shalt Do War’
Did a piece on the AIMA bombing years ago:
“In an interview last May James Cheek, Clinton’s Ambassador to Argentina at the time of the bombing, told me (Gareth Porter), “To my knowledge, there was never any real evidence [of Iranian responsibility]. They never came up with anything.” The hottest lead in the case, he recalled, was an Iranian defector named Manoucher Moatamer, who “supposedly had all this information.” But Moatamer turned out to be only a dissatisfied low-ranking official without the knowledge of government decision-making that he had claimed. “We finally decided that he wasn’t credible,” Cheek recalled. Ron Goddard, then deputy chief of the US Mission in Buenos Aires, confirmed Cheek’s account. He recalled that investigators found nothing linking Iran to the bombing. “The whole Iran thing seemed kind of flimsy,” Goddard said.”
link to brewerstroupe.blogspot.com
Meanwhile back at the ranch: I’ve just returned from the village of Beit Ummar in the southern West Bank, north of Hebron, where I spent a couple of days. Three Palestinians from this village have been run over and killed during the last few years by Israeli settlers while they were walking on the side of the road. A number of others have been seriously injured including a young man and friend of the family I was staying with. An elderly woman was killed a week ago and her husband seriously injured by settlers as they walked on the road.
Of course the Israelis argue they were just “accidents”. This is only one small village I’m talking about. While I don’t think that the settlers set out on a premeditated trip to deliberately kill these villagers for the most part, I have no doubt that they really don’t care and don’t take any precautions and sometimes wish to frighten and injure Palestinians such is there contempt for them.
They are also very well aware they will get away with it. Arab life is cheap to them. And on the other hand Israelis know very well that should they just assume that a Palestinian could be possibly thinking about raising a finger to them, they can claim “self-defence” and kill with impunity.
their not there
Why is there no edit function on Mondoweiss?
Cosine that!
You just watch yourself so I can introduce you to me wealthy friend…Hanover Fist. Seriously be careful.
Please how many times have we seen Palestinian terrorists trying to run over Israelis with cars.
Its amazing the hate you people have for Israelis defending themselves.
It’s amazing how you justify Jewish supremacy and the murder of innocent Palestinians over and over, by those fanatic fascist settlers.
It’s even more amazing how you can continue to lie over and over again and justify Israeli terrorism and murder w/ the stale (and refuted) ‘self-defense’ meme.
Have you no shame? The border police which is well known for it’s racism and brutality murders a father of three girls and this is what you have to say? I don’t know if you deserve contempt or pity.
I wish my brother in law could have defended himself – but he had no gun. Nothing to defend himself from the bullets they pumelled into him – 2 in his face at point blank range.
It would help if individuals would recognize that it is not just that Israel is going wrong, but that it is inherently a murderous colonial state, which has a skewed foundation. The only activity that an entity like this can produce is non-stop atrocities, in every aspect of its activity. Thinking that you can just “adjust” something here and there to make lasting change is delusional, it is as delusional as thinking you can change the USA by various reforms.
i want to share your optimism, but those sources have always been a better source than any of the MSM. the only thing that keeps ‘western’ outlets from parroting the official israeli military/gov’t line is that they never covered the story at all. if you mean actively engaged citizens that care about these events, then yeah; i think anyone on the fence is slowly coming down on the side of the palestinians and israeli peace activists. i hope, anyway.
in regards to this and the other threads about the media, who in the MSM might start showing spine and so forth, i’d recommend the Russia Today channel. i recently switched cable providers and started checking out other news options and it’s insane how much better they are than the US cable news outlets. example: norman finkelstein debating benny morris for 30 minutes with one commercial break. seen that on dylan ratigan’s show lately? just a suggestion for anyone in the d.c. area.