This 31 December 2010 post about Israeli settlers setting fire to a Palestinian tent as a family slept inside it needs amending as some of the account has turned out to be wrong.
We said then that seven people were sleeping in the tent when it was set on fire on 29 December. The post was based on a press release and supplemented with accounts taken from two Susiya villagers who live in close proximity to where the incident took place. Since then we’ve seen an account that was taken from the family whose property was burned. We have learned that in the early morning hours of 28 December 2010, settlers set fire to a kitchen in Susiya village. The Villages Group, who spoke directly with the family affected, reports that three members of a family awoke to find that two kitchen tents, adjacent to their sleeping quarters, had been set ablaze. The remainder of the details and the analysis in the original post remain the same.
To be clear: the date, type of tent burned, and number of people in the tent have changed. The incident occurred on the 28th not on the 29th, two kitchen tents were burned rather than tents where people were sleeping, and three people were sleeping adjacent to the tent that burned, not seven. Note that the details are different but the crux of the incident remains the same: under the cover of night a group of thugs intentionally set fire to part of a Palestinian family’s dwelling.
We feel the need to correct ourselves because Israeli authorities that investigate incidents of violence against Palestinians will use any inconsistency in Palestinian accounts to allow settlers to avoid prosecution, or even investigation. The system is already grossly slanted in settlers’ favor, so great diligence is required on the part of Palestinians and solidarity activists to eliminate any reasons for Israeli authorities to dismiss their claims.
Samuel Nichols works with Christian Peacemakers Teams. His blog is Do Unto Others.
