Four months ago, Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana was killed by the Israeli army. He was 23.
A tank - stationed 1 mile away - ONE MILE - decided he and his tripod camera looked threatening, and shelled him - with illegal weapons (know as flechette shells) which is basically a shell that releases 5000 metal darts that went through the boy, killing him along with 14 bystanders, 7 of which are children below the age of 18.
The last thing Fadel's camera taped, before being hit, was the shell arriving onto him. It's chilling. Below is the Reuters video report.
It took the Israelis 4 months to come up with a cooked-up investigation and a cute soundbite for the press release: "It was justified". "Reasonable conclusion" that the camera was a weapon (one mile away, on top of a press car. Right).
Reuters' mildly upset "Factbox: Death of Reuters Gaza cameraman" is a good - but wimpish - description of the events. Wimpish, because it shyly, sheepishly disagrees with the conclusions of the Israeli army, and says that Fadel followed the safety procedures. (the fact that he was wearing a bulletproof vest is actually mentioned by the Israelis as a reason for doubting him since bulletproof vests are worn by "Palestinian terrorists". Fantastic logic. If you wear a vest, you're automatically a terrorist.)
It ends the report by
"Reuters is examining options for legal action and is seeking urgent consultations in Israel to address journalists safety."
"Reuters is examining options for legal action and is seeking urgent consultations in Israel to address journalists safety."
I wonder if the cameraman had been Dutch or American - if they would still be sitting there and 'examining legal options'. Probably not.
Or, maybe they would, yeah. The impunity of the Israeli army in these situations -- "yeah, we killed an innocent guy. Bite me" always dazzles me.
5 comments:
Two words: Rachel Corrie.
Right. The main difference, howevr, is that no one will give a damn about Fadel Shana: he was, after all, just a Palestinian.
No plays will be written telling his story. No yearly commemorations. We will never know what his parents look or sound like, or what their political thoughts are.
He was, after all, just a Palestinian.
Sorry, I was actually arguing that no one gave a damn about Rachel Corrie. There may have been plays and commemorations, but little by way of repurcussion.
Two more words: José Couso.
He was, after all, just a Spaniard.
The "reasonable conclusion" was exactly the same: the camera was a weapon. Even if he was standing in the Palestina Hotel, in Bagdad, where all the international reporters were hosted.
Again, it's the amazing impunity of the Israeli army in ALL situations...
Well they are allowed to get away with it so such "Mistakes" will never cease. They have a license to kill
Post a Comment