erroneous judgment in allowing the possibility of a rock thrown in
killing the girl, when the facts of the case was that there were no
stone throwers in the streets that she was in.
Manu Jewish judges are still not fair enough when it comes to justice
for the Palestinians.
A Jerusalem court on Monday held the state responsible for killing
killing a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in January 2007.
In a civil suit, the court ruled that border guards had either been
negligent or disobeyed orders in shooting Abir Aramin with a rubber
bullet, calling the incident 'totally unjustifiable'.
Israeli soldiers stand guard as Palestinians protest in the West Bank
Israeli soldiers stand guard as Palestinians protest in the West Bank
on May 9, 2010.
Photo by: AP
The judge ruled ordered the government to pay damages to the girl's
family, with the exact amount to be determined later.
Aramin was killed while walking home from school in the West Bank
village of Anata with her sister and two of her friends. They had just
left a shop where they had bought sweets when she was hit in the head
by a rubber bullet.
She was taken to Mukassed Hospital in Jerusalem, where she was
pronounced dead.
Police opened a criminal investigation but later decided against
indicting the border guards who opened fire.
Aramin's family and the human rights organization Yesh Din appealed
the decision in the High Court. But judges there ruled that since it
was possible the girl was killed by a rock thrown by rioters, there
was no basis for a criminal trial.
In Monday's civil ruling, Judge Orit Efal-Gabai dismissed the
possibility that Aramin had been struck by an errant stone,
determining gunfire as the cause of death.
"There is no debate over the conclusion that Abir was injured by a
rubber bullet shot by border guards, which in turn leads to the
conclusion that the shooting of Abir occurred out of negligence, or in
violation of the rules of engagement," Efal-Gabai said.
"We are not talking about injury by shots fired at a crowd of rioters
and rock-throwers, near which a little girl just happened to be
standing,"she said.
"Abir and her friends were walking down a street where there were no
rock-throwers, therefore there was no reason to shoot in their
direction. It is clear that Abir's death, caused by a rubber bullet
shot by border guards, was due to negligence by the defendant."
Aramin's father is one of the founders of Combatants for Peace, a
group of former Israel Defense Forces soldiers and Palestinian gunmen
that tour schools to foster coexistence.
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