As violence spikes, the killing of an unarmed Palestinian mother highlights awful toll of occupation

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In the well-appointed house in the West Bank village of Husan, members of Ghada Sabateen’s family welcomed a stream of mourners with bleary eyes.

Sabateen, a 47-year-old widow, mother of six and math teacher, died from her wounds after being shot in the legs by Israeli forces near a temporary military checkpoint in the village on Sunday after the Israeli army said she didn’t heed verbal warnings and ran toward them as they fired warning shots in the air. She was unarmed, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
But Sabateen was mostly blind, her family said. They believe she ran towards the soldiers because she got confused and panicked after the warning shots. Her children, including 14-year-old Jamila, say she was a woman “full of love and kindness” who always tried to stay out of conflict.

Her six children, who range from 11 to 22 years old, looked dumbfounded as they sat in the formal living room of their grandparents’ house, their family members speaking through tears.

Similar scenes of families mourning a loved one lost to this cycle of violence gripping Israel and the West Bank have taken place in Israeli homes, just a few dozen miles away, after 11 civilians and three uniformed security officers were killed in a wave of attacks, including a mass shooting last week at a busy bar in the center of Tel Aviv.

After those attacks, Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank increased as forces conducted raids they said were connected to the attacks or aimed at preventing future ones. The atmosphere has been incredibly charged. Since Sunday, at least four Palestinians and one Israeli were shot dead by Israeli forces. In all but Sabateen’s case, the Israeli military said soldiers opened fire in response to violent acts. In one of the cases, a woman stabbed a border police officer; in another, a man threw Molotov cocktails at cars, the army said.
Sabateen’s family said that after she was shot it took at least 15 minutes before anyone was allowed to approach her. By the time she reached the hospital, she had died from blood loss, Sabateen’s aunt said. The Israeli military said its soldiers followed protocol for a person acting suspiciously and gave initial medical aid. Video from the scene shows a soldier working on Sabateen, her body shielded by pieces of cardboard for modesty reasons, the IDF said. The IDF said it is investigating the incident.

“When I saw the video of her getting shot I felt emptiness, I felt that my soul left me, I wished it was me,” Ghada’s son Mansour told CNN.
Representatives of the European Union and United Nations have condemned Sabateen’s killing. The EU’s delegation to the Palestinians said in a tweet “Such excessive use of lethal force against an unarmed civilian is unacceptable.”
Sabateen’s family said it wants the soldier, or soldiers, who pulled the trigger to be held responsible.
“I felt very angry when I saw the video, I do not know where to go with all this anger,” Ghada’s 20-year-old son Mohammed said.
It’s hard to pinpoint a trigger point for this latest wave of violence. Israeli officials say the attacks are “lone wolf” actions, without any grand organizations behind them. That makes them harder to prevent.

And though Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the attacks on Israeli civilians, he remains under pressure, not least from the United States, to withdraw financial support for the families of people who carry out attacks.

Sabateen’s family said that after she was shot it took at least 15 minutes before anyone was allowed to approach her. By the time she reached the hospital, she had died from blood loss, Sabateen’s aunt said. The Israeli military said its soldiers followed protocol for a person acting suspiciously and gave initial medical aid. Video from the scene shows a soldier working on Sabateen, her body shielded by pieces of cardboard for modesty reasons, the IDF said. The IDF said it is investigating the incident.

“When I saw the video of her getting shot I felt emptiness, I felt that my soul left me, I wished it was me,” Ghada’s son Mansour told CNN.

Representatives of the European Union and United Nations have condemned Sabateen’s killing. The EU’s delegation to the Palestinians said in a tweet “Such excessive use of lethal force against an unarmed civilian is unacceptable.”

Sabateen’s family said it wants the soldier, or soldiers, who pulled the trigger to be held responsible.

“I felt very angry when I saw the video, I do not know where to go with all this anger,” Ghada’s 20-year-old son Mohammed said.
It’s hard to pinpoint a trigger point for this latest wave of violence. Israeli officials say the attacks are “lone wolf” actions, without any grand organizations behind them. That makes them harder to prevent.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/13/middleeast