How’s this for “driving while Arab?” Now, keep in mind that for the first day or so that this story was reported in Israel, the driver was a terrorist attempting to kill police officers:
A motorist from East Jerusalem who ran over and wounded several Border Police officers Friday was shot twice in the face from close range while still lying on the ground, eyewitnesses said. Neighborhood witnesses said the fatal shots were fired once the officers no longer had reason to fear that their lives were in danger, and could have easily arrested the suspect.
Witnesses in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz told Haaretz that the motorist, Ziad Jilani, suddenly swerved his car and hit the group of officers walking further up the road. They said, however, that they believed the collision was an accident, and not committed intentionally as initially reported.
…Around 2 P.M. Friday, Jilani was driving his van home from prayers in nearby Shoafat…A number of other officers were deployed around the area, and several started making their way toward Jerusalem’s Old City. Jilani’s car was traveling in tightly packed, slow-moving traffic with no oncoming vehicles.
The neighborhood soon filled up with people returning from Friday prayers, and some stores were already being opened. Two eyewitnesses said stones were hurled at the officers, one of which struck Jilani’s car. He then swerved his car left, they said, veering from its lane and striking the group of policemen.
Shots were heard immediately, another witness told Haaretz, and one of the officers fell to the ground. Two policemen tended to him until an ambulance arrived, and the other officers got in their vehicles and began pursuing Jilani, who had continued driving after the collision, and shooting at his car.
Another witness said that he had not seen stones thrown, but rather believed Jilani had tried to overtake the vehicles in front of him. Several other witnesses said the windshield of Jilani’s car had been shattered, but were unsure if the damage had been caused by a bullet or a stone.
Jilani turned his vehicle into a dead-end alley where his uncle lives, and the officers continued pursuing his vehicle and shooting.
A mother and her adult daughter present at the scene saw the man emerge from his car. The daughter told Haaretz, “I was further down the alley, and I heard shots … I saw a car driving, followed by many police officers. The car stopped right next to me, and someone got out. I saw him next to the car door, and he looked at me with an expression I didn’t really understand, but I will never forget.
“There was shooting and I started to scream,” the woman continued. “My mother ran toward me and threw me to the ground. Everything happened within seconds. I realized he wasn’t walking normally, and saw the shattered windshield of the car, maybe from a stone. He ran until he fell over,” she said…
“He got out of the car, and they came after him. Not just one of them shot, but many of them, and then they started yelling in Hebrew for people to go back into their homes,” the daughter said.
Both women said they saw Jilani lying on his stomach with several officers gathered around him, and the daughter said one of the policemen kicked him in the head. The mother said she saw an officer point his rifle extremely close to Jilani’s head, and when she put her head down to the asphalt she heard a shot ring out.
That’s the notorious Israeli “kill shot”many have written about which is normally used in counter-terror operations and regular IDF patrols when soldiers are commanded to execute wounded Palestinians.
Here’s the Border Police’s non-response response:
A Border Police spokesman, Chief Superintendent Moshe Pinchi, did not comment on the questions posed to him by Haaretz. In his response, Pinchi wrote, “Individuals have been killed and dozens wounded in vehicle attacks in Jerusalem between 2008 and 2009 … All of those attacks were committed by East Jerusalem residents, and in each case those close to the perpetrators described the incidents as ‘accidents.’
“Four Border Police officers were wounded in this last incident in Wadi Joz and hospitalized for treatment, and only by a miracle were fatalities avoided,” he said.
Not a word about the execution. Also, no proof provided that any of the incidents reported by him were proven to be terror attacks. The assumption, as always with the Border Police, is that any Arab is a likely terrorist and any Arab driving a car has a lethal weapon and is willing to use it. The Border Police have a well-deserved reputation among Israelis for extreme brutality against Palestinians.
Now, the Police are attempting to question Jilani’s widow, who is a U.S. citizen in an attempt to prove he had terror motives. This is appalling. Why don’t they investigate the policeman who executed Jilani?
All I can say is thank God we have Amira Hass reporting stories like this. Without her, we’d know next to nothing about what really goes on in the Territories.
richard,
there was a terror attack on police this past sunday that killed one
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3904693,00.html
it was even condemned by abbas
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3905212,00.html
and im sorry, but the witness reports dont pass the smell test
he struck the officers but kept on driving? why? hit and run is much more serious than a simple accident.
not only that, but this la times blog gives a totally different story
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/06/israel-family-of-palestinian-driver-killed-by-police-demands-investigation.html
so…did he drive into an alley, or an open area?
and where is the coroner report, which would confirm where he was shot and in what position the shooting came from
of course there should be an investigation…all officer related shootings need to be investigated
but i like to wait till the investigation is complete before condemnation
Did you bother to even read the article. There are 2 perfectly plausible reasons mentioned why the accident occurred. Do me a favor & read the article before you talk. It’s just a waste of time if you don’t do yr homework.
You like to wait for Israeli investigations which ALWAYS exonerate the officer? Do you understand you’re dealing with the Border Police & not NYPD or wherever you live???
This kind of thing happens to Palestinians all the time, but it takes an Israeli journalist to bring it to the public’s attention.
Would they have shot an Israeli driver for an alleged hit and run? That’s the real question here, uncle joe.
That’s very likely.
Maybe in your imagination.
richard,
did you bother to read the post that i left that gives a different story (not the officer’s view)
in that version, he didnt go into an alley, he ended up in an open area
but in both versions, he drove from the scene of the accident…not a capital offense, but when you strike an officer with a vehicle, the vehicle is then considered a deadly weapon and the officer is allowed to use deadly force
and yes, i like to wait for the official reports
there have been incidents like this in the states, which is why most highway patrol and troopers now have their cars outfitted with camera’s on the dash.
maybe the pd’s in israel should do the same
and you shouldnt use nypd as an example….few years back, a bunch of officers were exonerated from shooting a driver who was leaving a club….they all insisted he tried to assault them with the car…witnesses stated just the opposite
many tried to say the shooting was racial, as the driver was black….problem was, so were a few of the officers
yes…things like this happen all the time in a democracy
In the NYPD incident, the driver wasn’t executed point blank range after being down on the ground and wounded. The NY driver was shot while driving his vehicle at the officers who felt their lives were in danger. Try again. Maybe yr luck will improve.
An officer is NOT allowed to execute a suspect no matter what has preceeded the incident.
They probably have it all recorded but of course they won’t show it. FYI the videos from most of the stores around the area were confiscated by the policemen. The ones that were salvaged were from somebody that was up the hill with a perfect view and several cell phone footages from the people around the area. The truth shall come out but mark my words, they will indicate that that soldier was crazy to get him off the hook. But this was not just a one policeman act, the whole group that was with him and did nothing have to pay too…..
Although I usually try to err on the side of “free speech”, I’m in favor of banning a ‘screen name’ (not the individual) like “unclejoemccarthy”. The 1950’s witch-hunts and blacklists were one of the uglier periods in this country’s history. Someone should not be allowed to use a screen name to legitimize Joe McCarthy’s tactics. Frankly, I feel a bit ill whenever I even see the name Joe McCarthy.
P.S. If someone wants to say something substantive in support of Joe McCarthy and his minions (not just use the ‘screen name’), I certainly have no problem with that.
I told the guy I hated his screen name & found it insulting & in poor taste. It’s practically imbecilic. But if he thinks it’s witty & wants readers here to think he’s a moron, who am I to stand in his path?
Just FYI we are launching a full investigation to show the true brutality my brother faced. Pictures and videos will show the whole thing. Just to clarify, and please read the details, my brother was shot in his car initially as soon as allegedly his hit a policeman. The police started firing at him and did not ask him to stop. When he realized he has been shot at of course he is going to keep driving to avoid more bullets. He was already shot in the arm and some say belly when he got to the little alley where my uncle lives and started to walk limping toward my uncle’s house. He only walked a few steps where he was shot again and fell to the ground. Witnesses and footage show that he was face down on the floor with his arms up showing that he was surrendering. But that was not enough, one outraged policeman came close and kicked my brother in the head and aimed the gun on his head and shot him twice in the head and another in the body. The shots in the head have 2 entrance wounds and 2 exit wounds and I have nightmares from seeing those pictures.you can tell they are close range since the exit wounds took most of his left side of the head. And since you are in doubt Mr I would like you to see these horrific pictures so you would not be able to sleep either. My nieces and my sister in law could not see him and could not say goodbye due to the disfigurment of his face. I wish I could post these pictures here for you so you can see but I would be more than happy to send it to you if you provide your e-mail.
Richard, are you aware that the masada site is not only back up but they have you featured as the evil joker in the pack of playing cards?
I’m delighted to hear it. I love to be hated by scum like Victor Vancier.
Your comment was off topic & violates my comment rules. Don’t do this again.
“That’s the notorious Israeli “kill shot”many have written about which is normally used in counter-terror operations and regular IDF patrols when soldiers are commanded to execute wounded Palestinians.”
How can this kind of murderous behavior ever be justified?
The look that the Palestinian teenager described broke my heart. How many Palestinians have that look on their face as they are about to be murdered by Israel?
Let’s hope that Israel doesn’t decide to use one of those kill shots on Amira Haas, I fear for people like her. Such courage in a cesspool of hate and injustice.
One of these days, high-quality, unambiguous video of one of these events is going to hit the web.
It’s happened to the LAPD several times, it probably only has to happen to the Israeli police once.
Webcams accessed from another country, do not need to be brave.