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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Police: Teen Negev gunwoman planned to avenge IsraelŽs Gaza op |
| 2009-04-05 |
| [Haaretz Defense] The Israel Police revealed late Saturday that they had found in the notebooks of 15-year-old Basma Awad al-Nabari, the 9th grader who was killed during a foiled shooting attack at a Border Police base in the Negev, writing indicating that she had planned to avenge Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. Al-Nabari, a Bedouin girl from a nearby village, had opened fire on a Border Police barracks at Shoket Junction in the south. The girl arrived at Shoket Junction shortly before 2 P.M. and walked toward the main gate of the base. When she tried to fire on the sentry from a distance of a few meters, he turned the barrel away and escaped the bullets. She then ran away and took cover, while the sentry and another officer who had arrived at the scene tried to persuade her to turn herself in. When the brief negotiation failed, another gun battle ensued, at the end of which the officer shot the attacker dead. According to investigators, police found letters among the attacker's books in which she had written that she wanted to become a Shahid, or martyr, and that the aim of the shooting was to avenge the offenses committed by Israel's security establishment against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Investigators were looking to determine whether the girl acted alone, or whether some organization stood behind the incident, which would have provided training, support and equipment. The police findings contradicted the claims of Al-Nabari's family, who argued that the girl had been shot for no reason. Ali al-Nabari, the attacker's cousin, said following the incident that "it couldn't be. The police is lying and exaggerating. Maybe she was there to make a complaint and got mixed-up." "The person manning the base gate thinks that anyone wearing a kaffiyeh is a terrorist," the cousin continued. "His friends shot her for no reason. She is involved in a program for exceptional students and active in social projects. It isn't logical that someone could have influenced her. She is in school from the morning until the afternoon and she comes straight home from there. There is no internet, or anything else. Maybe the police made up the gun." Other family members also had trouble believing the reports. "This is a false claim by the police," said a family member who asked to remain anonymous. "They are looking to cover up their actions. This could not have been a terror attack." "This was a special and kind child," added another family member. "Why didn't they show the gun on television? They only filmed her bag. They killed her accidentally and we intend to fight this to the end. We will hire lawyers and petition the courts until everyone knows the truth." Police Commissioner David Cohen held a makeshift press conference at the scene of the attack, in which he urged the public to remain alert. "This is the third time in a month someone attempts policemen's lives," Cohen said. "In this case as well, police reacted swiftly and efficiently. I'm calling on the public to be alert and inform police about every suspicious occurrence." |
| Posted by:Fred |