Here's Why These Palestinians Protected An Israeli Policewoman
"For me a person is a person. A life of a person is important."
Katie SolaBritish American covering breaking and viral news
Posted: 08/07/2015 06:37 PM EDT | Edited: 08/07/2015 07:57 PM EDT
Two Palestinian men protect a cowering Israeli policewoman in a photo showing a gesture of humanism. But protecting her from what?
This striking photo went viral with the assumption that the men were shielding the officer from
stones thrown by Israeli settlers. A report from the man pictured on the left suggests a more complicated situation.
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Terrified Israeli policewoman protected by Palestinians while pelted by rocks from settlers. (Picture: Shaul Golan.)
Israeli photographer Shaul Golan reportedly took the photo near the Israeli settlement of Aish Kodesh and the
Palestinian village of Kusra. The United Nations considers the area occupied territory, under Palestinian civilian control.
The man on the left is Zakaria Sadah, a Palestinian field worker for
Rabbis for Human Rights. The organization said in a statement that
religious Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian farmers on their way to their fields on Saturday.
Tensions remain high between settlers and Palestinians following last month's
death of a Palestinian toddler in an arson attack.
Israeli police moved to arrest Palestinians after settlers claimed they'd thrown stones at them. In the confrontation that followed, police used
stun guns, and the
Palestinians threw rocks.
The policewoman shown in the photo was caught in the middle, according to the account Sadah gave to Rabbis for Human Rights. She froze, and started to cry. As an Israeli soldier raised his gun toward Palestinians to protect the police officer, Sadah stepped in, along with the mayor of Kusra.
They shouted, "Don't shoot!" at the soldiers, and walked the officer to the safety of the Israeli troops.
"Zakaria may very well have saved Palestinian lives, as another police officer was preparing to shoot," Rabbis for Human Rights said in a statement.
“I don’t care what people say or do. For me a person is a person. A life of a person is important,"
Sadah told The Blaze.
Here's Why These Palestinians Protected An Israeli Policewoman
Wow the police were ready to shoot the Palestinians for trying to develop their own land just coz israeli SETTLERS had complained - not to forget they had no business on that land but came to pick a fight clearly!
Lets see how the israelis tell their people:
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO
14 Comments 03 August 2015
The following photo of RHR Palestinian field worker Zakaria Sadah (blue checkered shirt) went “viral” and was shared widely online (mostly Hebrew) without proper context or understanding. This situation has resulted in the vilification of our worker by settlers and some Palestinians. Please see below for the story and video behind the photo.
This photo was taken when
settlers had been attempting to prevent Palestinians of the village Kusra from working their agricultural lands. A settler accused a Palestinian of throwing stones, and the police attempted to make arrests of Palestinians and began using a taser gun. The Palestinians began throwing stones and the female officer froze and remained crying between the two sides after the Israeli security forces had moved. Believing she was in danger, another Israeli officer prepared to shoot at Palestinians. Zakaria shouted “don’t shoot” and he and the mayor of Kusra escorted the policewoman back to the other Israeli security forces.
The incident has resulted in trouble for Zakaria who is being vilified by settlers who know his name, and by other Palestinians who only saw him returning the officer without knowing the full context. Zakaria was also injured when trying to flee from the settlers.
Additional thoughts and details on the event from Rabbi Ascherman, president and senior rabbi of RHR:
The bottom line is that, while settlers are calling this an intentional publicity stunt, and some Palestinians are angry with Zakaria and the Kusra mayor for having helped an Israeli policewoman (the residents of Kusra and the hundreds of additional Palestinians he has helped are not angry with him), the fact is that Zakaria may very well have saved Palestinian lives, as another police officer was preparing to shoot.
Zakaria is a one person command center, who is often the first person to get a call when something happens. He is hated by settlers in the area for having foiled many attempts to attack, threaten, invade and trespass.
On this particular day, he was with reporters in Duma (where he had also been the first to arrive early last Friday morning, and helped evacuate the wounded.), when he received the call to come quickly to Kusra because Israelis had descended from the Esh Kodesh outpost and were trying to prevent Palestinians from developing land in Area B by shouting and standing in front of the equipment. Although the army now acknowledges that this is Area B, where they have no authority to stop land development, when Zakaria arrived, the army seemed to be siding with the Israelis. In another video posted on ynet, you see a settler claiming that Palestinians had thrown stones at him. Just before the portion of the video above, you see a police officer speaking with the Israelis. This officer than comes over, and attempts here to arrest Palestinians. Quickly he starts using a taser, and then the Palestinains DO start throwing stones. The frightened policewoman froze, began to cry, and got caught in between the Palestinians on one side, and the security forces and Israeli citizens on the other. She wasn’t hurt, but rocks were falling near her from one side, and tear gas and stun grenades from the other. Sensing that she was in danger, the police officer in a t-shirt who we see later extending his hand to take the policewoman, prepared to shoot at Palestinians. You can then hear Zakaria shouting “Don’t shoot,don’t shoot” You then see Zakaria and the Kusra mayor escorting the policewoman and the other officer extending his hand to draw her to him.
I don’t have words to express my admiration for Zakaria. He is a Palestinian patriot who not only possibly saved Palestinian lives, but also exemplified the first principle of human rights – human beings come before ideologies and conflicts, and certainly before stereotypes and hatred.
The story behind the photo - Rabbis for Human Rights
Carole Hawkins @hawkins_carole
