Mustafa Barghouthi calls on the International Community to break the silence on the daily Israeli crimes

Ramallah, 31-07-08: Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, the General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, strongly condemns the crime perpetrated yesterday by the Israeli occupation forces in the town of Ni’lin where soldiers shot at close range with heavy metallic bullets covered by rubber on the 19 year-old man Yusuf Ahmed Amira. He was hit by two bullets in his head, which penetrated the brain and caused severe irreversible brain damage, and he is now in the hospital in a clinical death.

The so called rubber bullets can be lethal if shot from close range, which has frequently been the case in Ni’lin and other places where Palestinians engage in peaceful non-violent resistance. On at least 6 other occasions the Israeli army used high velocity bullets, which resulted in the death of a 10 year old child on Tuesday 29 July.

The shooting happened while the man was peacefully demonstrating against the confiscation of Ni’lin land by the apartheid Wall.

Barghouthi highlighted that the heinous crime committed by the OIF took place right after the funeral of Ahmad Yusef Mousa -the 10-year old boy who was killed on Tuesday- the same day when nine other citizens from Ni’lin were injured.

The Deputy added “This last incident shows once more that Israel is continuing its repression policy on our people in total impunity because of the silence of the international community. It is clear that the Israeli army tries to hit the Palestinian non-violent resistance, and to push and provoke Palestinians to use violence. They will not succeed with this."