Ramallah lynching
The term Ramallah lynching refers to the murder of Israeli reservists Vadim Nurzhitz and Yossi Avrahami by a Palestinian mob on October 12, 2000 in the Palestinian- controlled city of Ramallah in the West Bank . The cruelty of the incident, which was filmed by an Italian television crew, caused international horror. The incident occurred at the beginning of the Second Intifada and exacerbated the violent clashes between Palestinians and Israelis .
Course of events
On October 12, 2000, the two reservists who were working as drivers were arrested by police officers from the Palestinian Authority after apparently taking a wrong turn on a road and accidentally driving into Ramallah. They were first taken to the nearby police station and interrogated there. Meanwhile, rumors were spreading in Ramallah that the arrested Israelis were undercover agents of the Israeli army. An angry crowd of more than 1,000 men then marched outside the police station. According to eyewitness reports, some security forces tried to hold the crowd back, but about a dozen men armed with knives and metal bars eventually stormed the police station, where they stabbed, beat, and tore out their eyes and internal organs. A police officer participated in the murder. After a short time one of the murderers went to the window of the police station and showed his blood-smeared hands to the crowd outside, who cheered him. An Italian television team at the scene of the crime was able to film how the lifeless body of one of the two soldiers was thrown out of the window of the police station and a group of men standing outside immediately continued beating and kicking the dead man. The other soldier's body was set on fire and dragged through the streets. A British photographer on the scene said he tried to take pictures of the incident, but some of the men threatened him and smashed his camera. In his report a few days later he wrote:
“This was the worst I've ever seen, and I've covered the Congo, Kosovo and many other bad places. [...] I know they [the Palestinians] are not all like them and I am a very forgiving person, but I will never forget this. It was a murder of the most barbaric kind. When I think about it, I see the man's head, all shattered. I know I'll have nightmares until the end of my life. "
During the incident, Palestinian police attempted to capture filming and photos of the attack from journalists. The bodies of the two dead soldiers were handed in to a checkpoint of the Israeli army after a few hours.
Reaction of Israel
The incident shocked the Israeli public and weakened confidence in the peace process , especially among left-wing Israelis . Prime Minister Ehud Barak described the attack as "very serious" and canceled all appointments. A government spokesman blamed the Palestinian Authority for the attack. Shortly afterwards, Israeli attack helicopters fired at targets of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip , including two police stations, a military headquarters, a radio station and buildings near Yasser Arafat's government seat . According to Palestinian sources, 27 people were injured. A few days later, Israeli forces arrested several Palestinians who were suspected of having been involved in the murder.
Palestinian Authority Response
A Palestinian statement described the attack as "deplorable" but "caused by Israeli behavior and the crimes of the settlers". Israel has been accused of "declaring war" on the Palestinians by retaliatory attacks. In addition, the suspicion was again expressed that the soldiers killed were undercover units. Towards evening the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat declared: “We are strong. Nothing will stop our march on Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/969778.stm BBC News October 13, 2000 - Lynch mob's brutal attack
- ^ ZDF reporter: Mob in Ramallah dragged a burning corpse across the street ( Memento from December 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) RP online October 12, 2000
- ↑ http://www.zeit.de/2000/43/Der_Krieg_rueckt_naeher Die ZEIT 43/2000 - The war is approaching
- ↑ a b http://www.focus.de/politik/ausland/nahost-auge-um-auge-wahn-um-wahn_aid_187298.html FOCUS Magazin, No. 32 (2000)
- ↑ http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/former-pa-cop-convicted-in-lynch-of-idf-reservists-1.98380 Haaretz August 27, 2003 - Former PA cop convicted in lynch of IDF reservists
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U5-IVKe5QI Youtube - Film recordings of the lynching in Ramallah on the Israeli broadcaster Channel 2
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: The Sunday Telegraph - October 15, 2000
- ↑ a b c http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1370229/A-day-of-rage-revenge-and-bloodshed.html Daily Telegraph October 13, 2000 - A day of rage, revenge and bloodshed
- ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/leftwing-have-their-faith-in-peace-blown-away-635262.html The Independent, October 13, 2000 - Left- wing have their faith in peace blown away
- ↑ Because of lynching: Israel arrests suspected Palestinians. In: Spiegel Online . October 18, 2000, accessed June 10, 2018 .