The making of a Palestinian martyr
JNS.orgDec 13, 2022
The Israeli army acknowledged on Monday that its troops shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian girl during a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday, stating that she was killed by "unintentional" fire "aimed at armed gunmen."
This admission comes as the family of deceased Jana Madji Zakarneh decided to allow for an autopsy to be conducted before burying her body, which was found covered in blood on the roof of her family's house after suffering four bullet wounds.
This killing comes as tragic collateral damage to Israel's defensive war against Palestinian terrorists despite its best efforts to avoid civilian casualties. Though the international community should be questioning why a young girl would respond to the noise of gunfire by rushing to the rooftop and standing next to an armed terrorist, the UN Special Envoy Gamba is likely to twist this incident to use it as propaganda against Israel.
Zakarneh was killed in another deliberate and criminal act against Palestinian children, becoming the latest victim of the failure of the international community to hold Israeli occupation forces and settler militias accountable for their escalating crimes. It's about time for the UN Secretary-General to put this regime on its global list of shame for crimes against children.
The quick admission of this tragedy is about public relations rather than a legal issue. It does not exclude the possibility that the Israeli probe will retract it later, as happened in the al-Durrah case. Following the Abu Akleh case earlier this year, it has become clear to Tel Aviv that accepting responsibility quickly is necessary to avoid negative media coverage.
There's a 55% chance that there will be an Israel-Hezbollah war by 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.