Israeli authorities continue to harass 17 year old Naeem Muhammad al-Banna, 10 months after his arrest by Israeli police. Al-Banna was arrested in September 2009 following the shooting of Wadi Hilweh popular committee member Ahmed Qaraeen and Silwan youth Ameer Farrukh by an Israeli settler. The settler, armed with the standard Israeli army-issue M-16 assault rifle, had shot 40 year old Qaraeen twice in the legs then shot at Ameer who was close to the scene on his bicycle.
In the court case that followed, the Israeli prosecution closed the file on the grounds of insufficient evidence, resulting in the release of the settler only a week after the incident. While the settler and Israeli authorities have claimed that the attack was initiated in “self defence”, several residents who witnessed the attack have confirmed that the settler shot Qaraeen first in his right leg, then moved forward several steps and turned to shoot Farrukh riding his bicycle nearby. It was at this point the settler turned back to shoot at Qaraeen once again, this time hitting him in his left leg. Said Qaraeen, who was seriously wounded from the attack: “If the settler was in some way in danger, how had he enough time to aim with such accuracy that he hit me once in each leg?”
Ahmed Qaraeen speaking in an interview with the BBC
The resulting anxiety and frustration that swept through the neighborhood culminated in youth of Wadi Hilweh throwing rocks at the Israeli “City of David” settler project , whose aggressive digging practices have lead to the collapse of Wadi Hilweh’s main street. During the incident a Canadian tourist visiting the site was injured. Israeli police arrested Naeem al-Banna later that day on suspicion of involvement in the injury, despite the fact that al-Banna was not present in the neighborhood while the events of the day unfolded. Police also arrested a number of Palestinian youth the following week once the settler responsible for the shooting of Qaraeen and Farrukh had been released.
The arrest of al-Banna was made on the strength of “evidence” extracted from a Palestinian girl under intense pressure from Israeli police during interrogation. The girl reported later that her own fear of being placed under arrest had lead her to make statements during the investigation that have no grounding in reality – a common occurence during Israeli interrogations of this nature. The tourist injured during the incident was also unable to recognize al-Banna when questioned, leading the judge to finally declare al-Banna innocent after his 45-day detention and 6 months of house arrest.
Despite the court’s decision to release al-Banna, he was stopped a few days ago by Israeli soldiers at the Anataa checkpoint, with soldiers claiming that he is still registered on their security files as a detainee under house arrest.
Said al-Banna: “How a country that claims such technological advancements can make such mistakes is incredible. One wonders what would happen if they made such an error with a young Jewish resident of Jerusalem! The authorities’ failure in carrying out their duties would surely attract the attention and criticism of the media and Israeli public.”
Naeem el-Banna, 17
