Israeli Guards Shoot Disabled Palestinian
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:38 am
Israeli soldiers and a firefighter examine a fire started by an incendiary device launched from the Gaza Strip, on the Israeli side of the border between Israel and Gaza, near Kibbutz Netiv Ha'asara, Aug. 12, 2020.
Security guards shot a Palestinian man in the legs Monday at the Qalandiya checkpoint near Jerusalem after the man failed to respond to the guards’ orders to stop, according to an account in the Jerusalem Post.
The Post said the man apparently had a “hearing and speech impairment.” Border guards helped the man get medical attention.
Michael Zats, an advocate for reforming the way security forces treat people with disabilities, told Army Radio, "Security forces don't always know how to internalize the person in front of them and don't identify the nuances."
Zats said there are a number of cases demonstrating that public spaces can be “threatening for people with disabilities.”
The Joint List and Meretz said the shooting of the disabled man is part of the pattern of "the daily violation of the rights of the Palestinians."