'Why they kill my children?'

[Praxius]

After he was evacuated from Gaza Strip, Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu Al-Aish, a Palestinian doctor who trained in Israel, partially seen top, bursts into tears as one of his daughters is brought in Tel Hashomer hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel, late Friday. Abu Al-Aish, has been a regular fixture on Israeli television during the 21-day-old war against Hamas militants, bringing witness accounts of the medical crisis facing Gazans to Israeli living rooms.

Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, right, a Palestinian doctor and peace activist who trained in Israel and became a regular fixture on Israeli television, shows his emotion as he says goodbye to an unidentified woman, just before traveling to Israel with his children at the Erez crossing, in the northern Gaza strip on Wednesday. Three of his daughters and a niece were killed by an Israeli shell which struck his house, and he returned to Gaza Wednesday to collect his remaining children.

Palestinian doctor bound for Canada wants Israel to explain deaths of 3 daughters, niece in bombing
'Why they kill my children?' - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Canada-bound Gaza doctor who recounted live on Israeli television how his three daughters and niece had just been killed by shelling demanded Wednesday that Israel’s defence minister explain their deaths.

Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, a 55-year-old gynecologist who had accepted a post at the University of Toronto, sobbed as he reported the deaths shortly after an Israeli shell struck his home in the northern town of Jebaliya on Friday. His account captivated viewers on Israel’s Channel 10 TV.

The well-known peace activist who was involved in promoting joint Israeli-Palestinian projects returned Wednesday to inspect his destroyed Gaza home and to reunite with his five surviving children. His wife died recently of cancer.

"I was well known to the Israelis even more than the Palestinians. They know me. Why they kill my children?" he sobbed in an interview Wednesday as he looked at pictures of his dead daughters amid the rubble in his home.

He said he wanted to meet with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak to hear firsthand why his children were killed.

"I want him to have the courage, to have the concern to meet me to tell me why, without falsification," he told Associated Press Television. "I’ll be proud that my children were the symbol of this war — that their blood wasn’t futile. That it awakened the concern of some, not the majority, of Israelis."

CBC News reported this week that Abu al-Aish had been planning to take his family and start fresh in Canada after his wife’s death.

"I was sitting there with them, planning, because I got an offer in Canada, at the University of Toronto," he told the network.

Abu al-Aish is an academic who studied the effects of war on Gaza and Israeli children and he works at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital.

Gaza officials identified his slain daughters as 22-year-old Bisan, 15-year-old Mayer and 14-year-old Aya. His niece was identified as 14-year-old Nour Abu al-Aish.

Two other daughters were wounded and were taken to Israeli hospitals for treatment. Israeli TV said initial reports indicated that a sniper had fired from either the family’s building — which friends quoted in the report said they doubted — or nearby, and Israeli forces responded with a tank shell. The Israeli military is investigating the case.

Abu al-Aish also attacked the international community for turning a blind eye to Gaza.

"Maybe this massacre will be the triggering factor to wake them up," he said. "I will continue in the same way that I believe in humanity, with Palestinians and Israelis."

I would have added this to the other various Gaza/Israeli threads, but this seemed to fit in it's own seperate thread considering the situation of him being well known within Israel itself and his plans of heading to Canada with his children.

That, and there's a crap load of Obama threads going on at the moment, so I figured I'd balance them out a bit

Do you feel that something decent might actually materialize from all of this? Will he get a chance to speak to the Israeli Defense Minister? Will this situation finally start to put a human face to this whole ordeal to the point where some in the world might actually start to give a damn?

 

[Diarygirl]

What a sad world ....why is there so much sorrow caused by hatred, greed, violence, righteousness, anger, and damnation?? Whatever will become of the future?? So many people are affected by all the inhumane decisions of others!

 

[GreenFish66]

Sad and meaningless....

 

[CDNBear]

Awww, "why they kill my children"...because you voted for and then tolerated the actions of, a group of thugs.

Suck it up buttercup, you sow, so shall ye reep.

 

[Mulk]

Awww, "why they kill my children"...because you voted for and then tolerated the actions of, a group of thugs.

Suck it up buttercup, you sow, so shall ye reep.

Well isn't that nice. Have your kids blown to bits and see if you "suck it up buttercup". Now, I don't blame Isreal for going into Gaza, you sir are an ass.

 

[CDNBear]

Well isn't that nice. Have your kids blown to bits and see if you "suck it up buttercup". Now, I don't blame Isreal for going into Gaza, you sir are an ass.

My guess is you missed the point, reread it and try again. I'll give you that, seeing as you're Karrie's friend.

 

[karrie]

I don't get it either Bear... this guy was, according to the article, a peace activist working between the two. What 'support' was he giving one other the other?

 

[Mulk]

Bear,

I read your post and I know which point you are trying to make. Did it ever cross your mind that not all of the Palestinians are guilty of voting for and tolerating these thugs, these terrorists? I agree with Israel on going into Gaza, and even understand the collateral damage that ultimately comes with an operation of this type, but to say to a grieving father to "suck it up buttercup" when his family has been shredded.... cmon!

 

[thomaska]

Bear,

I read your post and I know which point you are trying to make. Did it ever cross your mind that not all of the Palestinians are guilty of voting for and tolerating these thugs, these terrorists? I agree with Israel on going into Gaza, and even understand the collateral damage that ultimately comes with an operation of this type, but to say to a grieving father to "suck it up buttercup" when his family has been shredded.... cmon!

If the "freedom fighters" wouldn't launch rockets, mortars and missiles from areas inhabited by children and other civilians..this would never happen. But Hamas counts on pics of dead kids as much as they do on their rockets...don't they?

 

[Mulk]

If the "freedom fighters" wouldn't launch rockets, mortars and missiles from areas inhabited by children and other civilians..this would never happen. But Hamas counts on pics of dead kids as much as they do on their rockets...don't they?

Absolutely, Hamas is Evil. I just don't ever think the grief of these parents can be brushed off so easily.

 

[Zzarchov]

I think its sad, but lets think on this.

He decided to stay living in a warzone run by armed gunmen intent on engaging in a conflict (righteous or not) when he had the option to leave and take his kids with him.

Rightly or wrongly (and don't get me wrong, in many ways I would do the same) he decided his nationalism was more important than his families safety.

He played the odds and lost. I feel less bad for him than I do any who had no option to leave and take their family to safety.

In his case, it was more important his children be Palestinian than safe. I never plan on having children, so I can't say if I'd do the same thing if Canada was a hellhole about to explode. But I'd have no right to complain if I did.

 

[lone wolf]

So ... all the Jews who didn't want to leave their homes or couldn't get out of Europe were at fault for their own fates, eh? Thanks for clearing that up....

 

[Scott Free]

Life is a lottery. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose.

No one knows if they are lucky until their death. This man isn't the first to be broken on fortunes wheel nor will he be the last. It is a sad and tragic thing he is going through.

 

[Spade]

Awww, "why they kill my children"...because you voted for and then tolerated the actions of, a group of thugs.

Suck it up buttercup, you sow, so shall ye reep.

A dispicably stupid comment!

 

[Cannuck]

'Why they kill my children?'

Because idiots shoot at each other and people get in the way. It happened before. It will happen again.

 

[Niflmir]

Mostly because they don't care, that is the "collateral damage", I guess.

The answer lies in the fact that some people believe killing 5+ innocents is justifiable if you kill one guilty person who killed one other person. Now those people were innocent, so someone has to answer for their deaths. Rinse, repeat.

Its like a children't fight. They hit me, so I will hit them back.

 

[Praxius]

Awww, "why they kill my children"...because you voted for and then tolerated the actions of, a group of thugs.

Suck it up buttercup, you sow, so shall ye reep.

I don't get it either Bear... this guy was, according to the article, a peace activist working between the two. What 'support' was he giving one other the other?

Exactly...... the guy was trying to work on project that involved both sides, he, and probably a good chunk of the population never voted for Hamas, but as it goes... majority rules..... so does that mean everybody should suffer and die for the actions of some, not all?

No matter what the excuses are for starting a war, or fighting in a war, or whatever, there is no excuse whatsoever for targeting and attacking civilians or areas where you damn well know civilians are hold up.

If you have the enemy taking advantage of that area and trying to use civilians as shields (which has yet to be even proven..... I'm really sure the UN would allow Hamas to use their compounds for attack) there are many other ways of solving the problem without shelling the entire area without regard.

You can blame the enemy all you want for doing what they were doing, but you killed the civilians with your weapons and actions, you are just as responsible.

I think its sad, but lets think on this.

He decided to stay living in a warzone run by armed gunmen intent on engaging in a conflict (righteous or not) when he had the option to leave and take his kids with him.

Which he was doing before this war broke out.... he had an opportunity to come to Canada and take his family with him.... then Israel locked it all down and blew it all up along with his children.

Rightly or wrongly (and don't get me wrong, in many ways I would do the same) he decided his nationalism was more important than his families safety.

He played the odds and lost. I feel less bad for him than I do any who had no option to leave and take their family to safety.

The problem here is that he didn't have an opportunity until it was too late. If I had no chance of leaving the area and was stuck there, I'd try and make the best of it as well and try and help out until I could leave..... he then had a chance, he was getting ready to leave.... now this.

Apparently he's still on his way here...... we're not hearing stories of him having piles of opportunities thrown at him and him refusing them.... he was trying, and that's the unfortunate part as I see it.

In his case, it was more important his children be Palestinian than safe. I never plan on having children, so I can't say if I'd do the same thing if Canada was a hellhole about to explode. But I'd have no right to complain if I did.

I don't believe you read the article all the way through, as it's not as simple as that.

So ... all the Jews who didn't want to leave their homes or couldn't get out of Europe were at fault for their own fates, eh? Thanks for clearing that up....

Fair point.

 

[Zzarchov]

So ... all the Jews who didn't want to leave their homes or couldn't get out of Europe were at fault for their own fates, eh? Thanks for clearing that up....

Well. now you seem to have no read anything I wrote now did you? Perhaps an apology is in order wolf?

I believe I specifically mentioned that I feel worse for those who couldn't leave. As for those in Europe who knew what was going to go down but chose not to leave even if they were able (though that a small number, alot of laws were put in place to keep them from leaving) did something stupid in terms of their families safety.

I'll eagerly await the apology I know you'll never give.

@Praxius:

I've been following his story for awhile now, he does alot of work with the BBC and there are several articles by him both before, during and after this event.

 

[lone wolf]

Well. now you seem to have no read anything I wrote now did you? Perhaps an apology is in order wolf?

I believe I specifically mentioned that I feel worse for those who couldn't leave. As for those in Europe who knew what was going to go down but chose not to leave even if they were able (though that a small number, alot of laws were put in place to keep them from leaving) did something stupid in terms of their families safety.

I'll eagerly await the apology I know you'll never give.

@Praxius:

I've been following his story for awhile now, he does alot of work with the BBC and there are several articles by him both before, during and after this event.

Apology? Are you saying I don't feel empathy for European Jews? I interpreted the way you do Zz. Sucks when a point has two ends, eh?

 

[Zzarchov]

Apology? Are you saying I don't feel empathy for European Jews? I interpreted the way you do Zz. Sucks when a point has two ends, eh?

Not at all, im saying you attributed a view to me I do not hold by not fully reading the post I made.

You gave the claim that I felt the European Jewry who could not leave were somehow at fault for what happened.

I said that those who could not leave were not at fault in any situation. I did say that those who could have sent their family to safety but did not for nationalistic reasons (or any reason really) put those other reasons (nationalism, pride, dignity) above their families safety, and thats not a good thing.