Israeli army accused of West Bank 'shoot to cripple' campaign

Increase in number of young Palestinians suffering disabling leg injuries, with many victims blaming commander known as 'Captain Nidal'

Mahmoud was shot in December but says he is yet to receive proper treatment in the West Bank (MEE)

Sheren Khalel-Lily Leach--Friday 2 September 2016 

DHEISHA REFUGEE CAMP, Occupied West Bank - Mahmoud limps into his family living room, bandages wrapped around his left leg from knee to ankle. He sits down, puts aside his crutches and lays out his phone, a pack of cigarettes, two rolls of bandages and some painkillers on the table.

Although Mahmoud was shot in December, doctors in the occupied West Bank have not been able to properly treat the open wound beneath the bandages.

“The pain never stopped,” Mahmoud said from his home in Dheisha refugee camp. “For the past nine months I have barely left the house, just for doctors appointments. But now the doctors here say they can’t help me.”

Is the Israeli army deliberately crippling teens?

Mahmoud’s story has been repeated across the Bethlehem district, where at least 83 Palestinian youths have been shot by Israeli forces since the start of the year. At least 30 of the 83 were shot in Dheisha during Israeli raids: most were shot in the legs or knees, according to a new report released by BADIL Resource Center.

In the report, BADIL said that the occupied West Bank, particularly Bethlehem, had seen an increase in the “systematic targeting of Palestinians” with regard to injuries since the start of the year.

The Israeli army’s rules of engagement are vague, although it is frequently reported that minimum use of force is required to “neutralise” a situation - which could refer to wounding or lethal force.

However, what that means in the field has become a topic of heated debate, as Israeli forces continue to be the target of international condemnation for their unwarranted use of live-fire, which often causes permanent injuries and death.

Israeli forces fire tear gas at protesters in Dheisheh camp in December 2015 (Musa al-Shaer/AFP)

In response to a request for comment regarding when use of force is warranted with intention to injure, an Israeli army spokesperson said Israeli forces have “clear rules of engagement as to when the use of force can be applied. The value of human life is a core guiding value to the IDF and is implemented in both planning and operational activities.” It did not expand on what exactly its rules are.

Dheisha refugee camp, home to more than 15,000 Palestinian refugees, is raided by Israeli forces on a near-weekly basis. Violent clashes break out, regularly putting Israel’s rules of engagement to the test.

Lately, Dheisha’s youth say that the practice of Israeli forces targeting youths in the leg has risen, and that it is a purposeful attempt to cripple those clashing with Israeli forces in the camp.

According to BADIL’s report, on the three occasions that Israeli forces raided the camp between the end of July and mid-August, “18 youth aged between 14 and 27 were shot in their legs” - eight directly in the knee and several more in both legs.

‘Captain Nidal’ becomes focus of anger

Mahmoud and several other youth told Middle East Eye that they believe the increase in injuries was the result of a deliberate campaign being led by an Israeli military commander known only as “Captain Nidal” - a pseudonym for a man of Jewish Israeli descent, reportedly in charge of Israel’s military activities within Bethlehem’s three refugee camps.

''Captain Nidal' is the worst of them all. Everyone in Bethlehem knows about him'

- Mahmoud

"'Captain Nidal' is the worst of them all,” Mahmoud said. “Everyone in Bethlehem knows about him, and anyone who has been to prison from Bethlehem has met with him.”

Last month, youths in the camp managed to take a grainy photo of “Captain Nidal” during an Israeli raid of the camp. They printed it on a banner that they hung in the camp, which read: “Welcome to hell, Captain Nidal. Your soldiers will be in the cemetery.”

Residents said that the poster was taken down by Israeli forces the very next day, sparking a crackdown on the camp by the “Captain,” who, they said, made several verbal threats against local youth.

Youths in the camp told BADIL that "Captain Nidal" said to them: “I will make half of you disabled, and let the other half push the wheelchairs.”

Soon after, group photos of smiling Dheisha youth lined up in crutches, wheelchairs, and knee bandages started appearing on Dheisha social media pages. Some were shared with the slogan: “Campaign Crutches.”

A social media image of young men who say they were crippled by Israeli forces (Facebook)

MEE asked the Israel Securities Agency for a comment on the alleged threats made by “Captain Nidal.” It did not return our calls. It did, however, state in a reply to an article by Haaretz on the issue that: “Within the framework of the activities of security services officers to preserve the security of the region and protect residents from terrorist threats, they maintain ongoing daily dialogue with local residents. The claims raised in your article have been examined and found to be baseless.”

One young man, who asked to go by only his first name - which also happens to be Nidal - told MEE that he was shot in the leg during "Captain Nidal’s" first week of taking over military activities in Bethlehem's camps almost two years ago.

Despite undergoing surgery on nine occasions, Nidal has still not completely recovered from being shot. He still walks with crutches

“It was clear from the beginning that 'Captain Nidal' wanted to be the first captain to ‘win’ in the camp," the young Palestinian said. "He wanted to be the first one to break us down, so that they could enter the camp easily." He explained that, even now, Israeli forces are unable to enter Dheisha refugee camp without Palestinian youth throwing rocks at soldiers in protest.

Despite undergoing surgery on nine occasions, Nidal has still not completely recovered from being shot. He still walks with crutches.

How red tape hampers medical recovery

Due to the high number of injured during the past several months, Nidal, Mahmoud and several of their friends decided to start a new programme. The plan is it will support those who have been injured to cope with the daily trauma that has started to become the new normal.

While the campaign’s emergence is first and foremost a reflection of Israel’s escalation of live fire on the youth of the camp, it also shines a spotlight on the Palestinian Authority's inability to cope with the effects of "Captain Nidal’s" alleged policy, both at fending off attacks and providing adequate medical support.

'The doctors are not well trained and they don’t have the right equipment and medicines to treat the kids who get shot'

- Nidal

“The doctors are not well trained and they don’t have the right equipment and medicines to treat the kids who get shot," said Nidal. "It becomes so complicated to figure out what office to go to for medical bills or to be approved for certain surgeries.

"The bureaucracy is so complicated that a lot of time is devoted to just receiving crutches from the hospitals because there aren’t enough to go around.”

Nidal said that his past two years of recovery had been marked by the pain of his injury and the frustration of fighting for appropriate medical care.

“Lately there have been a lot more gunshot injuries and my friends and I who have already been through this process got to talking about what we could do to help them, so we decided to start a solidarity group for logistical and psychological support to help other get through the healing process,” he said.

While the group was only started around three weeks ago, it has already made a world of difference to Moyad, a 19-year-old shot on 9 August in Dheisha. He was hit in the femoral artery of his left thigh during an Israeli night raid in the camp.

“The blood was squirting up out of my leg like this,” Moyad said, motioning a large arc through the air. “I remember I just kept thinking: 'If I die, okay, but I don’t want to lose my leg'.”

Moyad was rushed to the hospital in a taxi, and fell into a coma for seven days. Ten days after he awoke, the hospital still hadn’t received payment from his family or the Palestinian Authority (PA)  - which is responsible for 50 percent of private hospital bills for those injured by Israeli forces.

'These efforts to shoot all of us in our legs won’t work because we are dedicated to our community'

- Moyad

The hospital ordered him to leave, but Moyad, who was due to undergo another surgery the next day, refused. When PA police arrived at the hospital to force him from his hospital bed, Moyad called Nidal, the head of the burgeoning solidarity campaign. He ultimately managed to convince the hospital to perform the surgery and allow Moyad to stay through to the rest of his treatment.

“The guys really saved me,” Moyad said. “It felt really good to know that the other guys in the camp were supporting me, that I didn’t just get injured and that was it. We stick together, no matter what.

“I don't regret coming outside that night. If I could do it again I would. It’s normal for us - we are protecting our home. These efforts to shoot all of us in our legs won’t work because we are dedicated to our community.”