Father of killed Palestinian girl to be freed
Jailed father of Palestinian girl killed by IDF to be released on bail for mourning period with assistance from MKs Tibi, Gal-On
The father of a Palestinian girl killed by the Israeli army on Thursday has been freed from jail on bail for a few days to mourn his daughter's death.
Nasser Abdelkader, who is jailed in Israel for theft offences, asked he'd be released to take part in his daughter's funeral on Friday but his request was rejected.
The man told Ynet upon his release: "The fact they didn't let me see her means that they killed my daughter twice. They also killed me twice, when they killed her and when they didn't let me see her. Now they allow me to see her, but where? Unfortunately Doa'a is not with me and I can't see her one last time. What is it worth now that they let me out to see her?"
He said he knew of his daughter's death two hours after news broke out that a 14-year-old girl was killed near the security fence.
"I don't know what I will manage to do to remember my daughter in the three days with the family," he said.
"They killed my daughter in cold blood, and this is something that shouldn't happen. Girls who return from school and play which crime did they commit? Which danger did they pose? If my daughter and her friend are a threat, then the children of the Palestinian people have no right to play … they took me away from the family because I tried to earn a living and now they took the most precious thing to me," he said.
Tibi pays bail
Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On asked the State Prosecutor's Office that he'd be released on bail. Her request was approved.
Abdelkader will be released for a bail of NIS 55,000 (USD 12,900), most of which will be paid by MK Ahmad Tibi.
"The meaning of this terror, which prevented the father from being freed to take part in his daughter's funeral, is a double murder of Doa'a," he said using the name of 14-year-old Doa'a Abdelkader, who was killed by IDF fire near Tulkarm.
"When his lawyer approached me and said that he is facing difficulties finding guarantors, I decided to do all, despite the risk, to make sure that the father is with his family," Tibi said.
Rami Atmawi, the man's lawyer, said his client has to be back in jail on Tuesday.
"There was no place for bureaucracy in this case, especially since the government took responsibility for the incident. There no place for more suffering for the father by preventing him from taking part in the funeral or in the three-day mourning period," said Sigal Shahav, a human rights lawyer who worked on Abdelkader's case.
Doa'a was fired at by an IDF soldier as she and her friend approached a security fence stretch near Tulkarm. The soldier said he mistook the girls for terrorists.
The soldier and his officer have been suspended until the conclusion of an investigation into the incident.
Aviram Zino contributed to this report
