What killed Palestinian girl?
Pathologist hired by 10-year-old Abir Aramin's family determines she was killed by rubber bullet. Police investigation concludes she was not shot
On Thursday, with help from B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, the family published an autopsy report determining that Abir was killed by a rubber bullet shot to her head.
Judea and Samaria District police were still investigating the cause of death. One of the possibilities was that the girl was hit by one of the stones that were thrown at the riot. The police said that the cause of death would be determined only when the investigation is concluded.
The autopsy was performed by a pathologist hired by the family, Dr. Chen Kugel. According to his findings, the girl was hit by a rubber bullet. The report rejected the possibility that the girl was hit by a stun grenade.
Pasting pictures of Abir (Photo: activestills)
B'Tselem conducted its own investigation at the location of the incident. According to the testimonies collected by the left-wing organization, there were no riots at the time.
The police, however, questioned four Border Guard officers who participated in the dispersion of the demonstrations. They claimed that shots were not fired despite the severe riots at the time.
After the child's death, left-wing activists took to the streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. They did not need an official announcement by the police and believed the Palestinian version.
The last few nights, activists have been pasting pictures of Abir along city streets together with signs calling for justice and accusing the border guard of murdering the 10-year-old next to her school. They made an announcement saying, "Whoever sees Abir's smiling face on the posters will realize that the palestinian 'enemy' is not faceless."
Efrat Weiss contributed to the report
