Twitter hits back at Israeli attempt to smear slain Gaza medic Razan al-Najjar
Misleading official Israeli videos slammed as 'abject dehumanisation' of the young Palestinian paramedic to 'retroactively justify' her killing
Volunteer medica Razan al-Najjar was shot and killed by Israeli forces on 1 June while treating wounded protesters in southern Gaza during the Great March of Return
Thursday 7 June 2018
Israeli officials were criticised on Thursday for claiming Palestinian medic Razan al-Najjar was acting as a human shield for Hamas when she was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Gaza on Friday.
The Israeli army's Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, shared a video on social media that used truncated footage of an interview in which the 21-year-old Palestinian stated: “I am medic Razan al-Najjar, I am here on the front lines and I act as a human shield”.
The video cut the remainder of the sentence: "...as a rescuer for the injured on the front lines."
It also showed Najjar grabbing an Israeli tear gas cannister and throwing it away from protesters. Adraee claimed Najjar was aiming the cannister at Israeli soldiers stationed hundreds of metres away behind the fence separating Gaza from Israel.
Social media users denounced the video as part of a broader Israeli strategy to discredit Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.
#رزان_النجار لم تكن #ملاك_الرحمة كما تحاول دعاية #حماس تسويقها فاعترافها بأنها شكلت درعًا بشريًا للمشاغبين المحرضين يثبت كيف تستسغل حماس جميع فئات المجتمع الغزاوي لصالح أهدافها وأهداف #إيران. فهل المسعفون في العالم يلقون قنابل ويشاركون في أعمال شغب ويسمون أنفسهم دروعًا بشرية؟ pic.twitter.com/kJ89kf9PN2— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) 7 June 2018
Translation: Razan al-Najjar was not as an angel of mercy as Hamas propaganda is trying to present her. She recognised that she was a human shield for troublemakers, which proves that Hamas exploits all segments of the Gazan community in favor of its goals and objectives. Do medics in the world throw bombs, participate in riots and call themselves human shields?
Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also shared an English-language version of the video.
