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Palestine Monitor, Information Clearinghouse
URGENT APPEAL
UPMRC First Aid Worker Shot in the Eye by Israeli Soldier
March 21, 2001
On March 12, during a peaceful civilian protest of the Israeli imposed closure of the
Birzeit-Ramallah road, Ahmed Odeh Arrar was shot in the eye with a rubber coated steel
bullet while providing first aid to the injured. Ahmed is in danger of losing his sight
and possibly his eye.
Ahmed works at the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) as the technical
manager of the Aid Equipment Center for the injured and disabled. He is the 29th
UPMRC health worker to be injured by the Israeli army and his case is one of the most
serious.
When Ahmed was shot, he was providing first aid to civilian protesters injured by Israeli
soldiers who shot tear gas, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition. The
bullet hit Ahmed in the left eye, causing anterior and posterior hemorrhage and retinal
detachment. The severity of the injury may leave Ahmed blind in the left eye, or he
may lose his eye completely. Had the bullet entered the skull, Ahmed could have been
killed.
After delays in gaining permission from the Israeli authorities, Ahmed was transferred on
March 20th to a hospital in Austria for the emergency surgery necessary to save his sight.
Ahmed may not have been allowed to leave at all or receive proper medical treatment
was it not for the much appreciated support and intervention of the Austrian government.
The UPMRC offers their
sincere gratitude for the assistance of the Austrians in evacuating Ahmed.
The UPMRC and we members of civil society strongly condemn Israeli attacks on medical
personnel and ask that the international community take action against Israelšs blatant
disregard for international law.
For more information contact Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, + 972-050-254-218
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