A bit about me written by Mika Minio-Paluello:
Hanadi Jaradat, a 29-year-old lawyer from Jenin, blew herself up in the Haifa Maxim restaurant in early October, killing 21, including four children. Her younger brother Fadi was executed by an Israeli undercover unit in front of her, despite her trying to protect him. On June 12th, three days before Fadi's wedding, the family was in the courtyard of the house. Salah Jaradat, Fadi's cousin and a member of Islamic Jihad, came to visit his pregnant wife, Ismath, and their two-year-old son, who were living with the family.
The events that occurred in the next few minutes were described by Hanadi in an interview to Al-Arab al-Yum, which was published the day after her brother was killed: "We were sitting together. Everything was normal, natural. Salah, who was a wanted person, hadn't seen his wife and his son in a long time. The army pursued him all the time on the charge that he was a fighter, a commander in the Jerusalem Battalions [of Islamic Jihad].
"They went into his house in Silat al-Harthiya many times, looking for him. He started to play with his boy and kiss him. We were drinking coffee. Then we saw a white car with Arab license plates drive up slowly and stop next to the house. I thought they were friends of Fadi. Suddenly two men got out of the car and started shooting at Salah. I saw Salah lying on the ground. Then suddenly another car pulled up and the people inside opened fire.
"We all lay on the ground. Salah's wife threw herself on the boy to protect him. My brother Fadi fell on the floor and I saw that he was bleeding. I grabbed his hand and started to drag him to the sofa, to hide him behind it. I was screaming, 'Fadi! Salah!' I heard Fadi barely speaking, saying 'Save me. Save me.' Then one of the soldiers came and attacked me. He threw me with force onto the floor, pulled Fadi's hand out of mine and told me, 'Get into the house or I'll kill you.' I shouted to them, 'Leave me alone, I want to save my brother. He's wounded, bleeding.'
"Fadi was still breathing. Salah lay motionless. I saw that he had been hit in the head. Three of the soldiers spoke fluent Arabic. One of them asked me, 'Where is Fadi's weapon?' I said, 'I don't know. He doesn't even have a weapon.' I saw my brother lying there. 'Allahu akbar aleikum, he'll die,' I said. They made me lie down facing the ground and one of them said, 'You bitch, you terrorist, we'll kill you along with them.'
"They aimed their weapons at my head. Then one of them said to the others, 'Drag them [Salah and Fadi] and put one on top of the other.' Those words drove me out of my mind. I said, 'You're terrorists, dogs, leave them alone.' I tried to get up, but they knocked me down again. They dragged Salah and Fadi a few meters and then shot them again. They killed them in cold blood.
"The purpose of that operation was to liquidate the fighter Salah and his cousin Fadi. They could have arrested them, because they surprised us and surrounded the house, so none of us could have escaped. Why did they start shooting straight off? Even after Fadi was wounded they could have arrested him, but they went on shooting to make sure he was dead. When we got the bodies back, I saw that they shot him in every part of his body.
"That completely finished my father. It paralyzed him. He was getting ready for his son's wedding, and instead he was informed that Fadi was dead. That's a blow he will not recover from. I am very sad. Since the moment I saw my brother's blood, I have felt very bad. But the goal of liberating Palestine is bigger and more important than my private pain."
The full piece is at the Electronic Intifada.
Hanadi Jaradat, a 29-year-old lawyer from Jenin, blew herself up in the Haifa Maxim restaurant in early October, killing 21, including four children. Her younger brother Fadi was executed by an Israeli undercover unit in front of her, despite her trying to protect him. On June 12th, three days before Fadi's wedding, the family was in the courtyard of the house. Salah Jaradat, Fadi's cousin and a member of Islamic Jihad, came to visit his pregnant wife, Ismath, and their two-year-old son, who were living with the family.
The events that occurred in the next few minutes were described by Hanadi in an interview to Al-Arab al-Yum, which was published the day after her brother was killed: "We were sitting together. Everything was normal, natural. Salah, who was a wanted person, hadn't seen his wife and his son in a long time. The army pursued him all the time on the charge that he was a fighter, a commander in the Jerusalem Battalions [of Islamic Jihad].
"They went into his house in Silat al-Harthiya many times, looking for him. He started to play with his boy and kiss him. We were drinking coffee. Then we saw a white car with Arab license plates drive up slowly and stop next to the house. I thought they were friends of Fadi. Suddenly two men got out of the car and started shooting at Salah. I saw Salah lying on the ground. Then suddenly another car pulled up and the people inside opened fire.
"We all lay on the ground. Salah's wife threw herself on the boy to protect him. My brother Fadi fell on the floor and I saw that he was bleeding. I grabbed his hand and started to drag him to the sofa, to hide him behind it. I was screaming, 'Fadi! Salah!' I heard Fadi barely speaking, saying 'Save me. Save me.' Then one of the soldiers came and attacked me. He threw me with force onto the floor, pulled Fadi's hand out of mine and told me, 'Get into the house or I'll kill you.' I shouted to them, 'Leave me alone, I want to save my brother. He's wounded, bleeding.'
"Fadi was still breathing. Salah lay motionless. I saw that he had been hit in the head. Three of the soldiers spoke fluent Arabic. One of them asked me, 'Where is Fadi's weapon?' I said, 'I don't know. He doesn't even have a weapon.' I saw my brother lying there. 'Allahu akbar aleikum, he'll die,' I said. They made me lie down facing the ground and one of them said, 'You bitch, you terrorist, we'll kill you along with them.'
"They aimed their weapons at my head. Then one of them said to the others, 'Drag them [Salah and Fadi] and put one on top of the other.' Those words drove me out of my mind. I said, 'You're terrorists, dogs, leave them alone.' I tried to get up, but they knocked me down again. They dragged Salah and Fadi a few meters and then shot them again. They killed them in cold blood.
"The purpose of that operation was to liquidate the fighter Salah and his cousin Fadi. They could have arrested them, because they surprised us and surrounded the house, so none of us could have escaped. Why did they start shooting straight off? Even after Fadi was wounded they could have arrested him, but they went on shooting to make sure he was dead. When we got the bodies back, I saw that they shot him in every part of his body.
"That completely finished my father. It paralyzed him. He was getting ready for his son's wedding, and instead he was informed that Fadi was dead. That's a blow he will not recover from. I am very sad. Since the moment I saw my brother's blood, I have felt very bad. But the goal of liberating Palestine is bigger and more important than my private pain."
The full piece is at the Electronic Intifada.