More Palestinian children killed
26 March 2003


Israeli soldiers last night shot and killed a 10 year old girl during their
assassination of another Palestinian in Bethlehem.

According to witnesses, Israeli uniformed and plain clothed soldiers entered
Bethlehem in the late afternoon, and opened fire on two cars that were
driving on a main road in a residential area in the vicinity of the Shepherd
's Hotel.

Muwaiq Abdel Raziq Badawni, 40 years old from the Aida refugee camp, and two
other men, as yet unidentified, were killed. According to a report from the
Beit Jala governmental hospital, Badawni died as a result being shot in the
head with live ammunition; the bodies of the two other men are still with
the Israeli military. It is assumed that Badawni was the target of this
latest Israeli extra judicial execution which are illegal under
international law and the Geneva Convention.

George Saidi', a school teacher from Bethlehem, his wife Najwa and their two
daughters, Marianne, 12, and Christine, 10, were driving on the same road
when their car was also fired on by Israeli soldiers. All four members of
the family were shot, and were taken to the Hadassa hospital in Jerusalem,
however Christine died on the way. Later the body of the ten year old was
transferred to the Beit Jala governmental hospital; according to the doctors
at the hospital she died from a bullet to her head. The doctors also
commented that her wounds were consistent with an "exploding" or high
velocity bullet.

Christine is the third child to be killed by Israeli troops in two days. 14
year old Hakim Bassam Nassas, aged 14 was also shot dead yesterday in Jenin.
On March 24, Ahmed Imad A-Bahri, aged 10, also from Jenin was shot in the
head by an Israeli sniper.

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