Lina Al Nabulsi’s story
Today is International Day of the Girl
Today’s generation of Palestine is not the generation of Oslo as many like to call them. It’s the generation of Lina Al Nabulsi. If Lina had the chance to have children, her daughter or son would’ve been 15-something-years by now. That child of Lina would’ve been the one throwing a stone at another — but the same — Israeli soldier. So who is Lina? Who is that girl that was and no more?
The story of Lina Al Nabulsi:
On May 15, 1976, (more than 40 years ago) a 17-year-old Lina was shot and killed by an IDF soldier while walking home from school in Nablus.
According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Israeli authorities stated that a stray bullet hit Lina when a soldier’s rifle went off accidentally. An investigation into the incident was ordered, with IDF forces reiterating their commitment to only use live ammunition when their own lives were in danger.
Palestinian witnesses to the event vehemently denied this version of events. They stated first and foremost that it was very clear that Lina was a schoolgirl. She was wearing her school uniform. As Lina and her friends were walking home, they ran into a demonstration protesting against Israeli occupation and settlement building, an almost weekly event in Nablus at the time. It was common for high school students to join in with chanting and wave flags. This protest, however, turned violent. Palestinian men and Israeli soldiers became entangled, but it was Lina and her friends, innocently waving a flag and repeating the chant for justice everyone else was yelling, that would grab the IDF’s attention.
Two officers chased Lina and her friends into a building, where each of them sought a hiding spot. Lina hid under a dining room table in the apartment they had entered. According to Emadeddin Fraitekh, one of the other children hiding in the apartment a mere blocks from their school, the officers recognized Lina. They found her hiding under the table, pointed a gun at her, and opened fire, killing her in cold blood. “She was executed right then and there, in front of everyone present, so we could see, take note, and learn the lesson.”
(Excerpt from article by @WomanUnveiled, Mondoweiss, Sept 3, 2013)
