|
Palestinian doctor died helping { October 21 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/21/1066631400308.htmlhttp://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/21/1066631400308.html
Palestinian doctor killed treating air strike wounded
October 21, 2003 - 12:51PM
Doctor Zain Shahin's first reaction to the Israeli air strike today near the clinic where he worked was to rush out to treat the wounded. It cost him his life.
Witnesses said the Palestinian doctor rushed to help the wounded lying around a car struck by a missile.
But he himself was hit by shrapnel when a second missile slammed into a crowd of people who had also come to see who they could save.
"Doctor Zain rushed to help, and he paid with his life trying to save the lives of others," store owner Hisham Mohammad told Reuters.
"He treated a few people on the ground before he ... fell among them."
Medical officials said at least seven people, all civilians, were killed and about 70 wounded in the air strike, one of five carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip today.
Shahin, 29, was married to a Russian and had two children.
Women wept as rescue workers carried the wounded to hospital while men chanted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest).
Thousands of protesters in the Nusseirat refugee camp, a stronghold for Islamic militants, called for revenge and urged Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie to abandon efforts to make peace with Israel.
"The Palestinian Authority should quit talks about peace and ceasefires and everyone must fight until either we achieve victory or martyrdom," said another protester, who gave his name only as Ali.
Witnesses said each missile had lit up the night sky.
"It lit the street, like lightning, but the sound was thunderous," one witness said.
Another witness, Mahmoud Al-Qassas, was in deep shock.
"What can I say? It was unbelievable to bear what I saw," he said.
"Where are the United States and the United Nations? Are not we humans and have rights? Why do they keep silent to see us being massacred."
It was the bloodiest of the five air strikes today. An earlier attack killed two Islamic militants and a bystander in Gaza City.
Israel's 'racist' policy means peace more distant than ever: Syrian president
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned today that Israel's "racist" policy against Palestinians and Arabs meant peace in the Middle East was more distant than ever .
Speaking before a meeting with visiting Spanish King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, Assad said his country sought a "just and global peace" based on UN resolutions stipulating Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.
"Peace is further away than ever," he said.
"Rather than advancing along the path of peace, the Israeli government has intensified its policy of repression against the Palestinian people by bombarding houses and assassinating the citizens."
Assad denounced Israel's construction of a security wall around the West Bank, which he said "annexes Palestinian territories".
He also expressed the hope for "stability and unity" in neighbouring Iraq.
"The Iraqis must choose their own government and the UN should play an essential role to help them overcome the destruction caused by the war", waged there by US-led forces, he added.
Since the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein, Washington has been pressuring Syria to avoid getting involved in the situation in Iraq.
US-Syrian relations are at a low. Last week the US House of Representatives voted for economic and diplomatic sanctions against Damascus, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism.
Assad also said he hoped that Syria could seal an association accord with the European Union "in the near future".
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia yesterday began their first state visit by stressing Syria's important role in the Middle East.
Spain was one of the countries which condemned Israel's October 5 air attack on Syria, the first assault of its kind for three decades.
However, Madrid is also one of Washington's strongest allies in Europe, and supported the war in Iraq.
The Spanish King said his country was very worried by the situation in the region, agreeing with his host that a durable solution should be based on UN resolutions and the principle of land-for-peace.
But to guarantee security and stability throughout the world it was necessary to end the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, he added.
Earlier Syrian Vice President Zuhair Masharka denounced Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territories and slammed the US for its total support of the Jewish state.
Masharka condemned what he called a "war of extermination perpetrated by the war criminal (Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon who wants to depopulate the occupied territories".
"Without the help, support and protection of the American administration, Israel could never commit such terrorist acts against Palestinians," the vice president added.
Reuters/AFP
|
|
