Baby killers

When Khaled Abed Rabbo s the drama of his family, his voice tightens, his eyes lost in a emptyness. « A soldier killed my two daughters in cold blood, » he says, sitting in front of his house in Jabaliya, north of Ghaza, collapsed like a cards... house.

•     Khaled lives in Ezbet Abed Rabbo, a district east of Jabalia (north of the Ghaza strip). On both sides of the main street, houses are destroyed on several hundred meters.
  
      « We were surprised by the ground offensive on 7 January. At 12.50 pm (10:50 GMT) exactly the army arrived. They set up here, in front of a tank, » he says while preparing tea on the embers.
  
      « They asked us to leave the house, me, my wife, my mother and my three daughters. We lift our hands in the air to show them that we were going, » he continues. « There were two soldiers on a tank, one eating chips, the other chocolate."
  
      « A third came out with an automatic rifle (M-16) and began firing at us. My daughters Samar 4 years, Amel, 2 years and Souad 7 years, fell to the ground. Amel had belly open. The soldier continued to fire. Souad is dead, » Khaled continued.
  
      « My mother was injured. Samar too. The other two soldiers did not move, they just were looking, » says the man whose testimony was confirmed by neighbours and relatives.
  
      Questioned by AFP, the Israeli army said it had no information on the incident.
  
      Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, two organizations defending human rights, carry out their part of the investigations. « We talked to the mother of Khaled confirming the facts », told AFP Donatella Rovera, a head of Amnesty International.
  
      But she said « no medical report or expertise is available on the bodies of two girls who were buried immediately. »
  
      While Khaled Abed Abbo was at his house, Israeli aircraft carried out raids in Ghaza, a few kilometers.
  
      « We have returned home. Souad remained outside. We waited for emergencies but no one came ... I briefly heard the ambulance siren and then it stopped. Inside, my mother was bleeding. Samar my daughter asked me: « I want water, Dad, I'm injured. »
  
      Eighteen days after the tragedy, Khaled is still on edge. « It was like a movie, even now, I do not realize what happened. » « I hope no one will see what I saw, » he said.
  
      And he added: « I ask the Israeli people to punish those who did this to my daughters. »
  
      Before him, the car of an Islamic association stops, the trunk full of food aid. Dozens of people gather while filming a family that has placed in front of a banner, crossed the name of the association, along with debris.
  
      Khaled lost his calm: « Go away with your aid, »  he said. « Nobody wants it. Do not defile the blood of my children. »
  
      Trembling with anger, Khaled sits. His phone vibrates. The face defeat, he released: « Israel will always be above the law. » On the screen, a text message from a local information agency said: « Israel announced that it will protect its soldiers against any lawsuits. »
  
      
  Ennaharonline/ M. Oudina