Friday, January 01, 2016
Elder of Ziyon
Egypt's ambassador to the PA, Wael Nasr al-Din, blames Hamas for the incident.
He says that Hamas was responsible for patrolling the border and ensuring that no Gazans escape.
Al-Din said that shortly after this incident, Hamas stopped a family from Deir al Balah from trying to infiltrate Israel. He wondered ruefully which were Hamas' priorities, "the security of the Occupying Power or the security and sovereignty of an Arab state?"
He further claimed, in contradiction to the video, that the Egyptian patrols followed international law in their actions, first warning the victim verbally, and they by firing warning shots in the air, and then trying to shoot him in the legs but accidentally hitting him since it was difficult to shoot his legs while he was in the water. This is obviously not true, as the video clearly shows numerous gunshots hitting the water beyond Hassan.
The ambassador also complained about the camera that caught the Egyptian actions, saying that cameras aren't allowed in the area in the first place.
Hassan was upset over not being able to go to Egypt for treatment of leg injuries that occurred when he was shot during the Fatah/Hamas intrafada in 2007.
Egypt only allowed limited people to cross the Rafah border for 21 days in all of 2015.
