On June 3rd, three men ambushed Human Rights Defender Issa Amro in a neighborhood in Hebron. It has now been three weeks and the Palestinian authorities have yet to take action. Today on the 3 year commemoration of the murder of Hebron-based Nizar Banat, we believe it is crucial for the human rights organizations to call on the PA to arrest the culprits to secure the protection of Issa and other defenders of human rights and free speech.
On June 3rd in H1, three Palestinian men attacked Issa with metal pipes and attempted to beat him to death. The attackers were thankfully stopped by bystanders and Issa survived. He was hospitalized with injuries to his head and body. He underwent a significant operation on his shoulder. He had 12 or 13 screws inserted and received 17 stitches in his shoulder and spent a week in the hospital. The attack happened in front of cameras and we know the identities of the assailants who have known criminal records. We strongly believe there is no reason to attack Issa except for politically motivated attacks.
Issa filed a complaint with the police, but the Palestinian authorities have yet to arrest the assailants or look into the case. The incident was also caught on CCTV cameras, yet the PA refuses to view the footage.
Issa has been expecting this type of attack for a long time. He has a long record of persecution and harassment by the PA (as well as by Israeli soldiers and settlers.) He has also faced similar threats by Palestinians with unknown motivations over the last few years— such as drive-by-shootings toward his family’s house in H1, being threatened with a knife, and being attacked during a tour in the old city. At the hands of the PA, Issa has faced arrests, detention, torture, prosecution, and PA-affiliated smear campaigns. Issa was also detained by PA security during the same days that Nizar Banat was murdered in 2021. The human rights community cannot afford such a case again, and Issa is crucial to the city of Hebron and Palestine at large.
If the PA arrests the criminals, it will be much harder to attack Issa and other defenders of human rights in the future.
UPDATE: After private pressure from UN officials, the culprits were arrested. A trial has begun, yet the criminals were released after a mere one week in jail. They are now at large and Issa's life remains in danger! We call on the Palestinian Authority to see the trial through and get Issa justice and to take significant measures to protect his life and wellbeing!
Help us get justice for Issa!
Contact your country's embassy or consulate in Palestine and ask them to follow the case, and contact your local diplomatic mission of the Palestinian Authority and call on them to get Issa justice and take significant measures to protect his life and wellbeing. If you are based in Europe or elsewhere outside the U.S., you likely has a diplomatic mission in your capital that can be contacted.
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