This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2015 at 21:55 and is filed under Activities, English. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Wednesday, September 9 2015
Appeal for urgent assistance to fund a civil suit by Mahmoud Awad against the State of Israel
In the early morning of March 21st, 2011, Mr. Awad left his home and was on his way to Hebron, when he was attacked by a masked settler of Ma’on Farm, an extremist Israeli outpost in the southern Hebron Hills. The settler was armed with a knife with a 10-centimeter-long blade, and stabbed Awad in the chest and arm. Awad managed to escape and call for help, as the attacker run towards Ma’on Farm. There was an IDF jeep in the vicinity, but the soldiers did nothing to prevent the assault or to stop the assailant, nor make any attempt to find him and bring him to justice. The brutal attack on Mr. Awad left him permanently disabled.
Mr. Awad filed suit against the State, citing the chronic negligence of the security forces in protecting the Palestinian residents in the South Mt. Hebron Hills from the violence of the Ma’on Farms settlers. In response, the State contended that it had no responsibility for the incident. Furthermore, despite the fact that clear tracks were found by IDF trackers leading to the houses of Ma’on Farm, the State claimed that there is no proof that the assailant was a settler.
Hearings in the suit have been under way in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court for over two years. The judge has ruled that before the evidentiary stage can begin, Awad must deposit $5,000 by October 1st, 2015, allegedly to ensure that the expenses of the State will be covered should his suit be rejected. But such tactics are frequently employed by Israeli courts to block civil suits by Palestinians.
Mr. Awad lives in a tent encampment and subsists from sheep and goat farming. He and his family have no possible means of raising the deposit, especially in light of his disability, which limits his capacity to work.
If the sum is not deposited by October 1st, the suit will be turned down.
We must not let the State of Israel and the court system evade their responsibilities.
Please consider making a contribution to bring justice for Mahmoud Awad. If the court releases the deposit, the sum will be given to support the Ta’ayush collective in the South Mt. Hebron Hills, accompanying and securing Palestinian farmers.
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