February 2009

According to unconfirmed reports from the BBC and Israel Radio, a Palestinian physician who works in Israel and lost three daughters and a niece in the recent fighting, has applied for and received asylum in Israel.

The family of Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, a 55-year-old gynecologist who specializes in fertility issues, was reportedly caught in the crossfire between Israeli troops and Hamas terrorists.

According to initial reports, the Gaza home of Dr. Abu al-Aish was shelled by IDF forces while the doctor was not there. He learned of the tragedy when he returned home shortly afterwards and found three of his eight children and his niece dead or dying.

His anguished cries were heard in many Israeli homes. Fluent in Hebrew, he was a popular commentator on Israeli radio and television, especially during the Gaza War. He had called Israel’s Channel 10 TV, and the Israeli public learned, along with anchorman Shlomi Eldar, of the terrible tragedy that had occurred.

"My girls, O Allah, they have killed my girls. Why, Allah, why?" he wept repeatedly for almost four minutes, as Mr. Eldar clearly fought back tears himself.

According to reports, Mr. Eldar then called the army and emergency medical services, begging them to help the surviving children.

Three of Dr. Abu al-Aish’s eight children, Bisan, 22, Mayer, 15, and Aya, 14, were killed in the attack, along with his niece, Nour, 14.

Two other children of Dr. Abu al-Aish were hospitalized in serious condition at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon and the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer.

Dr. Abu al-Aish, who had practiced at the Soroka Medical Center for many years, had been working in recent years at the Sheba Medical Center. He conducted research on the effects of war on Palestinian and Israeli children at the Gertner Institute, also in Tel Hashomer. He was also affiliated with Gaza’s major Shifa Hospital.

His wife died of leukemia several months ago.

An initial IDF inquiry revealed that on the day of the incident, Friday, Jan 16, snipers from Dr. Abu al-Aish’s house, a five-story structure on Salah al-Din Street, fired on an IDF tank, which then returned fire. The army, however, said it could not rule out the possibility that the house and the victims in it were hit by Palestinian fire or explosive devices planted nearby.

After learning that Dr. Abu al-Aish’s family members had been hurt, the Coordination and Liaison Authority at the Erez crossing immediately evacuated the victims to Israeli Hospitals.

A Palestinian ambulance took the wounded to the Erez crossing, where they were transferred by helicopters to Israeli hospitals.

The story was reported as a tragedy in Israel, and, most uncharacteristically, was virtually ignored in the Palestinian press.

According to Prof Ze’ev Rothstein, director-general of the Sheba Medical Center, once the fighting began in Gaza, Dr. Abu al-Aish returned home to be with his children. He went back and forth to work in Israel as often as possible, sometimes staying three nights a week with friends. Although he had permits, he frequently experienced delays at the crossings.

"There are not enough words to describe the tragedy which has hit this man, of all people, who does everything for the treatment of children and studied the health of children in Gaza and Israel," said Prof Rothstein.

Almost immediately, however, Israelis close to the story recognized there had to be a Hamas connection.

"Hamas must have taken advantage of his home," said Prof Rothstein, adding that he wished he could "wake up and realize this is a bad dream."

According to reports on BBC and Israel Radio, Hamas may have done more than that. There is now suspicion that the terrorists may have actually murdered Dr. Abu al-Aish’s daughters as retribution for their father’s work in Israeli hospitals and efforts as an activist for peace.

Dr. Abu al-Aish denied that there had been gunfire from his home or that Hamas lay behind the incident. In fact, he implied that the IDF had purposely targeted his family, claiming that, a few days before the fatal incident, "a tank was deployed across from my home."

"I immediately called the journalists. Israeli officials did everything and moved the tank. They had a full description of my house," he told a press conference a few days later.

He insisted that, on the day his children were killed, "everyone knew we were home."

"Suddenly we were bombed. How can we talk to Olmert and Tzipi Lvni after this?" he said.

He noted that his tragedy occurred just as "there was hope for a ceasefire."

"On the last day, I was speaking with my children. Suddenly, they bombed us. The doctor who treats Israeli patients," he said.

During his regular call-ins with Israeli media, Dr. Abu al-Aish often spoke of his fears for his children during the fighting.

He had been planning to emigrate from Gaza to Canada in order to start over after the loss of his wife. He had already secured a position there and planned to take his children with him.

That plan is now on hold, and for some reason (some speculate fear of further violence from Hamas), Dr. Abu al-Aish has reportedly received asylum in Israel.

Many of the doctor’s acquaintances, including reporters, human rights activists, and physicians, who have worked with him, arrived at the hospital immediately after his wounded children were brought in.

Dr. Abu al-Aish described his deceased daughters as "soldiers of peace," explaining that they had "participated in peace camps everywhere."

"I had three beautiful daughters who loved to help people," he said.

He told colleagues at the hospital as well as reporters that he hoped his tragedy would mark "the end."

"If this death satisfies the leadership, my children should be the last to die," he said.

A day later, Dr. Abu al-Aish convened a press conference at Sheba Hospital, where he spoke again about his daughters.

"Were they armed when they were killed? They were not armed with weapons, but rather with love for others," he said.

Turning to the issue of the IDF, he said, "Why did they ruin my hopes? My children? Why did they kill them? Give me a reason. That’s what I want. The reason."

It was too much for Levana Stern, the mother of three Israeli soldiers who were serving in Gaza. She turned to Dr. Abu al-Aish as well as the Israelis listening to him and cried, "Why are you allowing him to engage in propaganda? Have you all gone crazy?"

"My son is in the paratroopers," she continued. "Who knows what you had inside your home. Nobody is talking about that. Who knows what kind of weapons were in your house. So what if he’s a doctor. The soldiers knew exactly. They had weapons inside the house. You should be ashamed. Why do you think they were firing?"

She and several other visitors to the hospital demanded that the press conference be terminated, and it was.

Dr. Abu al-Aish concluded by saying that he was "turning to the entire world, so that you know that my children were the ultimate price for a ceasefire."

"I don’t want anyone to taste what I suffered," he said. "I want my children to be victims of peace."

He said people such as Ms. Stern "don’t want to see the other side; they only want to see one side."

After the doctor left the site, Ms. Stern said she pitied him and "completely" felt for him."

"My heart aches over what happened to his children, and I know what it’s like when children die and a family is ruined. But I don’t understand why the people of Israel give him a platform at the hospital while our soldiers are lying here, wounded. He needs to tell the story, but tell it once, and that’s it," she said.

Two days after Dr. Abu al-Aish’s children died, Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire. Dr. Dr. Abu al-Aish reportedly went back to Gaza, collected his remaining children, and then returned to Israel.

S.L.R.

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