PMRS First Aid Worker Shot in the Eye by Israeli Soldier

  
21/03/2001

On March 12, during a peaceful protest of the Israeli imposed closure of the Birzeit-Ramallah road, Ahmed Odeh Arrar was shot in the eye with a rubber-coated steel bullet while providing first aid to the injured. Ahmed is in danger of losing his sight and possibly his eye.

Ahmed works at the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) as the technical manager of the Aid Equipment Center for the injured and disabled. He is the 29th UPMRC health worker to be injured by the Israeli army, and his case is one of the most serious.

When Ahmed was shot, he was providing first aid to civilian protesters injured by Israeli soldiers who shot tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition. The bullet hit Ahmed in the left eye, causing anterior and posterior hemorrhage and retinal detachment. The severity of the injury may leave Ahmed blind in the left eye, or he may lose his eye completely. Had the bullet entered the skull, Ahmed could have been killed.

After delays in gaining permission from the Israeli authorities, Ahmed was transferred on March 20th to a hospital in Austria for the emergency surgery necessary to save his sight. Ahmed may not have been allowed to leave at all or receive proper medical treatment were it not for the much appreciated support and intervention of the Austrian government. The UPMRC is sincerely grateful for the assistance of the Austrians in evacuating Ahmed.

The UPMRC strongly condemns Israeli attacks on medical personnel. We ask that the international community take action against Israel‘s blatant disregard for international law.