(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) retweeted a Rutgers University assistant professor who alleged that Israeli Border Police unjustifiably killed a Palestinian driver in what appeared to be a car-ramming attack.
On June 23, a car rammed into a tower at the Abu Dis checkpoint in the West Bank. Israeli soldiers then shot the driver, identified as Ahmad Erekat, 28, after he exited the car. A female Israeli soldier, identified as Shani Orr Hami Kadosh, was injured in the attack, but her injuries weren’t considered serious.
The incident was caught on video:
Here's a video of a car ramming attack on a Israeli security checkpoint. pic.twitter.com/plOpwlYr0W
— Alex VanNess (@thealexvanness) June 24, 2020
Rutgers University assistant professor Noura Erakat tweeted that Erekat was her younger cousin, and that the driver was simply in a rush to pick up his sister for her wedding later that day. She also alleged that after her cousin was shot, Israeli soldiers let him bleed to death rather than give him medical attention.
Tlaib retweeted the aforementioned tweets from Noura Erakat, as well as a tweet from Jewish Voice for Peace stating, “We send our love to the Erakat family for the tragic murder of their son at the hands of the Israeli police. We hope that justice is served for him and all Palestinians.”
Here's Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib retweeting solidarity for the driver. pic.twitter.com/bs6QCQ893j
— Alex VanNess (@thealexvanness) June 24, 2020
The driver was also a cousin of Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Liberation Organization executive committee secretary-general. Saeb Erekat told the Israeli Kan public broadcasting station, “My cousin, the nephew of my wife, was executed, murdered in cold blood and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu bears responsibility.”
The Israeli Border Police disputed the Erekat family’s depiction of the incident.
“[Erekat] waited for a good moment, turned from the middle of the lane to the side to get a better angle to hurt the officer and then accelerated, turning his car 90 degrees, and lunged wildly at the officers,” the police said in a statement.
A source from the Border Police also told the Times of Israel, “Various elements have chosen to portray the event in a completely distorted way and not as a ramming attack, while besmirching the officers’ conduct and covering up the terrorist’s grave actions.”
Kadosh told Israeli Channel 13 that she had signaled for Erekat to slow down and then “he looked me in the eye, turned the steering wheel and rammed into me.”
Noura Erekat said that the released footage of the alleged ramming incident proves her family’s version of the incident.
“Palestinians are so securitized as a threat that we can’t make human mistakes, like lose momentary control of our car, press the accelerator in a moment of haste, get in a car accident,” she tweeted. In a subsequent tweet, she added, “Why is his image blurred so that we can’t see he is unarmed and confused?”
Palestinians are so securitized as a threat that we can't make human mistakes, like lose momentary control of our car, press the accelerator in a moment of haste, get in a car accident.
#Palestinian #Freedom #AhmedErekat— Noura Erakat (@4noura) June 24, 2020
Why is his image blurred so that we can't see he is unarmed and confused? Why did the Human Rights Council find that Israel lethally shoots Palestinians "on mere suspicion or as a precautionary measure"? Why was Ahmed the 11th #Palestinian executed this year? #AhmedErekat
— Noura Erakat (@4noura) June 24, 2020
Pro-Israel voices on Twitter, on the other hand, argued that the footage vindicates the Israeli police’s actions.
“Let’s get a few things straight about your cousin,” international human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky tweeted to Noura Erekat. “1. He stopped, aimed, then sped at the border officers. 2. He ignored their warnings. 3. Then he got out and tried to attack them. Spin it all you wish, your cousin was a would-be terrorist!”
Let’s get a few things straight about your cousin:
1. He stopped, aimed, then sped at the border officers.
2. He ignored their warnings.
3. Then he got out and tried to attack them.
Spin it all you wish, your cousin was a would-be terrorist!https://t.co/47K4lELgZ3 https://t.co/UUMsil5Qog
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) June 24, 2020
StandWithUs Israel Executive Director Michael Dickson tweeted, “Palestinian terrorists have pioneered deadly car-ramming terror. Cars turned into weapons in order to deliberately maim and murder. The tactic has more recently been copied by ISIS globally.”
Palestinian terrorists have pioneered deadly car-ramming terror. Cars turned into weapons in order to deliberatly maim and murder. The tactic has more recently been copied by ISIS globally. Video shows #AhmedErekat perpetrating yesterday’s terrorist act. https://t.co/Zpy2J4Mmty
— Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) June 24, 2020
A Twitter account under the name American Zionism did a frame-by-frame analysis of the video to argue that Erekat’s actions were intentional, arguing that he slowly maneuvered the car to give it more room before quickly accelerating into the checkpoint tower.
https://twitter.com/americanzionism/status/1275848455349571584?s=20
Hiba Erekat, who is also one of the driver’s cousins, told the Associated Press, “We know Ahmed. He had no reason to commit suicide. He was on good terms with his fiancee, his family and people in his town. We are wondering if he had any personal problems and wanted to escape.”
In April, a member of Hamas is suspected of engaging in a car-ramming attack at the Abu Dis checkpoint, The suspect, Ibrahim Halassa, 25, then stabbed and moderately injured an Israeli officer before being shot and killed.
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