Three American women were violently assaulted by Israeli forces as they attempted to help a disabled woman at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday, despite showing soldiers their passports.
Virginia nursing student Nour Hawash, who is in Jerusalem on vacation, was taking photos with her mother and sister after midday prayers when Israeli soldiers stormed the compound and started to evacuate the Dome of the Rock.
??#Palestine : Israeli soldiers refused to remove their shoes as they broke into Al-Aqsa's Bab Al-Rahma Mosque. pic.twitter.com/JCxoOQo8wZ
— Shehab News (@ShehabAgencyEn) March 13, 2019
Nour told MEMO:
“Suddenly we heard these shots being fired and people just started running all over the place. We saw the IDF [Israeli soldiers], guns pointed, running, trying to chase people. So we just ran with everyone else to the side.”
As Nour moved towards the elderly woman, she found herself shoved to the floor by an Israeli soldier, who cuffed one of her wrists and proceeded to sit on her to stop her from moving.
Israeli policemen detain a Palestinian protester during scuffles outside the compound housing al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. More photos of the day: https://t.co/ZniIsuI5Y4 ? Ammar Awad pic.twitter.com/tqWJYwVAPQ
— Reuters Pictures (@reuterspictures) March 13, 2019
She said:
“That’s when like ten to 15 soldiers were holding me down with their feet, trying to get my other wrist in handcuffs. And I had pulled out my passport and I told her [the soldier] that I was an American citizen and she said ‘I don’t care about your ID’ and threw my passport to the side.”
The Dar Al-Hijrah community stands appalled by the scenes coming out of Al-Aqsa mosque today. While on vacation, Sisters Nour and Safa Hawash, 2 staff members from our Communications Department and American citizens, were senselessly assaulted by Israeli security forces today pic.twitter.com/TLhYl4mMBZ
— Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center (@hijrahva) March 12, 2019
Nour has contacted the US embassy in Jerusalem to inform them of the family’s treatment; whilst officials have said they would file a report of the incident, it is unlikely that any further steps will be taken to hold the soldiers responsible for the assault.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
