HEBRON // Israeli undercover troops posing as Palestinians, one of them disguised as a pregnant woman, raided a hospital in the West Bank city of Hebron yesterday, shooting dead the cousin of the man they came to arrest.
Using a wheelchair for the soldier pretending to be pregnant, four or five soldiers entered the Al Ahli hospital’s surgery ward at about 2.30am before pulling out their weapons and being joined by about 10 to 14 other undercover soldiers, said a nurse who witnessed the incident.
As some soldiers guarded the four nurses on duty, others headed straight for the room in which the wanted man, Azzam Al Shalaldeh, 20, was being treated.
“They put us up against the wall, asking us to lift our hands up,” said the nurse, who asked to be identified only by the initials SZ for fear of Israeli retaliation.
“They threatened us that if we put our hands down we’d be shot.”
After entering Mr Al Shalaldeh’s room, the soldiers then shot dead a Palestinian man who was identified by medical officials as 27-year-old Abdullah Al Shalaldeh, Azzam’s cousin.
“We heard shots. I didn’t know if they were shooting in the air or if they had shot someone,” said SZ, who remained outside Mr Al Shalaldeh’s room.
“They took Azzam and put him on the wheelchair, plastered his mouth and put a black mask on his face,” the nurse said.
After the soldiers left with Azzam, “I went into the room and saw two people: one, who was Azzam’s brother, was chained to the bed and was screaming. The other person was lying on the floor in his own blood. He had been shot in the head, the upper abdomen and the hand. I saw him on the floor gasping. We called the doctors,” said SZ.
Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, said Abdullah had “attacked the force”.
But Kifah Al Sharif, a member of the hospital’s board of directors, and hospital staffers said he was shot for no reason when he emerged from a bathroom.
“The man is in a hospital, he’s not planning to attack soldiers,” said Mr Al Sharif.
The Shin Bet said its agents had arrested Azzam. It said Azzam had “been smuggled” to the hospital for treatment after he was shot while stabbing an Israeli settler on October 25 near the Meitzar settlement in the Hebron area.
However, Kayed Jaradat, the mayor of Seir village where Azzam is from, eight kilometres north-east of Hebron, said the 20-year-old did not carry out a stabbing attack, but was shot and wounded by a settler while picking olives with his family.
Rafiq Al Salhab, the surgeon who operated on Azzam, said his patient had arrived in critical condition from multiple gunshot wounds but had been “stable” in recent days.
However, he said Azzam needed to remain in hospital as “some wounds were still in the healing phase”.
Hebron’s deputy governor, Marwan Sultan, condemned the Israeli troops for invading “Area A”, territory in the West Bank that is supposed to be under full Palestinian security control and where Al Ahli hospital is located.
"Even in wars the wounded can receive treatment and this should be respected. This should be a safe place. How can I convince people there is an authority here that can protect them?'' he told The National.
He said the raid could fuel more violence.
“The family of the person killed here may respond. Why wouldn’t they? It’s an execution in cold blood,” he added.
Abdullah, Azzam’s cousin, was the 80th Palestinian to be killed since October 1 in the latest wave of violence to hit the region, according to the Palestinian Maan news agency. Twelve Israelis have been killed.
Israeli authorities say 50 of the Palestinian fatalities were involved in attacks on Israelis but Palestinians dispute this.
On Thursday, Israel’s supreme court gave a green light to the destruction of five homes belonging to Palestinians accused of taking part in deadly attacks against Israelis.
Three of the homes are in the West Bank town of Nablus, and belong to the alleged killers of a Jewish settler couple shot dead in front of their children on October 1.
The two other West Bank homes, near Ramallah and in the Qalandiya refugee camp, have been linked to murders dating back to June.
Meanwhile in Hebron, angry doctors and nurses, along with Palestinian Authority officials, demonstrated outside Al Ahli hospital on Thursday morning against the raid.
“To come and kill someone in a hospital is unbelievable,” said Mr Al Sharif, the hospital’s board member. “This means you are not safe in hospital. Where can you be in a safe place?”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
Day 5, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Given the problems Sri Lanka have had in recent times, it was apt the winning catch was taken by Dinesh Chandimal. He is one of seven different captains Sri Lanka have had in just the past two years. He leads in understated fashion, but by example. His century in the first innings of this series set the shock win in motion.
Stat of the day This was the ninth Test Pakistan have lost in their past 11 matches, a run that started when they lost the final match of their three-Test series against West Indies in Sharjah last year. They have not drawn a match in almost two years and 19 matches, since they were held by England at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2015.
The verdict Mickey Arthur basically acknowledged he had erred by basing Pakistan’s gameplan around three seam bowlers and asking for pitches with plenty of grass in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Why would Pakistan want to change the method that has treated them so well on these grounds in the past 10 years? It is unlikely Misbah-ul-Haq would have made the same mistake.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Draw for Europa League last-16
Istanbul Basaksehir v Copenhagen; Olympiakos Piraeus v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen; VfL Wolfsburg v Shakhtar Donetsk; Inter Milan v Getafe
Sevilla v AS Roma; Eintracht Frankfurt or Salzburg v Basel; LASK v Manchester United
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group F
Manchester City v Hoffenheim, midnight (Wednesday, UAE)
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECVT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E119bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E145Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh%2C89%2C900%20(%2424%2C230)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
