Palestinian victims of Israeli settler attacks face battle for justice
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Sixteen years after Ziad Jilani was shot dead by Israeli border police in occupied East Jerusalem, his widow Moira Jilani still seeks accountability. Israeli authorities closed the case against the officer who killed him, citing lack of evidence. The family continues to live with the fallout of Ziad being branded a terrorist.
Key Facts
- Ziad Jilani was shot dead by Israeli border police on June 11, 2010, in Wadi al-Joz, occupied East Jerusalem.
- The officer who fired the fatal shots, Maxim Vinogradov, had posted online about his desire to kill Arabs less than two weeks before the killing, according to an investigation by Israeli rights lawyers.
- The case against Vinogradov and his commanding officer was closed due to a lack of evidence, and neither has faced trial.
- Ziad Jilani was branded a terrorist by Israeli police hours after his death, a label his family says is false.
The Killing
On June 11, 2010, Ziad Jilani was driving his pick-up truck home through Wadi al-Joz after Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Witnesses told The Los Angeles Times that Ziad was caught in a fight between Israeli forces and Palestinian youths throwing stones. A rock struck his windshield, causing him to swerve into a group of police officers, lightly injuring two of them. A border police officer opened fire, and Ziad was shot in the back as he left his vehicle, then shot twice in the head at close range while on the ground.
Accountability Efforts
An investigation by Israeli rights lawyers claimed that the officer who shot Ziad, Maxim Vinogradov, had posted online about his desire to kill Arabs less than two weeks earlier. The case against Vinogradov and his commanding officer was closed due to a lack of evidence. Neither officer has faced trial for the killing. Moira Jilani told Al Jazeera that she and her daughters have had to live with the fallout of Ziad being branded a terrorist.
Family Impact
Ziad had promised his daughters he would take them to the beach after Friday prayers on the day he was killed. His last words to his wife were, 'Just get ready, you and the girls. When I come back, I'll just honk, and you come on down.' Instead of going to the beach, the family went to his funeral. Moira said she told her daughters not to look up their father online because of false information spread about him.
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Palestinian victims of Israeli settler attacks face battle for justice
