Emad Abu Shamsiyya, a Palestinian activist who filmed the point-blank shooting of Abd al-Fatah al-Sharif by an Israeli soldier in Hebron last March said he “feared for his life” after the Israeli soldier was found guilty of manslaughter for the killing Wednesday.
One message written to Abu Shamsiyya said that his killing was “inevitable,” while the activist also said members of the soldier’s family had broken into his house.
The court notably ruled Wednesday that the video shot by Abu Shamsiyya was authentic and admissible, as the panel of three judges meanwhile proceeded to give a wholesale rejection to every argument presented by the defense.
The last time an Israeli soldier was convicted of manslaughter was June 2005. Since then, Israeli forces have killed 6,000 Palestinians.
— Ben White (@benabyad) January 4, 2017
At a protest in Hebron organized by al-Sharif’s family while the verdict was being announced, Abu Shamsiyya told Ma’an he has continued to receive hundreds of death threats since the video he shot for Israeli rights group B’Tselem went viral and sparked international outrage over the apparent “extrajudicial execution” of al-Sharif, who was already seriously injured after being shot for allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli soldier.
He said that members of Elor Azarya’s family — the soldier who shot al-Sharif — broke into his home and “asked me to go to court and change my testimony.” He said he had video footage proving the incursion took place.
“I have received hundreds of messages from Israeli settlers threatening me, and they have tried to pay me bribes to convince me to change my testimony in court.”
Israeli soldier convicted over death of wounded Palestinian attacker https://t.co/pT48XLpwYK pic.twitter.com/zeOFNn3Yur
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 4, 2017
Abu Shamsiyya testified in June amid the ongoing trial, when he said Azarya’s defense attorney “tried to mislead the court by raising doubt” about his testimony.
Abu Shamsiyya added that Israeli forces surrounded his house on Wednesday and prevented reporters and other people from accessing the home during the court hearing.
Director of the Hebron unit of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society Amjad al-Najjar told Ma’an at the protest that he had personally seen “hundreds of messages from settlers and from Israeli occupation forces threatening Abu Shamsiyya,” saying that the activist’s life “is now in danger and we should create a committee to protect him.”
Israeli PM Netanyahu calls for pardon of soldier convicted of manslaughter for the killing of wounded Palestinian https://t.co/mpYXQ7j8Ze
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) January 4, 2017
Just one day after the killing and release of the video back in March, Israeli settlers gathered outside the home of Abu Shamsiyya to throw rocks and make death threats, and he has received countless hateful messages on Facebook since.
(Ma’an, PC, Social Media)
