By Mahmoud El-Yousseph
During the last week in five days of fighting between Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),
several dozen people killed were all Palestinians except one for one dead Israeli.
Her name is Inga Abramia and she was an immigrant to Israel from Armenia. She is an 80-year-old who moved to Israel with her husband 30 years ago and lived in the illegal Jewish settlement of Rehovot that was built on stolen Palestinian land.
Inga died on May 13, 2023, when a rocket penetrated Iron Dome defenses and slammed into her apartment building, and her husband was slightly injured. Inga was a Russian teacher. The Abramia have a son and a daughter and a few grandchildren.
Her death brought to mind the murder of Omar Assad, 80, who on January 2020 was beaten to death by IOF soldiers. I wish to compare and contrast the death of those two 80 years old.
Omar immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s and became a small business owner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He and his wife had seven children and many grandchildren. 11 years ago, Omar Asad decided to retire in the village of Jaljulia in Ramallah, Palestine where he was originally from. Omar was also a US citizen.
As Omar was driving home through his village, he was reportedly pulled out of his car by IDF soldiers who aggressively handled him, handcuffed him with plastic zip ties, gagged his mouth, blindfolded him, and forced him to lie on his stomach. Soldiers then dragged him for about 200 meters and beat him to death. According to eyewitnesses, there were about 40 soldiers who were just watching this handcuffed elderly man be repeatedly hit by armed soldiers across his entire body. Asad suffered from a subsequent heart attack and was left to die on the ground while unconscious and handcuffed.
Let there be no doubt that as long as Palestinians are forced to live under occupation and have their human rights violated daily by the IOF soldiers and Jewish settlers alike, there will continue to be more killing, pain, and suffering on both sides and Omar and Inga will not be the last to die.
Omar immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s and became a small business owner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He and his wife had seven children and many grandchildren. 11 years ago, Omar Asad decided to retire in the village of Jaljulia in Ramallah, Palestine where he was originally from. Omar was also a US citizen.
As Omar was driving home through his village, he was reportedly pulled out of his car by IDF soldiers who aggressively handled him, handcuffed him with plastic zip ties, gagged his mouth, blindfolded him, and forced him to lie on his stomach. Soldiers then dragged him for about 200 meters and beat him to death. According to eyewitnesses, there were about 40 soldiers who were just watching this handcuffed elderly man be repeatedly hit by armed soldiers across his entire body. Asad suffered from a subsequent heart attack and was left to die on the ground while unconscious and handcuffed.
Let there be no doubt that as long as Palestinians are forced to live under occupation and have their human rights violated daily by the IOF soldiers and Jewish settlers alike, there will continue to be more killing, pain, and suffering on both sides and Omar and Inga will not be the last to die.
