Jerusalem mayor visits east Jerusalem boy who was shot in eye
Lion said "I'm taking him in my own hands, tell me what you want and you'll get it, I'll take care of him like he was my own."
By TZVI JOFFREProtests in Jerusalem for Isawiya(photo credit: RACHEL SCHWARTZ)
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion visited Malek Issa, a 9-year-old Palestinian resident of the Isawiya neighborhood of Jerusalem, a week after Issa was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet by border police officers in Isawiya, according to Haaretz.Wael Issa, Malek’s father, told Haaretz that Leon said “I’m taking him in my own hands. Tell me what you want and you’ll get it, I’ll take care of him like he was my own.”When The Jerusalem Post asked the municipality about the visit, a spokesperson for Lion responded that the visit was not supposed to be publicized and would not confirm or deny that the visit had taken place. Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum told the Post on Sunday that she had heard about the visit and was “very happy he went.” The deputy mayor called the incident in which Malek was shot a “horrible mistake” and “negligent.”“Mayor Moshe Lion quietly went to visit the family without looking for any publicity proving that he is everybody’s mayor and that he takes care of every population in the city, not just voters or the Jews, but everyone,” Hassan-Nahoum added.Malek underwent surgery at Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center in Ein Kerem on Sunday to remove his eye, according to the Palestinian WAFA news agency.Sawsan Issa, Malek’s mother, told WAFA that Israeli security forces intentionally shot Malek and hit him directly in the eye when he got off the school bus in front of his home. Sawsan claimed that there were no clashes occurring in the area at the time.Isawiya, located adjacent to Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus and Hadassah-University Medical Center, is home to an estimated 22,000 Palestinians. The neighborhood has seen almost nightly arrests and clashes since June. According to WAFA, there has been a “dramatic uptick in police raids that have completely disrupted their lives and thrown the neighborhood into chaos.”Authorities originally increased their presence in Isawiya because of residents throwing stones, according to an October 6 report by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem. According to the report, “The harassment includes daily raids on the neighborhood, detaining of residents returning from work, the issuing of traffic tickets for spurious infractions, serving of house demolition orders, acts of violence, and detentions – particularly of minors.”Residents and activists allege that authorities regularly use tear gas and stun grenades, raid homes at night, set up checkpoints and conduct random searches. They also claim that police have arrested between 500 and 600 residents over the last five and a half months, including 300 children. Home demolition orders are also frequently handed out in the neighborhood. Omar Atiya, a 53-year-old member of the community’s parents council, said only seven or eight of those arrested have actually been indicted.Abby Seitz contributed to this report.
