Page 92 - The Winter of Islam and the Spring to Come

THE WINTER OF ISLAM AND THE SPRING TO COME
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and 75 percent of those in the upper parts of their bodies. In the Gaza
Strip, 40 percent were injured by real bullets, and 61 percent of them in
the upper body, in other words in the chest. The total number of
wounded exceeded 10,000. Some 1,500 people suffered permanent dis-
abilities. The hospitals where these people were being treated were also
frequently attacked. A total of 1,450 people were detained, and 750 of
these are still in Israeli prisons.
Some 2,760 buildings were seriously damaged. Of these, 773 were
the homes of Palestinian civilians, 180 of which were completely de-
stroyed. Among the damaged buildings were 29 mosques, 12 churches
and 44 water depots. Forty-one schools were rendered completely unus-
able, and four of them were actually used as military warehouses by
Israeli troops. Thirty school buildings were burned by Israeli soldiers.
The situation led to damage totaling around $400,000.

Finally, 45 students were killed on their way back home from school
during the first two months of the al-Aqsa Intifada. 17
All these statistics point to one clear fact: There has been a conscious
and systematic policy of the elimination of the Palestinian people. The
above figures show that Israeli troops did not use their weapons to re-
move a threat to public security, but to kill and maim. Most of the chil-
dren who were killed and crippled were shot in the head or chest, or else
from behind. It is obvious that no soldier whose aim is simply to main-
tain order would shoot people in the head or chest, or from behind as
they run away.
It is also completely unacceptable for some Palestinians to perpe-
trate acts of violence against innocent Israeli civilians. However, Muslims
are charged with behaving in the manner commanded by Allah and
being guided by the sunnah of the Prophet (saas), at all moments of their
lives.
In the verses of the Qur'an Allah calls people to the ethics of Islam,
through which the world can be made a haven for peace and love. Allah
commands us to rule justly without discriminating among people, to pre-
serve people's rights, not to tolerate cruelty, to support the oppressed in
the face of cruelty, and to lend a helping hand to those in need. This jus-