Also read:

                11/26/02: The Murder of Iain Hook -- Kurt Nimmo, CounterPunch

                11/26/02: Death and Lies in Palestine -- Ali Abunimah, CounterPunch

                11/25/02: The Invisible Death of Iain Hook -- Ira Chernus, CommonDreams.org

                11/24/02: Eyewitness Account: Irish UN worker killed, Irish International Activist shot by Israeli military in Palestine -- Caoimhe Butterly in Jenin Refugee Camp, Palestine

"When Hook fell on the ground, we thought that he was joking around. But a second later, blood was pouring out of him .."

JENIN, West Bank (PalestineChronicle.com) - British Engineer and UN worker, Iain Hook was shot dead on Friday, Nov. 22, 2002, in the Jenin Refugee camp in the northern West Bank. The shooting took place during a vicious Israeli invasion of the camp. Yet many questions remain unanswered about the circumstances surrounding his untimely death.

Hook had arrived in Jenin just three weeks ago and was assigned to his post to help aid the refugees in rebuilding their camp and their lives after the Israeli invasion of Jenin in April 2002; an invasion where according to groups such as Amnesty International, the Israeli army carried out war crimes. Hook was the first UN worker to be assigned to the camp since April.

Reports say that Hook was fatally shot in the abdomen twice, and was declared dead immediately upon his arrival to the Jenin hospital. While the Israeli army has admitted to his death and expressed their regret, they also alleged that Hook was shot in crossfire exchanged between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance fighters. Later, they revised this statement, alleging that Israeli forces shot Hook, mistaking his cell phone for a grenade.

The Palestine Chronicle launched an investigative report immediately following his death. Palestine Chronicle reporter, Ali Samoudi, interviewed several eyewitnesses at the UN compound where Hook was shot, as well as residents in neighboring areas. The following report was produced from those accounts.




Iain Hook was 54 years old when he was shot dead. He was killed inside the main United Nations, (UNRWA) compound in Jenin. It all started at 8:30 in the morning, when a large force of Israeli soldiers began a wide-scale attack on the Jenin refugee camp. UN workers had just arrived to their offices when they realized that Israeli troops were surrounding the compound and the neighboring areas.

A UN worker and eyewitness to the events told the Palestine Chronicle, “Just as we began organizing the work for the day, when we realized that we were under siege. We were locked inside the compound and we felt that our lives were in great danger. Hook then began making telephone calls. He was trying to get in contact with of the Israeli authorities to express to them the danger surrounding the UN compound. He finally reached them, and he was told that we shouldn’t fear any danger or harm.”

The Israelis told Hook that UN workers could resume their work as usual, and that the Israeli soldiers were very familiar with the area. The Israeli authorities expressed that the army would not harm them whatsoever. Eyewitnesses said that during that time, Israeli forces were intensely bombing the house of a resident of Jenin, Adnan al-Badawi. The Israelis claimed that Palestinian fighters were sheltering themselves inside al-Badawi’s house.

The intensity of the firing compelled Hook to call the Israeli authorities another time, who assured him once again that everything would be alright. However, the Israelis reportedly indicated that UN workers led by Hook could evacuate the compound if they wished, as long as they raised the UN flag on their cars. Hook was the first to leave, he left on foot, carrying a UN flag in his hand to make sure that the route was safe for his colleagues. Yet as he stepped out, he realized that Israeli snipers and a large number of forces were surrounding the entire area. He retreated to the compound.
 

Palestinian children protest the death of Hook

Another UN worker told the Palestine Chronicle upon condition of anonymity, “Iain told us that our lives were in grave danger if we dared to leave. He asked us to stay and to wait a little longer. He advised us to sit on the floor, so as to avoid Israeli snipers’ fire.” Hook and other workers sat on the ground of the courtyard of the UN compound. Some were covering their heads with their hands as Israeli bullets flew everywhere. After a moment of quiet, Hook stood up cautiously to examine the scene. He was immediately hit by an Israeli bullet.

The same UN worker lamented, “When Hook fell on the ground, we thought that he was joking around. But a second later, blood was pouring out of him. The shooting was clearly coming from an Israeli sniper that was stationed in one of two buildings facing the UN compound and now occupied by Israeli soldiers. We began screaming, ‘Ambulance, ambulance…”

Mohammed Jarbouh is the owner of one of the two buildings occupied by Israeli snipers. He told the Palestine Chronicle, “Israeli troops took over my house earlier that morning. Snipers were stationed in the windows facing the UN compound. They shot at everything that moved. One of the snipers in my building was aiming solely at the UN compound. It is most likely that he is the one who killed Hook.”

Immediately after the shooting of Hook, Palestinian UN workers began making telephone calls to other UN offices in the area, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, pleading for an ambulance to take Hook to the hospital. The ambulance driver in the UNRWA clinic in Jenin narrated his part of the story, “As soon as we heard of the tragic news, I rushed with an ambulance that belongs to the United Nations clinic, and tried to reach the UN compound. Israelis troops, however, stopped my vehicle and another one that accompanied me, also belonging to the UN. I also saw other ambulances, one belonging to the Red Crescent, also trying to reach the compound. It too was blocked. There were four Israeli armored vehicles blocking the main gate of the UN compound and a large number of troops. They denied us entry into the compound, and then ordered us to leave.”

By this time, Hook had bled for over thirty minutes without receiving any medical care, He only had the help of Palestinian co-workers, who tried to comfort him and assure him that help would arrive soon. But help didn’t arrive. UN workers tried to find alternative ways to get Hook out of the UN compound. Finally, they cut a large hole in the concrete wall surrounding the UN compound, in an attempt to smuggle him out of the compound. By then, Hook was gasping for his last breath.

 

Ian Hook dead in Jenin Hospital

As soon as Hook arrived to “The Martyr Khalil Suleiman Hospital” in Jenin, doctor’s there pronounced him dead. Medical sources confirmed that Hook was shot with dumdum bullets, ammunition used by the Israeli army that explodes once it strikes its target, causing severe damage.

Eyewitnesses and UN workers refuted the Israeli army claim that Hook was killed in crossfire exchanged between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance fighters. They also rejected Israeli claims that the army brought in an ambulance and that a Palestinian ambulance was granted entry to the UN compound. Eyewitnesses said that no clash was taking place in the area at the time, except for the Israeli army shelling of several homes in the area, including al-Badawi’s home.

Jamal al-Shati, a member in the Palestinian parliament told the Palestine Chronicle that the Israeli claims were a desperate attempt to “water down the clear murder” of Iain Hook. He said that the entire area was completely sealed off by Israeli tanks, dividing the camp into two areas. The army was there for hours, and it would have been impossible for Palestinian fighters to penetrate that siege and to station themselves around the UN compound. Shati warned of any future Israeli attempts to somehow blame the Palestinians for the murder of Hook. He said, “This crime is just a reflection of the carelessness that Israeli troops exhibit while dealing with Palestinian lives, or any other lives for that matter. They have no respect for international law, or the lives of people, including Hook and the Irish volunteer,” Caoimhe Butterly, who was shot by Israeli troops on the same day.

Butterly was shot in the leg by Israeli troops on the same day, medical sources confirmed.
On that same day, an 11 year old Palestinian child, Mohammed Misleh Bilalo was shot in the head. A bullet penetrated his left eye and left no time for doctors to try and save him. Six other children were wounded on that same day.

There was no armed Palestinians found in al-Badawi’s house. Israeli troops used loudspeakers to order the residents of al-Badawi’s building and nearby buildings to “surrender”. They were mostly women and children. Several were arrested on that day. The house of the Turkman family was demolished a few hours later. It hosted four families, totaling 25 people. The Israeli claim of armed Palestinians clashing with its troops around the UN compound was never confirmed.

-Palestine Chronicle (palestinechronicle.com). Redistributed via Press International News Agency (PINA).