A number of Israel haters are sharing a link to this fundraising effort:
Weʼre raising £2,000 to support our sister Nawal Gassan Salameh in her tragic bereavment of her husband, Akram.
Our dear friend and sister Nawal Gassan Salameh has recently lost her beloved husband Akram. He died in hospital from tear gas inhalation after trying to diffuse a situation involving some youths at the village check point.
This has come as a great shock, everyone who met Akram will remember him as a strong and silent type, but with a great sense of humour, also, that he was a very devoted loving father and husband. He was Nawal’s number 1 supporter and the strength behind her which kept her going in her work. Nawal is now a widow with their 3 children, daughters Jaffa and Haifa and son, Gassan to support.
Nawal worked tirelessly for Women in Hebron, promoting the cause of women and for them to be able to contribute to their local society and community, a whole village of women relied on her for work, now Nawal needs support in her time of mourning and grief.
Let me just start by saying that it gives me no joy to know this man died. He was a human being, and I have no proof that he was a terrorist or a bad person. I feel for his family.
But what makes me feel compelled to blog about his death is the accusation that we somehow killed him – albeit not deliberately – via tear gas. There is simply no proof this is what happened.
For a start, had this been the case, then we would have heard from it in both the palestinian press but also the likes of B’tselem. But nothing, not a peep from them. Just this fundraising page.
I had a look at the deceased’s Facebook profile to see if there were any clues as to what may have happened. All I have is the fact that he seems to have been affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, perhaps in their police force:
And more relevantly, that he seems to have had health issues well before his death earlier this month, supposedly due to tear gas inhalation.
Given the absence of any mention of his death in the palestinian press or B’tselem, as well as his seeming history of health issues coupled with fact healthy people do not die from tear gas, I am calling this out as fake news.
I wish his family well but not at the cost of defaming Israel.
