A Palestinian college student from the Nablus area has lost her right eye after an Israeli army marksman shot at her while she on her way home from school.
The 21-year-old IT student, Ruba Awayes, said she was hit by a rubber-coated bullet as she was leaving the Najah University campus on Sunday, 9 April.
A colleague from a nearby village was also hit in the hand.
"I was going home, and suddenly a piercing object hit me so strongly in my right eye. I lost consciousness and found myself in hospital. It was so quiet, I didn’t hear any sounds of firing. It was as if the bullet came from nowhere,’ said Ruba Awayes.
Awayes said Israeli soldiers riding military jeeps started shooting in all directions when they invaded downtown Nablus, a common occurrence in the city.
"I was going home, walking toward the taxi cabs that commute between Nablus and our village (Nisf Jbeil). If I had known there was firing, I would have ducked the bullets or stayed on campus," she said.
Her father, Mahmoud Awayes described the way Israeli soldiers treated Palestinians as "exactly like the Nazis."
"Even if you bring me a thousand lawyers, they won’t convince me that Israelis are better than the Nazis. They are the Nazis of our time. They are the Gestapo of our time." He said the Israeli army didn’t contact him or apologize for shooting his daughter. The family has no legal recourse open to them, as Palestinians are not considered citizens of any state, and have great difficulty challenging the occupying Israeli authority in the Israeli courts.
"They committed their crime and left. They wouldn’t even say sorry." Ruba underwent a surgical operation in East Jerusalem where her eye was eradicated. She said she would undergo further cosmetic operations to enhance her appearance.
