June 16, 2013
Early Sunday afternoon, 75-year old Fatahia Azzaz was severely beaten by three young Jewish men outside a hospital in West Jerusalem.
Azzaz, of the Jabal Al-Mukabar neighborhood in East Jerusalem, had just finished a visit with her son who is currently receiving psychiatric treatment at the Givat Sha’ul Psychiatric Hospital. She was about five meters from the building when three Haredi (the most conservative from of ultra-orthodox Judaism) men in their twenties attacked.
"They asked her if she was Arab," says Abu Jamal, Fatahia’s son who was not present at the time of the attack.
"The answer to their question was obvious, and within a few seconds they were punching and kicking her. They threw her down on the ground and continued to hit her in the head until she lost consciousness," says Abu Jamal.
Two Arab drivers of Israel’s Egged Bus Company, who witnessed the attack, descended from their buses and came to Fatahia’s assistance, carrying her to the taxi that was waiting for her around the corner.
Abu Jamal met his mother at their local health care center, where her cuts were cleaned up and she was given oxygen and antibiotics.
Abu Jamal then brought his mother to the police station so that they could file a report. "They were asking her questions about the attackers as if she had the mind of a 17-year old. In such a incident, how can they expect her to remember what eye color the men had!" asks Abu Jamal angrily.
"We spent two hours attempting to answer their questions," says Abu Jamal, before telling the Palestine Monitor that he was not confident that anything would come from the police investigation.
Attacks on Palestinian residents of Jerusalem have been on the rise as of late.
Two days ago, on Friday the 14th, two Palestinian women were attacked by an Israeli man while attempting to buy a ticket for the Jerusalem Light Rail, outside the Central Bust Station in West Jerusalem.
Both women, in their early twenties, suffered broken noses and bruising to their eyes and face, reported
Ma’an News Agency earlier today.
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