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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| Israeli troops shot and killed zoo animals | |
| 2009-01-27 | |
A month ago, it was attracting families - he says the zoo drew up to 1,000 visitors each day. He points at the foot-long hole in the camel in one of the enclosures. "This camel was pregnant, a missile went into her back," he tells us. "Look, look at her face. She was in pain when she died." "Captain!" "Yes, general?" "Keep a sharp eye out for camels! Make sure you rocket them all!" "Yes, sir!" Around every corner, inside almost every cage are dead animals, who have been lying in their cages since the Israeli incursion. Qasim doesn't understand why they chose to destroy his zoo. "Major!" "Yes, general?" "Make sure you attack the zoo!" "Of course, sir!" And it's difficult to disagree with him. Most of them have been shot at point blank range. "The first thing the Israelis did was shoot at the lions - the animals ran out of their cage and into the office building. Actually they hid there." "Sir, there are lions in the zoo office!" "What're they doing?" "Making a phone call, I think!" "Well, shoot them!" The two lions are back in their enclosure. The female is pregnant, and lies heavily on the ground, occasionally swishing her tail. Qasim stands unusually close to them, but they don't seem bothered by his presence. As he takes us around, he is obviously appalled at the state of the animals. The few animals that have survived appear weak and disturbed. It's something in the air of Gaza, I think... "The foxes ate each other because we couldn't get to them in time. We had many here." There are carcasses everywhere and the last surviving fox is quivering in the corner. ... with no one left to eat... The zoo opened in late 2005, with money from local and international NGOs. There were 40 types of animals, a children's library, a playground and cultural centre housed at the facility. Inside the main building, soldiers defaced the walls, ripped out one of the toilets and removed all of the hard drives from the office computers. We asked him why they targeted the zoo. He laughs. "I don't know. You have to go and ask the Israelis. This is a place where people come to relax and enjoy themselves. It's not a place of politics." Israel has accused Hamas of firing rockets from civilian areas. Qasim reacts angrily when we raise the subject. "Let me answer that with a question. We are under attack. There was not a single person in this zoo. Just the animals. We all fled before they came. What purpose does it serve to walk around shooting animals and destroying the place?" Inside one cage lie three dead monkeys and another two in the cage beside them. Two more escaped and have yet to return. He points to a clay pot. "They tried to hide", he says of a mother and baby half-tucked inside. Qasim says that his main two priorities at the moment are rebuilding the zoo and taking the Israeli army to court. For the first, he says he will need close to $200,000(Dh734,000) to return the zoo to its former state - and he wants the Israelis to cover the costs. "They have to pay me for all this damage." We ask him why it's so important for Gaza to have a zoo. "During the past four years it was the most popular place for kids. They came from all over the Gaza Strip. There was nowhere else for people to go." | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 Unfortunately the MSM is all to willing to go with the Hamass version and never report anything about the IDF version. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-01-27 23:00 |
| #7 Here's something refuting it, ex-lib. It's the second video down in this LGF post. (I don't know how to imbed the video by itself - maybe someone else does.) Basically, it's a video taken by the IDF showing how the zoo was booby-trapped. By guess who. (Hint: It's not the IDF.) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-01-27 21:01 |
| #6 Why would Israelis target the zoo? Does anyone know? There were 40 types of animals, a children's library, a playground and cultural centre housed at the facility. Inside the main building, soldiers defaced the walls, ripped out one of the toilets and removed all of the hard drives from the office computers. Actually, that sounds pretty bad. Any news supporting the story? |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2009-01-27 20:16 |
| #5 CO, picky, picky. |
| Posted by: Steven 2009-01-27 13:43 |
| #4 um. This would be the "Gaza Fluffy Bunny and Darling Duckling Virtyal Zoo", would it? |
| Posted by: Blinky Glimble5674 2009-01-27 13:39 |
| #3 In order to have a cultural center (or centre), wouldn't you need a culture first? |
| Posted by: Carbon Monoxide 2009-01-27 12:45 |
| #2 What purpose does it serve to walk around shooting animals and destroying the place? For Israel - none. For HamAss - publicity and.... For the first, he says he will need close to $200,000(Dh734,000) to |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-01-27 08:35 |
| #1 Gaza is a zoo and it's full of animals. (I didn't know it had keepers, though.) |
| Posted by: Spot 2009-01-27 08:18 |