Child Abducted by Israel

I made this video because Islam, a child and student of mine, was abducted by the Israeli soldiers. The video gave me the chance to do something and not be helpless.

I shot the interview with Islam after he had been tortured by the Israeli Army. Two weeks later the Israeli Army abducted him from his home and I made this film.

Fourteen year old Islam Saleh spent four months in prison, so that testimonies from his interrogations could be used to jail and prosecute Bassam Tamimi, a leader of the Palestinian Popular Resistance to the Israeli Army and settlement of their land, and Islam's next door neighbor.

Recognized by the EU and Amnesty International as a Human Rights Defender during his year in prison, Bassam Tamimi's case - with testimonies from a child in a language he didn't understand - became international news. The critical human rights situation in Islam's villlage, Nabi Saleh, was also brought to diplomats, INGOs and UN agencies as violations of the "Convention of the Rights of a Child" hundreds of times now.

This is what I wrote about Islam the night I posted the film:

Islam Saleh is fourteen and a half years old. Two weeks ago, during a clash in the village, he was taken by Israeli soldiers to a nearby base and tortured.

Two weeks later, on January 23rd 2011, in the middle of the night, a masked man entered his home and abducted him in collaboration with six Israeli soldiers. They did not provide his family with any documentation or information about why or where he was taken.

Footage by: Bilal Tamimi, Nariman Tamimi
Translation: Manal Tamimi