Two activists from the left-wing nongovernmental organization (NGO) Machsom Watch, yelled insults at an Ethiopian IDF soldier moments before a Palestinian terrorist shot and killed him on Tuesday in the town of Har Adar.
On Tuesday morning, Hana Berg and another activist from the NGO Machsom (checkpoint) Watch approached the guardpost at the entrance to Har Adar. Border Policeman Solomon Gaviriya exited the protected guardpost and requested they identify themselves and then distance themselves from the gates. The soldier was [erforming security checks on the hundreds of Palestinians employed by the town. Machsom Watch protests at guard posts and checkpoints and is frequently accused of harassing IDF soldiers while they are performing their duty.
Acording to other Border Policemen at the site, Berg and the second activist told Gaviriya, “Ata Boosha (you are a disgrace)”.
Moments later, a Palestinian who was standing at the security checkpoint opened fire, killing Gavariya and two others, and injuring a fourth victim.
Berg told Channel 10 that she never said never said those things to Gaviriya and the words were being put in her mouth, as well as “I never thought this would be the last conversation he held in his life.”
Machsom Watch claims to “oppose the Israeli occupation and the denial of Palestinians’ rights to move freely in their land”. According to NGO-Monitor, Machsom Watch is funded by Norway, Switzerland, New Israel Fund (NIF), Open Society Foundations, and others.
Machsom Watch has been accused of disrupting the work at the checkpoints and entering restricted areas without permission. In 2011, Raya Yaron, spokeswoman of Machsom Watch, was photographed comforting the mother of the terrorist that murdered five members of the Fogel family in Itamar. The entire family, excluding one daughter who was not at home, was stabbed to death while they slept. Three of the victims were children under the age of 11. The three-month-old infant was stabbed while he slept in his father’s arms.
