Most times, I really hate to do this. I hate to have to bring things like this to your attention. I hate that things like this even exist, or that you will spend the evening resisting the urge to replay this in your head.
The twenty second clip above shows Israeli soldiers wrestling a Palestinian boy to the ground. You can hear him shouting for the beating to stop. “Khalas,” he says. “Khalas.” A soldier punches him in the face. His head hits the concrete floor. He’s identified later as 17-year-old Hasan Al-Afifi.
The worst sound is the thud you hear when two human beings make contact, forcefully. The soft clap that precedes it acknowledges that contact has been made. Skin on skin. The thud that comes next screams of a vague but sharp pain. And while you may not literally hear a scream, the agony is there. You know it’s there because you feel it in your gut where it lingers.
Israeli special military forces raided the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem today. Hasan, who had been standing outside of his home uninvolved in any confrontations, was beaten and his mother, who had attempted to shield her son, was teargassed. He was sent to an interrogation complex. She passed out.
Visit the Electronic Intifada for more detailed coverage.
