Israel army smears slain medic Razan Al-Najjar with edited video clip

Israeli authorities were slammed yesterday after smearing slain Palestinian medic Razan Al-Najjar with social media posts, including a misleadingly-edited video clip.

The Israeli army’s Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee tweeted out a video which shows Al-Najjar throwing away a tear gas cannister into an empty field, and also includes a few seconds of footage from a longer interview with the volunteer medic.

In the clip distributed by Adraee, and also shared by other Israeli officials and diplomats, Al-Najjar says: “I am here on the front lines and I act as a human shield”, a phrase highlighted by the propaganda clip to infer the medic was part of a duplicitous Hamas-orchestrated plot.

Razan Al-Najjar: a white coat stained with blood

Palestinians attend the funeral ceremony of Razan Al-Najjar, 21, a female paramedic who was shot dead by Israeli forces while healing the wounded during ‘Great March of Return’ in Gaza on 2 June 2018 [Mustafa Hassona / Anadolu Agency]

However, in the full interview from which this tiny clip was taken, Al-Najjar said: “I act as a human shield as a rescuer for the injured on the front lines.”

Al-Najjar was shot dead by an Israeli sniper as she sought to reach and aid wounded protesters near the Gaza Strip perimeter fence. Video footage shows the medic and her colleagues walking towards the fence with their hands in the air and clearly identifiable as medical workers.

Her killing, along with the thousands of Palestinians killed or wounded by Israeli soldiers’ use of live ammunition, has sparked condemnation around the world.