Inas al-Minawi, Age 21
On Friday, 17 September 2004, at around 7 PM, my mother, sister and I were on the roof of our house which is located on al-Arsad St. in Nablus. My 19 year old cousin Ibreez joined us. We often sit on the roof and talk and eat. Ibreez and I are good friends and we would always hang out. We also live in the same building. On the same day, everything was calm except for the media announcements regarding patrols taking place in a couple of areas. We did not hear or see any in my area. We did see two armored military vehicles that turned onto al-Hamra St., which was deserted.
I saw one of the soldiers get out of the jeep, look around and after a moment, he looked towards the al-Hamra building. All of the sudden he kneeled down and pointed his weapon in our direction, but we couldn't tell who his target was. Ibreez said he was probably aiming to shoot at somebody and then my mother said we should get out of there. Before my mother finished her sentence I heard a bullet shot. We had been trying to hide under the rail of the roof, and I heard Ibreez yell out "My hand" and then she went silent. I looked over at her and I saw blood streaming down her arm. My mother and I tried to lift her, but we couldn't. Then Ibreez passed out. I tried unsuccessfully to wake her. We then started to yell "Help, Help." Ibreez's brother and the residents of the building rushed up to the roof. We lifted Ibreez and her brother drove her to al-Eitihad hospital. Less then a half an hour later, her brother told us she had died as a result of the bullet that penetrated her chest and became lodged in her heart. We were taken by surprise since we did not think this was going to kill her.
There was no reason for the shooting since nothing was going on. I still don't understand what happened. Ibreez was a great person with a strong personality and she enjoyed life. She also loved to laugh. She studied business management at the university. She always said that she wanted to finish school and start a company and create jobs for the unemployed. Ibreez's grandmother, who she is named after, was killed in 1967 when the Israeli forces conquered the city, in the same house where Ibreez was killed. Her grandmother was seven moths pregnant and had fifteen children. She was shot in the stomach and died at age 36.
Inas Fouad Dib al-Minawi, 21 Year-old, single, clerk, resident of Nablus. The testimony was taken by Salma a-Deb'i in the witness's home on 21 September 2004