In August 2015, we ran a post by Anne in Petah Tikva about Ayla (Ayala) Shapira, an 11-year old Israeli girl horribly burned in a terror attack.
That attack received almost no media attention outside Israel.
Anne’s post was, This child #WasBurnedAlive in West Bank, but you probably never heard of her:
The reality is that firebomb (Molotov cocktail) attacks are frequent, and almost always by Palestinians against Israelis. In fact, barely a day goes by without such firebombings.You may not remember, but last December another child was dreadfully injured in another firebombing – one which you may have heard of but which most people have probably forgotten because it was ignored by most of the media. The child in question was an Israeli, one who lives in Samaria (what the MSM and anti-Israel NGOs and activists would consider an “evil settler” and therefore somehow a legitimate target).11 year-old Ayala Shapira was travelling in the car with her father Avner late at night on her way home from a class for gifted children to their home in the settlement of Maale Shomron in Samaria.A firebomb thrown by two Palestinians hiding at the side of the road not only hit the car, but smashed through the window and landed directly on Ayala, causing her to catch fire. Her father stopped the car and Ayala had the presence of mind to throw herself on the ground and roll on the floor to put out the flames….Ayala was critically injured and fought for her life for several days….Her wounds are horrific and unbelievably painful but she bears her injuries stoically.I have seen Ayala “up close and personal” since she is a very good friend of my granddaughter Noa. She and Noa had planned to make a joint batmitzvah this summer, but in the circumstances it was decided to celebrate separately.
Cases like Ayala’s still received little if any international media attention. So recently Ayala took her case directly to the European Parliament, to remind them that support for some Palestinian groups, which they think promotes peace, actually promotes violence. One such policy is the Palestinian Authority practice of paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists and their families.
Ynet News reported, WATCH: 13-year-old terror victim tells story at European Parliament:
Thirteen-year-old Ayla Shapira, a resident of Samaria who she was injured at age 11 when terrorists threw a firebomb at the car she was travelling in, addressed the 15 MEPs and guests, sharing her personal story.She explained that her family was attacked by a 16-year-old Palestinian who wanted to receive payments for his family while he was jailed for his attack. Shapira asked the parliamentarians to consider that fact when they believe themselves to be sending aid money to Palestinians for the purposes of peace.The intergroup was established on the initiative of the foreign relations group of the Samaria Regional Council, the head of which, Yossi Dagan, was present and spoke at the ceremony.West Bank representatives signed a joint declaration with the MEPs promising to cooperate to stop the funding of terrorism and reduce trade barriers facing Jewish pioneers in Judea and Samaria. During the event, the participants toasted with wine produced in the West Bank.
Arutz Sheva has Ayala’s statement:
I am Ayala, almost fourteen. I live in El Matan in the Shomron; I like to read, write stories and draw. I would like to describe to you what it feels like to have a terrorist attack directed at you.The truth is, at the moment it happened I didn’t really understand what was happening. I saw a ball of light coming towards us. My father quickly stepped on the brakes. The ball of light shattered my window and landed between us. It was a Molotov cocktail. I remember that everything around us was burning. I thought I was going to die.Afterwards, I started to act. I tried to open my door, but wasn’t able to. I was sure that the central door lock had melted in the heat, but then, my father opened the door from the other side. My entire left side was on fire, but I couldn’t free my seat belt with my left hand, so I put my right hand into the flames, too. Then, I just started running. My father told me to roll around on the road to put out the fire burning me.Only then did I begin to feel pain. I told my father that his shirt was also on fire and I asked him to also roll around on the road, but he didn’t stop. He wanted to save me first.I was hospitalized for eight months; that’s where I understood that my life was about to change drastically. Sometimes, I really miss being outside and feeling the sun and doing all the things I want to do. The hardest thing is when people look at me. I see it. I most appreciate the people who don’t try to hide it; they look at me but ask what happened to me – why am I all covered up?One of the terrorists who threw the Molotov cocktail at our car was a sixteen year old boy – only a few years older than me. He did it, among other reasons, to help his family economically; he knew that if he is put into prison, the Palestinian Authority would take care of them.While I was still in the hospital, I drew a cartoon which I think is appropriate for this occasion.I want you to remember that sometimes when you think you are contributing to a peaceful cause, you’re actually contributing to murder, pain and war.
Ayala’s mother Ruth also addressed the issue of European funding of anti-Israel groups:
Honorable Members of Parliament, Friends of Judea and Samaria, Shomron Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, Honored Guests,I arrived here from Israel only yesterday, with my daughter Ayala, who today is almost fourteen years old. We flew more than 3 thousand kilometers – because I understand that we have the responsibility of telling you our story.My name is Ruth, and I am the mother of six daughters, of whom Ayala is the eldest. We have lived in the Jewish Community El Matan in the Shomron for the past fifteen years.About 2 years ago, on a Thursday evening, as I was preparing dinner for my daughters, expecting Ayala and my husband, Avner who was supposed to drive Ayala home from a class for gifted children in math in Kfar Saba, I received the phone call that changed our lives. Avner, called and told me, “We’ve been hit by a Molotov cocktail, my battery is dying, call the police” – and hung up. The first thought that passed through my mind was – have we only lost our car or G-d forbid, lost our daughter.That moment I stopped thinking and did everything to get them help as quickly as possible.They didn’t wait for rescue forces on the empty road and began making it home on foot. When I saw them, Avner’s shirt was still on fire. I saw the extent of Ayala’s injuries only after she entered the house, in the light. She had horrible burns on her face and neck, on her chest, on her back and on the palms of both her hands. My brave child walked all that way on her own before the rescue forces reached her. They entered the house.On the way to the hospital, I realized that the situation was more serious than I had thought. Avner was hospitalized for several weeks, while Ayala was hospitalized for three weeks in intensive care, for two months in the regular ward and an additional five months in a rehabilitation ward. She suffered 30 per cent second and third degree burns on her face and her upper torso; she has undergone six operations and is expected to undergo more surgery in the future.Today, my brave Ayala, who bears all this gracefully, must wear a pressure garment twenty four hours a day. She mustn’t be exposed to sunlight, which greatly limits her activity. She can’t go on trips, can’t get to extra-curricular activities or to her youth club on her own. She has to be driven everywhere; we must check out every school activity before she can participate in it, and she visit the hospital twice a month. She has “minor” operations on a regular basis.While our lives changed, the lives of the terrorists’ families changed, too. They receive a salary every month from The Palestinian Authority- a reward for their terrorist attacks. This is money they receive from you, from the countries of the European Union, who transfer hundreds of millions of Euros a year to the Palestinian Authority without any supervision.By doing so, the countries that this Parliament represents, cause the murder of israelis. All of this is enabled by the European taxpayer. Hundreds of millions of Euros are transferred annually from the European Union to the Palestinian Authority, which finances, among other groups, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Organization, schools named after terrorists who murdered children, schools calling for terror, and others.I call out to you, members of the European Parliament, members of the Group of Friends of Judea and Samaria – to stop this kafkaesque absurdity; to stop the encouragement of killing and destroying families done by the countries this House represents.The European representatives can no longer claim ignorance. Alongside Ayala stand, waiting for your determined reaction: The Fogel Family, a father, a mother, a baby and two children murdered in their beds on a Friday night, and whose murderers’ blood-stained hands receive a monthly financial reward for this murder – from you; the four people who were murdered while out with their friends and families in the Sarona compound in Tel Aviv – only because they were Jews; the thirty people murdered while celebrating the Passover seder night in the Park Hotel in Netanya, and thousands of other Israeli terror victims (may G-D avenge their blood) and their families. The thousands of children and families whose addition to the circle of bereavement you can prevent.I call out to you as a mother who is trying to stop this craziness; to act immediately to stop financing the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian organizations until there is clarification and transparency for the path the money is taking, and to stop the financing of murderers. It is unthinkable that under the guise of peace and humanitarian motives of this House, hundreds of millions of Euros should be transferred to the Palestinian Authority – hundreds of millions of Euros that lead to the murdering of innocent people. It is in your hands.
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