Australian student may lose sight in one eye after alleged Israel military shooting in West Bank

A 20-year-old Australian woman could lose vision in one eye after allegedly being shot at by Israeli forces in an apartment near her university campus in the occupied West Bank.

Ranem Abu-Izneid is en route to Melbourne after sustaining serious injuries to her face, chest and right eye from metal shrapnel after a bullet was shot into her shared student accommodation on November 15, according to her parents and her university.

Ranem Abu-Izneid was injured by an alleged Israeli forces bullet fired into her student accommodation on November 15.

The Australian citizen, who was born in Jordan and whose family is Palestinian, was studying dentistry at al-Quds University in Abu Dis town in the Palestinian territories near Jerusalem, which is in a non-combat zone.

Details of the alleged incident were provided to this masthead in statements from her family members, based on a witness account from her flatmate, and confirmed by a dean at her university.

Photos of the bullet and Abu-Izneid’s facial injuries have also been seen by this masthead, as well as medical reports from hospitals that treated her in Ramallah and Jerusalem.

The Israeli embassy in Australia and the Israel Defence Forces have been contacted for comment.

Asked about her case, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was “providing consular assistance to an Australian in Jordan”.

“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment,” a DFAT spokesperson said.

According to her parents and her brother, Abu-Izneid and her female flatmate were studying in their fourth-floor apartment when they heard Israeli forces speaking Hebrew over a loudspeaker outside their student residential building.

Her flatmate told Abu-Izneid’s family that she had approached the window to see what was happening and saw a soldier point a gun at her and fire a shot.

The bullet pierced the metal window frame but did not hit either of the women, the flatmate told Abu-Izneid’s relatives. She told them that the projectile then hit the top corner of the room and exploded close to Abu-Izneid, showering her in shrapnel that embedded in her chest, face and eye.

The bullet hole in the window frame of Ranem Abu-Izneid’s accommodation.

Ranem’s mother, Rana Abu-Izneid, a dentist, said the area was usually considered safe, and described the incident as a catastrophe.

“I can hardly believe it,” she said. “This area is under control of the Palestinian Authority.

Ranem Abu-Izneid was in her third year studying dentistry in the West Bank.

“That area is a town for Palestinians, there are no settlers but sometimes the Israeli military invade that area.”

Ranem was taken to Ramallah Medical Complex by ambulance on November 15, where she had surgery the next day. She was transferred to St John’s Hospital in Jerusalem due to the severity of her injuries, according to medical documents seen by this masthead.

She had surgery in Jerusalem on November 18, according to a written account from Abu-Izneid’s father, Dr Tareq Abu-Izneid, a medical academic from Monash University.

“While the surgery was successful, doctors indicated that Ranem’s injuries are extensive, requiring multiple surgeries, particularly for her facial injuries,” her father wrote.

“They have also expressed concern that she may permanently lose sight in her injured eye.”

Renem’s mother, Rana, said Australian consular officials escorted Ranem to the Allenby border crossing into Jordan on November 20. The student is flying back to Melbourne with her father.

The Palestinian Australia New Zealand Medical Association is helping co-ordinate Abu-Izneid’s medical treatment when she lands in Melbourne. The organisation has been running medical missions to Gaza.

Mazen Alkhatib, dean of student affairs at al-Quds University, said the university community was struggling to understand why the attack happened in what is considered a “safe area”.

“We are very sad … all of us, all of the students … There is no reason to shoot her when she was in her flat.

“I know that she is a good student. She just studies.”

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