Omer alleges that Israeli security officers at Allenby forced him to strip naked and aggressively questioned and taunted him until he fainted under the stress. His memories from that point on are sketchy at best, but he recalls the officers digging their fingers into his neck and chest.
At some point, an ambulance was summoned from nearby Jericho. Paramedic Mahmoud Tararya arrived in a Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulance and said he found Omer semiconscious with bruises on his neck and chest. Tararya said Israeli security officers were asking Omer to sign "some sort of form written in Hebrew."
The paramedic said he intervened, separated Omer from the soldiers and loaded him into the ambulance, where he remained semiconscious for most of the trip to a hospital.
The doctor in Jericho couldn't determine why Omer had collapsed, but the medical report notes that the patient "has severe pain in the chest, neck, back and right [testicle]," and adds, "We note finger signs on the neck and chest."
Upon his return to Gaza, Omer was examined again. According to the medical report, it was discovered that he had a swollen vein in one of his testicles that would eventually require surgery. Omer says he doesn't remember a blow to his groin area, but speculates that it happened after he fainted.
--
Cause celebre
Omer's work for the Rafah Today website and the independent news agency Inter Press Service had made him famous, particularly among critics of Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories. He had just completed a tour in Europe where he had received the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, which rewards journalists whose "work has penetrated the established version of events" and which "exposes establishment propaganda," according to the award's website.
Mekel, the Israeli spokesman, said his office had been "bombarded by letters and e-mails" about the case.
Dekker, the Dutch spokesman, wouldn't comment on whether his government was satisfied with the Israeli inquiry, but he repeatedly stated his preference for an independent investigation. He also made it clear that his government would not challenge Israel by publicly making such a request.
"That's up to Israel," he said.
Omer's case is far from airtight. For starters, he says no one thought to take any pictures of his bruises until six days later -- at which point the marks had faded.
--
Inquiry criticized
