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German family mourns death of father in Gaza

Ex-wife, children of Palestinian engineer killed in Gaza call on German gov't, international community to do more to stop Israel's onslaught.

24.07.2014 - Update : 24.07.2014
German family mourns death of father in Gaza

SIEGEN/BERLIN 


Family members of a German-Palestinian killed in Gaza spoke Thursday to the Anadolu Agency about their loss, lambasting the international community for not exerting pressure on Israel to avoid more civilian casualties.

Kerstin al-Kilani, the German ex-wife of Palestinian engineer Ibrahim al-Kilani, talked of his character, telling AA that he had never been a member of an Islamist movement or Hamas. 

"He was absolutely innocent,” she told AA in her home in Siegen, east of the German city of Bonn. “Germany and the rest of the world should not remain a bystander but should act. The world should really do something to avoid the death of more people.” 

Ashraf al-Qidra , a spokesman for the Gaza ministry of health, has said that Ibrahim al-Kilani and his family were among 11 Palestinians who died when an Israeli strike his Israa tower in central Gaza City on Monday. 

The dead were identified as Ibrahim al-Kilani, 53, Yasir al-Kilani, 8, Elias al-Kilani, 4, Sawsan al-Kilani, 11, Reem al-Kilani, 12, Taghrid al-Kilani, 45 and Mahmoud Shabaan Mohammad Dirbas, 37 and Ayda Shabaan Mohammad Dirbas, 47.

Kerstin and their two children said they had received the news on Tuesday morning, 24 hours after their last phone conversation.

“Ibrahim told us on Sunday night that they had found a secure place. He told us not to worry.  I am still in shock,” she said.

The couple met as young students at a university in Siegen. By 1991 they were married with two children, Layla and Ramses, but the relationship didn't last. Following their divorce, Ibrahim returned to Gaza in 2001 and married Taghrid. 

Kerstin told AA that despite their separation, he tried to maintain in close contact with his children and ex-wife, but could only talk with them on the phone.

She said that they had made several attempts to meet again, but the Israeli blockade of Gaza kept them apart.

Layla al-Kilani, Ibrahim's 21-year-old daughter, said she traveled to Egypt last year with the hope of meeting her father and his family.

“Unfortunately I could not meet with him because my father could not leave Gaza,” she said. “Now we have lost our family.”

Ramses, 22, expressed deep sorrow over his father's death, but also great disappointment over the lack of international pressure on Israel for its treatment of Palestinians.

"[German] Chancellor [Angela] Merkel describes the Israeli action as self-defense, but this is not action of self-defense,” he said. “But I have seen that Turkish Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan made comments in [strong] contrast to the German government,” he added, stressing that the international community should do more.

Erdogan has strongly criticized Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

“Turkey will continue to call a spade a spade and will raise its voice against Israeli brutalities in Gaza,” Erdogan said at a rally in the southern city of Adana on Wednesday.

At least 771 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5000 others injured since Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip on July 7 with the stated aim of halting rocket fire.

Last week, it stepped up its offensive to include ground operations, sending thousands of troops into the embattled coastal enclave.

According to official Israeli figures, 32 Israelis – including 30 soldiers – have been killed since hostilities began.

Israel's operation "Protective Edge" is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populated strip – home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – within the last six years.

www.aa.com.tr/en

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