Hind Rajab, Gaza child killed by Israeli fire, gets Nobel Peace Prize nomination
The nomination was submitted by Khaled Beydoun, law professor at Arizona State University, in collaboration with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).
Her nomination is to honour "every Palestinian child whose life has been stolen by war and genocide" and serves as a statement 'to recognise the relentless horror children in Gaza have endured' in almost two years of war, wrote Mr Beydoun on Instagram.
Israel's 21-month war in Gaza has killed more than 1,300 children since it began. UN officials have repeatedly warned that Gaza has become a 'graveyard for children'.
One of them was Hind. She had been with her mother's uncle and his wife, and four other children, in a car in Gaza city when an Israeli tank started firing at them. All of them were killed instantly, except for Hind and her cousin, 15-year-old Layan Hamadeh.
Layan was the first to alert the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) that the car had been surrounded by Israeli forces. 'They're shooting at us,' she said in a phone call, before her screams eventually went quiet and the line dropped. When PRC rang back, the phone was answered by Hind, who was sitting in a car with six bodies.
The nomination comes after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented US President Donald Trump with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination as Gaza ceasefire talks pick up.
Hind's nomination was 'planned long before Trump's,' wrote Mr Beydoun. 'We can't think of a stronger statement and response.'
Mr Netanyahu's status as head of state and Mr Beydoun's position as university professor make them both eligible to submit a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Hind's body was found riddled with bullets after a phone call of her pleading for help was shared widely on social media.
Hind's story must never be forgotten. Her voice must never be silenced
Khaled Beydoun,
law professor at Arizona State University
Hind's mother was able to join a three-way call with her daughter and the operatives – the last time she would hear her voice. Hind told her mother she was injured in her arm, back and leg, and was bleeding from her mouth, before contact was lost with her for 12 days.
"It was the most brutal phone call of my life. Hearing my daughter injured, crying and screaming and not being able to do anything to help her," Hind's mother told The National in an interview last year.
Hind's body was retrieved on February 10, and investigators found 335 bullet holes in the car she had been sheltering in.
An analysis by UK research agency Forensic Architecture found it was "not plausible that the shooter could not have seen that the car was occupied by civilians, including children". Two paramedics who were sent to the scene to save Hind were also killed, and the ambulance they were travelling in had been struck by Israeli forces, the Red Crescent said.
Hind's death sparked global outrage and solidarity, with US singer Macklemore releasing a song named after her and students at Columbia University renaming a building in her honour.
'Hind's story must never be forgotten. Her voice must never be silenced,' said Mr Beydoun.
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