Red Cross retrieves body of woman shot during pullout

The International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday repatriated the body of a Lebanese woman who died in “Israel”, where she had been receiving medical treatment after being shot by “Israeli” soldiers during their May withdrawal.
Raymonda Musa, 31, was hit in the back by a bullet May 24 when “Israeli” troops fired in the air to disperse a crowd of terrified Lebanese who were hoping to flee to “Israel” during the hurried withdrawal.
Musa’s parents, brother, sister and daughter, who had all fled to “Israel”, accompanied her body to Lebanon. Musa’s husband, however, remains in Sweden, where he is seeking political asylum for his family, the police said.
Her father, Raymond Musa, 48, said he planned to sue “Israel” for his daughter’s death.
“I had to dig up my daughter with no help from the “Israelis”. They didn’t even give me a coffin for her body,” he said.
“I’ve been pleading for six weeks to return but they (the “Israelis”) have banned me because I file a lawsuit against them and accused them of killing my daughter,” Musa said.
He added that the “Israelis” “even accused me of being a Hizbullah agent.”
“The situation of Lebanese there is a disaster. I used to meet with many of them. It’s better to be in jail than to live in conditions like these,” he said.
“We used to get exaggerated news that the people who returned to Lebanon are having their eyes gouged out and are being beaten and tortured. But all this is lies,” he said
“All Lebanese prefer to return and be jailed in their country but the “Israelis” are not allowing them. They’re not giving them exit permits,” he said.
Musa added that most Lebanese protested against sending their children to “Israeli” schools. “There are families who stage hunger strikes because “Israel” is lying to us.
“I call on all who stayed there to return quickly to Lebanon. I tell you from my home here that the treatment and reception I had were the most honorable,” Musa said.
Funeral services for Musa were held in her native town of Marjayoun.

The Daily Star, 26-9-2000.