6, paralysed, she is face of W Asia divide

Now Israel wants to cut off the care she has been receiving in Jerusalem and force her to leave to the West Bank.

Mariya and her family were travelling to visit an aunt in Gaza City on May 20, 2006, when a missile fired from an Israeli aircraft struck near their car, killing her mother, brother, grandmother and uncle. Mariya was hit in the back of the head with shrapnel and thrown from the car. Another missile struck and killed the target, a senior Palestinian militant.

For the past year, Mariya has spent her days at Jerusalem’s children’s rehabilitation center, learning to make the most of the only muscles she can control, in her neck and head. Doctors say she can be cared for at home.

The Defence Ministry is willing to continue to pay for her medical care, but wants her to leave Israel and transfer to the care of a Palestinian hospital. But Mariya’s Israeli doctors say Palestinian facilities don’t have the equipment and experts to treat her. Mariya’s father has taken her case to Israel's Supreme Court.