Raed al-Salhi dies after Israeli raid at Dheisheh camp

Israeli troops reportedly shot 21-year-old Raed al-Salhi five times at close range at a refugee camp in Bethlehem.

Raid Al Salhi
Israeli troops fired shots at Raid Al Salhi at close range, an official said [Raid Al Salhi/Facebook]

A 21-year-old Palestinian man has died from his wounds weeks after being shot by Israeli soldiers at a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, said the head of prisoners’ affairs for the Palestinian Authority.

Raed al-Salhi, who died on Sunday, was critically injured on August 9 when Israeli troops tried to arrest him during a pre-dawn raid at the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.

Issa Qaraqe, who leads the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, called Salhi’s death a “war crime” as he claimed the victim was shot at least five times.

“The young man died after being shot at close range,” he told the Anadolu news agency. “They could have arrested him without shooting him.”

Another resident of the camp, Aziz Arafeh, was also shot in the leg.

The Israeli army had claimed that the two Palestinians had attempted to flee the area.

The violence in August followed another fatal assault at the refugee camp in July, when  Israeli troops killed 18-year-old Baraa Hamamda during a raid, according to a report by the Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency.

Qaraqe called for the formation of a fact-finding committee tasked with examining crimes “frequently perpetrated [by Israeli security personnel] against Palestinian youths who are deliberately killed”.

In the weeks following his detention, Salhi – despite being unconsciousness – was placed under heavy security guard.

His family was denied visiting rights, according to Samidoun, a network group of activists working for Palestinian prisoner rights.

Israel’s army said it was looking into the incident and was not immediately available to comment, according to the AFP news agency.

Raids are frequent in towns, villages, and refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, with the Israeli army claiming they are essential for security and intelligence gathering.

Palestinians say they are used to intimidate, coerce and collectively punish Palestinian communities who resist Israel’s 50-year occupation.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies