Israeli forces kill Palestinian during West Bank funeral protest

Israeli troops shoot dead Shawkat Awad, 20, during the funeral of a Palestinian boy killed by army fire the previous day.

Palestinians carry the body of Mohammed al-Alami, 12, during his funeral in the village of Beit Ummar, near the West Bank city of Hebron, Thursday, July 29, 2021 [Majdi Mohammed/AP]

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man in a protest that erupted on Thursday during the funeral of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy shot dead by soldiers a day earlier, the Palestinian health ministry said.

“Shawkat Khalid Awad, 20, died of gunshot wounds to the head and stomach in Beit Ummar,” the Palestinian health ministry said.

Israeli soldiers fired tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades at Palestinians attending the funeral procession of Mohammed al-Alami, 12, a Palestinian boy killed the day before in the occupied West Bank.

Alami died on Wednesday after being shot by Israeli soldiers while travelling in a car with his father in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Ummar northwest of Hebron, Palestinian authorities said.

A masked Palestinian protester shoots in the air following the funeral of Mohammed al-Alaminear the West Bank city of Hebron [Majdi Mohammed/AP]

Videos shared on social media showed the town’s streets trashed with debris and stones following the confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces.

Israel investigating the shooting

Nasri Sabarneh, mayor of the town, said on Wednesday that the father was driving with his son and daughter when Mohammed asked him to stop at a shop to buy something.

The father made a U-turn, the mayor said, and Israeli troops nearby began shouting at him to stop. A soldier then opened fire at the vehicle, fatally shooting the boy in the chest.

Sabarneh said he knows the family, who lives in town, and had spoken to the father. The father and daughter were not hurt, he said.

Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following the funeral of al-Alami, 12, in the village of Beit Ummar, near the West Bank city of Hebron [Majdi Mohammed/AP]

“They took my heart from me, they snatched it from me,” the boy’s father told Haaretz.

Earlier, the Israeli military said it launched an investigation into Wednesday’s deadly shooting of the boy.

A military statement said that senior commanding officers and military police – which investigate suspected misconduct by troops – were also looking into the incident. It said soldiers fired at a car that failed to stop at a checkpoint after they fired warning shots.

“After the vehicle did not stop, one of the soldiers fired towards the vehicle’s wheels in order to stop it,” the army said.

“We are looking into the claim that a Palestinian minor was killed as a result of the gunfire,” it said, adding the incident was being reviewed by senior commanding officers.

Alami was the second young Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in days, after 17-year-old Mohammed Munir al-Tamimi died on Saturday of gunshot wounds suffered the day before in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh, northwest of Ramallah.

And late on Tuesday, a 41-year-old Palestinian man was shot dead, also near Beita, the Palestinian health ministry said.

All Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank are regarded as illegal by most of the international community.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Advertisement