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Photo:
Othman Atef Abu Kharj, 17. Published by IMEMC News
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by IMEMC News
Aug 22, 2023

On Tuesday morning, just before dawn, Israeli troops shot and killed 17-year old Othman Atef Abu Kharj, shooting him with live ammunition in the head and shoulder during an invasion of the town of Zababda, south of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

Abu Kharj was one of a group of youth that confronted the invading army at the entrance to their village, shouting slogans and throwing stones.

Invading Israeli soldiers shot the youth with multiple live rounds. He was taken to the Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, where he was declared dead by hospital officials after doctors were unable to save his life.

Fawaz Hammad, director of the Al-Razi Hospotal, told the Palestinian Wafa News Agency that the child, Othman Atef Abu Kharj (17 years old), died of injuries he sustained at dawn, during the clashes that erupted after the invasion of the town.

The Israeli occupation forces also abducted the young man, Yazan Malik Al-Sharqawi, after raiding his family’s house and the homes of his relatives in the town of Al-Zababda.

According to ‘Visit Palestine’, the village of Zababda is home to about 3,000 inhabitants and is the only majority-Christian village in the northern West Bank.

Ruins found under the village show settlement dating to the Byzantine times. At the convent of the Rosary Sisters, a 6th century mosaic, as well as remnants of columns indicates that there was once a significant Byzantine church on the site. In the center of the village the remains of a Byzantine-Roman building, known as the Baubariya, can be found.

The modern village of Zababda was founded in the 17th century. Within the village there are four small churches belonging to the Catholic, Anglican, Melkite, and Greek Orthodox denominations. The village is also home to the Arab American University of Jenin.