Description

Photo:
Israeli forces and settlers gather around the body of Fadil Qawasmi, 18, in Hebron on Oct. 17, 2015. (MaanImages)

MaanImages
_______

HEBRON (Ma'an) – An Israeli settler shot and killed a Palestinian teenager Saturday morning on Hebron's Shuhada Street in the occupied West Bank, locals said.

A resident of the area, Mufeed Sharabati, said the settler shot the boy near the illegal Israeli settlement outpost Beit Haddassah. The boy laid motionless on the ground as Israeli soldiers tried to resuscitate him.

Sharabati added that "paramedics of the Palestinian Red Crescent arrived but Israeli soldiers didn't allow them to access the young man. The soldiers then covered the young man's face then took him in an ambulance to unknown destination."

He added that he saw settlers "distributing candies" following the death.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an that a Palestinian had tried to stab the Israeli settler when the settler "opened live fire on the assailant," killing him. No injuries were reported.

The teenager was identified as Fadil Qawasmi, 18. Less than two hours after his death, a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot dead in occupied East Jerusalem, also for attempting an attack.

Shuhada Street, where the Hebron attack took place, is at the heart of tensions in Hebron's Old City where Israeli forces have severely restricted Palestinian access since 1994.

Local Palestinians are prevented from accessing most of the street in order to "secure" the area for around 600 Jewish settlers who have taken over homes and evicted residents in the area. The few Palestinian residents left have to access their homes from their back entrances.

Palestinians may only access the street by passing through an Israeli military checkpoint with a metal detector, causing some locals to question whether Qawasmi could have been carrying a knife at the time of the alleged attack.

In the last two weeks, two Palestinians were shot dead after carrying out attacks on Israeli forces in the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba. An Israeli police officer and a soldier were wounded in the attacks.
Israeli settlers have carried out reprisal attacks on locals and their property, often in the presence of armed Israeli forces.

Earlier this week Israeli forces raided homes in Hebron belonging to the families of three Palestinians killed after carrying out alleged attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for punitive demolitions of the family homes of suspected attackers, despite warnings by rights groups that the practice is illegal, displacing innocent people for crimes they have not committed.

Qawasmi was the 38th Palestinian to be killed since the start of the month in Israel and occupied Palestinian territory, while seven Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in the same period.

_______

Video footage raises questions over Hebron 'attack'

HEBRON (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian activist group on Saturday released video footage that may show Israeli soldiers planting a knife next to the body of an 18-year-old Palestinian shot dead by a settler in Hebron earlier in the day.

The footage -- released by Youth Against Settlements -- shows an Israeli soldier handing an unidentified object to another soldier, who then bends forward, possibly placing the object next to the Palestinian's body.

An Israeli army spokesperson earlier claimed that the Palestinian, identified as Fadil Qawasmi, had attempted to stab the Israeli settler, who then "opened live fire on the assailant," killing him. The settler was not injured during the incident.

Shuhada Street lies at the heart of tensions in Hebron's Old City where Israeli forces have severely restricted Palestinian access for more than two decades.

Local Palestinians are prevented from accessing most of the street in order to "secure" the area for around 600 Jewish settlers who have taken over homes and evicted residents in the area.

Palestinians may only access the street by passing through an Israeli military checkpoint with a metal detector, causing locals to question whether Qawasmi could have been carrying a knife at the time of the alleged attack.

Sources told Ma'an that Israeli authorities had agreed to investigate the shooting following a request from the Palestinian liaison department. The liaison department reportedly made the request after they saw the footage.

Israeli forces have meanwhile detained the media coordinator for Youth Against Settlements, Ahmad Amr, as well as a Palestinian who witnessed the shooting.

On Wednesday, Israeli human rights organizations released a statement arguing that recent calls by Israeli politicians to shoot Palestinian attackers rather than arrest them effectively endorses the killing of Palestinians.

The statement added that "in instances when Jews have been suspected of attacks, none of the suspects has been shot."
An investigation from Israeli rights group B'Tselem has meanwhile found that two Palestinians shot dead after alleged attacks, Fadi Alloun and Basel Sidr, "were shot while no longer posing danger."