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Photo:
Jassem Muhammad Nakhla. Published by Maan News

Muhammad Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Hattab. Published by Maan News

Muhammad Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Hattab, March 23, 2017. Published by Maan News
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RAMALLAH (Ma’an) --
April 10, 2017

Palestinian teenager Jassem Muhammad Nakhla, who was shot and grievously injured by Israeli forces near the al-Jalazun refugee camp in the central occupied West Bank in March, succumbed to his wounds on Monday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.

Nakhla, whose family said was 17 years old contrary to earlier reports, died in an Israeli hospital in Tel Aviv after Israeli forces shot him in the head and foot on March 23 when he was in a vehicle with three other young Palestinians.

One of the other youths, 17-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Hattab, died that day, while the two others, Muhammad Hattab, 18, and Muhammad Moussa Nakhla, 18, were also seriously wounded.

Medical sources told Ma’an on Monday that Nakhla had been clinically dead since he was injured, and had been kept on life support since.

Both Jassem and Muhammad Nakhla were transferred for treatment in Israel on March 28 in an attempt to save their lives, while Hattab remained at the Palestine Medical Complex in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

A spokesperson for the Ichilov Medical Center, where the two youths were initially taken, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jassem Nakhla's death and Muhammad Nakhla's health condition.

The circumstances of the shooting have been highly contested, as local sources told Ma'an at the time of the deadly shooting that Israeli soldiers in a military tower near the entrance of the camp, which is located adjacent to the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit El, fired heavily towards the teens’ vehicle while they were inside.

An Israeli army spokesperson claimed at the time that the boys were throwing Molotov cocktails at the settlement, and that they were outside of their car when they were shot.

However, video and photographic footage taken by locals at the scene following the shooting showed the vehicle riddled with bullets, windows shattered, and blood staining the seats, casting doubt on the Israeli army’s narrative of the event.

When questioned by Ma’an in March about how the teens could have re-entered their car and driven away from the scene after being injured with multiple rounds of live fire to the head and chest, the Israeli army spokesperson said she could not comment.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday about Nakhla’s passing, nor about whether an Israeli investigation into the shooting had yielded any results.

Nakhla is the 18th Palestinian to be confirmed killed by Israeli forces this year, and marked the sixth time that Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian minor since the beginning of 2017.

In all four instances when Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian minor this year, the Israeli army claimed that the teenagers were throwing Molotov cocktails. However, the Israeli versions of events have been heavily contested, notably in the al-Jalazun case and in that of 17-year-old Qusay Hassan al-Umour in January, as video evidence and investigations led rights groups to brand al-Umour’s death an unlawful and unjustified killing.

In many cases, Israel’s version of events has been disputed by witnesses, activists, and rights groups who have denounced what they have termed a "shoot-to-kill" policy against Palestinians who did not constitute a threat at the time of their death, or who could have been subdued in a non-lethal manner -- amid a backdrop of impunity for Israelis who committed the killings.
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RAMALLAH (Ma'an) --
MARCH 23, 2017 9:15 P.M. (UPDATED: MARCH 26, 2017 5:05 P.M.)

A Palestinian youth was killed and three others were critically injured Thursday evening after Israeli forces opened fire on a Palestinian vehicle near the al-Jalazun refugee camp north of Ramallah city in the central occupied West Bank.

Ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society transferred the four youths, all residents of al-Jalazun, to the Ramallah Government Hospital, where one was pronounced dead.

Ma'an previously reported based on statements by medical officials at the hospital that a second teen succumbed to his wounds, though the ministry later clarified that while three were still undergoing surgery, only one teen had been pronounced dead.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the slain Palestinians as 17-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Hattab, who was shot in the chest and shoulder.

The ministry identified the three injured as 18-year-old Jassem Muhammad Nakhla, who was shot in the head and foot, 18-year-old Muhammad Hattab, who was shot in the abdomen, and 18-year-old Muhammad Moussa Nakhla, who was shot in the foot and shoulder. The three remained in critical condition.

Local sources told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers fired heavily at the the vehicle while the teens were inside, from military tower near the entrance of the camp.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an that "three suspects exited a vehicle adjacent to the community of Beit El," referring to the illegal Israeli settlement adjacent to al-Jalazun, " where the suspects threw firebombs at the community. In response to the threat Israeli forces in the area fired towards the suspects, and several hits were confirmed. The suspects then fled the scene."

The spokesperson would not comment on reports that the teenagers were fired at while still inside the vehicle, or on reports that Israeli forces fired at the teens from a military watchtower.

When questioned about how the teens could have re-entered their car and driven away from the scene after being injured with multiple rounds of live fire to the head and chest, the Israeli army spokesperson said she could not comment.

In a video taken by locals at the scene, reporting to show the car in which the teenagers were shot at, the car can be seen with shattered windows and multiple bullet holes in the car's exterior, casting doubt on the Israeli army's claims that the boys were shot while outside of the vehicle.

In dozens of cases, Israel’s version of events has been disputed by witnesses, activists, and rights groups who have denounced what they have termed a "shoot-to-kill" policy against Palestinians who did not constitute a threat at the time of their death, or who could have been subdued in a non-lethal manner -- amid a backdrop of impunity for Israelis who committed the killings.