Palestinian Shot Dead by Israeli Army at Funeral of 11-Year-Old

A young Palestinian man, Shawkat Khalil Awad, 20, died hours after being shot on Thursday, July 29, by Israeli occupation forces while attending the funeral of 11-year-old Mohammed al-Alami in the town of Beit Ummar, in the southern West Bank.

A day earlier the boy was also shot to death by Israeli soldiers, being hit by five bullets, while riding in the back seat of his family’s car. A spokesperson for the occupation army admitted that the vehicle, driven by Mohammed’s father, posed no threat to the soldiers when they opened fire. The circumstances of the seemingly unsanctioned shooting are being investigated by occupation authorities.

Just before the funeral procession during which confrontations erupted, mourners pray over thd body of 11-year-old Mohammad al-Alaama, resident of Beit Ummar, killed by Israeli soldiers, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Because of the gunfire from the occupation forces, during which Shawkat Khalil Awad, 20, was mortally wounded, Mohammad's body was temporarily abandoned at the grave side until the funeral's attendees could return to give him an improvised, provisional burial.

Just before the funeral procession during which confrontations erupted, mourners pray over the body of 11-year-old Mohammad al-Alaama, resident of Beit Ummar, killed by Israeli soldiers, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Because of the gunfire from the occupation forces, during which Shawkat Khalil Awad, 20, was mortally wounded, Mohammad’s body was temporarily abandoned at the grave side until the funeral’s attendees could return to give him an improvised, provisional burial. (Photo: Wafa)

During the funeral procession of the 11-year-old al-Alaama, clashes broke out between Palestinian mourners and occupation soldiers stationed nearby. The latter responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and Ruger sniper bullets, purported by military authorities to be a less-lethal form of live fire, but with a record of fatalities when used by Israel soldiers and police. The occupation forces also fired into the air an array of other live ammunition to disperse the inflamed attendees of the funeral, the army said in a statement.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, amidst the clashes 20-year-old Awad, also a resident of Beit Ummar, sustained gunshot wounds to his abdomen and head and was taken in critical condition to a hospital in nearby Hebron, where he succumbed to his wounds, Al-Ittihad reported. Awad was the fourth Palestinian to die in confrontations with Israeli soldiers this week in the West Bank, and the third in Beit Ummar, according to the Palestinian Authority.

The clashes between the funeral’s attendees and occupation soldiers interrupted Mohammad’s funeral while it was underway, forcing mourners to abandon the boy’s body and only return later to give it an improvised, provisional burial, Al-Ittihad reported.

Fourth Palestinian Killed by Solders near Eviatar Outpost

Meanwhile, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy died of his wounds Thursday, July 29, after he was shot by occupation soldiers near the Eviatar outpost in the West Bank a day earlier. The victim was Ahmad Zahi Benny Shamsa, a resident of the village of Beta, south of Nablus.

Shamsa is the fourth person killed since protests broke out against the Eviatar outpost, which was established in early May near the Tapuach junction. Last Friday, July 23, another 15-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by live ammunition fired by occupation soldiers in the village of Beta. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that the victim was Muhammad Said Hamail. Six other protesters were injured by live ammunition in demonstrations against the establishment of the illegal outpost Eviatar and were evacuated to a hospital. Two weeks earlier, a 28-year-old was killed at the scene. According to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, two weeks earlier, another Palestinian was killed as a result of gunfire.

The protest against the Eviatar outpost erupted following the construction of buildings on a hill in the Occupied Palestinian Territories a number of weeks ago. Residents of the area said that last month the settlers invaded land belonging to them, and in the meantime managed to erect dozens of buildings.

It should be noted that Israel soldiers not serves as defenders of the settlers, killing and wounding Palestinians, they were also photographed helping to set up  the outpost. Photos published in Haaretz on June 13 document soldiers, who were subsequently identified, assisting in the assembly of prefabricated buildings in the outpost against which an evacuation order had been issued.

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