Mourners on Sunday afternoon, July 28, shouted down far-right government ministers at a funeral for 10 of the 12 children and young people killed when a rocket struck a soccer field in the Arab-Druze town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights, wounding dozens more.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has called repeatedly for war with Hezbollah, attempted to appease the crowd, was harangued. “We want quiet, and we don’t get it!” another resident shouted. “We’re tired of your promises!” Another man present called the finance minister, as well as fellow far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, “racists.” In a video posted to X, hecklers around Smotrich can be heard shouting, “You’re a murderer! You murdered your people,” and “We don’t want him!” as well as swearing at the minister. The Ynet news site quoted others as shouting “They came to take pictures,” and “You trash, you dog! Get out of here, you trash!”
The racist politicians came despite a request by Yasser Gadban, chairman of the Forum of Druze and Circassian Local Authorities, that far-right government ministers not attend the funerals. “We ask all government representatives, ministers and senior officers, do not come,” he said in a letter. “Due to the sensitivity of the situation, we ask that you not turn a massacre event into a political event. We are requesting a quiet, religious funeral in accordance with Druze custom,” he wrote.
Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16, Iseel Nasha’at Ayoub, 12, Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15, Milad Muadad Alsha’ar, 10, Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11, Naji Taher Alhalabi, 11, Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 13, Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12, Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, 16, Vinees Adham Alsafadi, 11 Nathem Fakher Saeb, 16, and Jifara Ibrahim, 11, who were killed in the rocket attack on Majdal Shams, July 27, 2024 (Photos from social networks)
Lebanese Hezbollah said on Saturday that it had launched a Falaq rocket at an occupation army base near Majdal Shams, though since reports emerged of civilian casualties in the occupied town, the movement denied involvement. According to the Israeli army a shrapnel was found at the soccer field matching an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket, which in Lebanon is exclusively used by Hezbollah.
Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel strongly condemned the deadly attack and calling for a deal to end the war and occupation, a deal with Hamas for the return of hostages, as well as a lasting peace agreement with the Palestinians. MK Ayman Odeh tweeted: “The heart is broken, and the earth is soaked with the blood of children and the tears of mothers. Eleven children playing football in Majdal Shams lost their lives. However one looks at it, there is no other solution than an immediate end to the war. My heart is with Majdal Shams.”
MK Ofer Cassif said, “A child is a child. Those who harm innocent civilians, especially children, are despicable war criminals. Whether in Gaza, the surrounding areas, the north, or Lebanon. My heart is with the citizens of beloved Majdal Shams. Stop the bombings! Stop the killing of children and civilians! Stop the war. Stop the horror. The war in Gaza must end to end the war in the north.”
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered to delay the transfer of sick and wounded children from the Gaza Strip to the United Arab Emirates for treatment. Netanyahu made this decision “due to the deaths of 11 children and teenagers from the rocket strike in Majdal Shams.” Israel had initially agreed to facilitate the medical evacuation of hundreds of sick and wounded children from Gaza for treatment in the UAE. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel called the decision it “a cruel game by the Israeli government with children’s lives.” In addition, ministers authorized Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant Sunday to decide on the “manner and timing of a response to a rocket strike in the Golan Heights.”
