Israeli security forces shot a Palestinian teenager this past Saturday, in the occupied West bank, and he died on Sunday. 17 year old Kamel Alawneh was wounded by the police in a village called Jaba, located in the Jenin governorate, just north of the occupied West Bank. He was taken to the hospital on Saturday after being shot in the stomach and arm during the clashes. Doctors at Ibn Sina Medical Centre did all they could but they could not revive him. According to sources, he “succumbed to wounds from live fire by the occupation (Israeli army) in the abdomen and hand in Jenin”. In response, the Israeli army has laid the blame at Alwanehs feet, accusing him of throwing Molotov cocktails at the soldiers, who then fired at him, apparently in retaliation and for self-defense. However, no Israelis were injured in the clashed on Saturday. This is a double tragedy for his family as his elder brother also named Alwaneh, was killed by the Israeli army in 2003 as well.
Another Palestinian man was killed on Wednesday as well, also in Jenin. Muhammad Maher Marei, was wounded by Israeli gunfire and later pronounced dead at the hospital. He was a refugee living in the Jenin refugee camp.
Another teenager, 16 year old Mohammad Abdallah Hamed is also a casualty of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. He was shot and wounded on Friday, 24th June, near Silwad, northeast of Ramallah. He died in Israeli custody, as he was detained after his shooting. His body was released to his family on Saturday 25th June. The Israeli military say a group of youths were throwing stones on a highway; and engaged with them, which led to a fracas in which the army used force and struck Mohammad- “soldiers at the scene operated to stop the suspects in accordance with standard operating procedures, using live fire as a last resort”, the statement says.
The bullet that killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, is now in the possession of forensic experts in the United States of America. The world renowned veteran journalist was killed in May, when she was covering clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. According to her colleagues who were with her as well as eye witnesses and Palestinian authorities, the 51 year old was killed while clearly wearing a press jacket, and was shot by Israelis. This has been a point of contention since her death, with the Israelis insisting that their soldiers did no anticipatory shooting and that the bullet came from a gun handled by someone else, and that Abu Akleh was caught in the crossfire. The Palestinian authorizes have been in possession of the bullet that killed her, which has a green looking tip on it, which if true, is a bullet supplied by the US to Israeli armed forces. Until now, the Palestinians have insisted that a forensic investigation of this bullet will prove she was killed by the Israelis, and have refused to hand it over to the Israelis for them to test it, fearing it will disappear or be swopped out. Her family released a statement hoping for good results. However, after investigation, the US forensic teams concluded that while the bullet was indeed fired by the Israelis, Abu Aklehs death was “the result of tragic circumstances”. Her family and the Palestinian authorities have come out strongly against these findings.
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