Ramallah: Israeli occupation forces shot and killed a Palestinian teenager in the town of Taque, near Bethlehem, on Monday during a clash that erupted at the town’s entrance.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Qusay Hussain Al Omor, 17, died after sustaining wounds to the chest and head when he was shot six times at close range.
Sources in Bethlehem told Gulf News that occupation forces raided Taque from the west on Monday afternoon, clashing with demonstrators protesting the raid. The Israelis opened fire on the residents using live ammunition.
A video clip which has subsequently gone viral shows the youngster being shot and dragged by the occupation forces to their armoured vehicles. Some of Al Omar’s female relatives then attempted to check on the injured boy, but the occupation forces fired warning shots and told them to stop.
Al Omor’s body was later handed to his family and it was taken to the morgue at Al Hussein Hospital.
A team of Palestinian forensic experts performed an autopsy on Al Omor, recovering all six bullets. Their findings were submitted to the Health Ministry.
The municipal council, in coordination with the victim’s family, announced that Al Omor would be laid to rest on Tuesday in his hometown.
The martyr’s family and all the residents of Taque hold the occupation forces and their far-right government — which provides the perpetrators of extrajudicial killings with legal protections — fully responsible for the young man’s death. Taque has announced three days of mourning in memory of Al Omor.
Palestinian and international organisations have documented dozens of extrajudicial killings committed by the occupation forces and colonists in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinians plan to use this documented evidence as proof of Israeli violence and aggression against unarmed Palestinian civilians.
