Ramallah: Israeli military forces on Tuesday shot dead a Palestinian youth in the town of Dora off Hebron.
The victim’s family has demanded that the teenager’s body undergo an autopsy to prove their claim that he was murdered in cold blood by Israeli occupation forces.
Nineteen-year-old Mo’ataz Edris Al Sharawnah was shot twice — once in his abdomen and once in his back — by Israeli military forces who raided the town of Dora.
The Israeli raid was part of a mission to search the houses of several Palestinians believed to have been responsible for firing on an Israeli military jeep.
Eyewitnesses said that Israeli military forces did not hesitate to fire live bullets at a group of youths who had gathered to watch the military operation. They added that the soldiers had fired despite there being no provocation on the part of the youths.
“There have been two versions given regarding the death of Mo’ataz and the final report of the forensic expert will be the final verdict for the family,” said Nidal Al Sharawnah, the victim’s brother who has 13 other brothers and six sisters, in an interview with Gulf News.
Mo’ataz, a freshman at the Palestinian Security Studies Academy of Jericho, was initially assumed to have been deliberately run over by an Israeli military vehicle but others argued that he had been shot dead by Israeli soldiers.
“We want the accurate truth about the death of Mo’ataz to be able to act later against the Israeli military forces which killed him, no matter whether it was done by a vehicle or by bullets,” the victim’s brother said.
The family decided at the last moment to send the victim’s body to the Abu Dis Forensic Institution for a forensic report on the cause of death.
Eisa Al Namourah, an eyewitness, said that Israeli military forces surrounded the houses of the detained Palestinians.
“The Israeli forces fired live bullets directly at the youth to disperse them and the youth ran away without hurling a single stone at the Israeli forces,” he told Gulf News.
Israeli soldiers shot Mo’ataz, who was watching the unfolding activities, in the abdomen. Mo’ataz was shot in the back as he tried to flee.
At least eight Palestinian youth were detained by the occupation forces. Despite three of them being seriously injured, Israeli soldiers did not allow Palestinian ambulances access to them.
Mo’ataz passed away at the scene and the Israeli military then allowed an ambulance to take his body to Alia Hospital in Hebron.
Dora and Hebron declared Tuesday a day of mourning where all the official departments, shops and other facilities were closed to allow officials to take part in the funeral that was scheduled for later on Tuesday.
