If there was ever any doubt that Israeli soldiers view the blood of Palestinians as worthy of contempt, then look no further than the actions of a patrol in Hebron that shot a 20-year-old Palestinian man. Reportedly, Mahmoud Yahya Abu Jaisha had allegedly tried to attack a group of Israeli soldiers with a knife in an act of revenge spurred by the killing of another 17-year-old youth by an Israeli soldier last Saturday.

What is disgusting and reprehensible in this instance is that after Abu Jaisha was shot, he was left to bleed to death on a street while Palestinian emergency workers and ambulances were purposely kept away from the scene by the Israelis. What kind of mentality or monster can watch a man lie in the street, his life’s blood pooling as an agonising death embraces a victim while all the time keeping would-be and pleading helpers from trying to do what any human with the slightest ounce of compassion would have done — save his life.

And yes, there will be those in Israel who will say that Abu Jaisha got what he deserved for his actions. But when has Israel or any Israeli soldier got what he deserved for his actions?

Abu Jaisha died because his land was stolen, its people spread to the corners by an occupying power — one that is content to let young men bleed to death and keep rescuers away at gunpoint.