Grief for dead sons

Yesterday, on the 28th of December, peaceful demonstrators from the village of Ni’lin, west of Ramallah have been once more, seriously attacked by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), killing Arafat Khawaja, 21 years-old the 3d teenager killed in Ni’lin within the past 7 months.

Arafat Al Khawaja, 21years-old was a successful university student. He was shot by the IOF on sunday, during a peaceful demonstration in his town of Ni’lin

Picture: jbphotos

In the context of the bloody massacre of Gaza – the biggest bloodshed that Palestine has faced since the 6-day war in 1967 – peaceful demonstrators organised several solidarity and non-violent demonstration all around the West Bank.

That day in Ni’lin, a town West of Ramallah that is holding weekly non-violent protests against the building of a new section of the Apartheid Wall that will surround the village and literally divide it into two parts, a Solidarity demonstration against the massacre in Gaza was held. For three consecutive days, hundreds of people gathered and marched peacefully, protesting against the Israeli occupation and brutality.

While peacefully marching and demonstrating, the IOF opened fire on the demonstrators with rubber-coated bullets and live ammunition and fired teargas canisters, killing Arafat Khawaja, and wounding 5 others.

The live bullet penetrated Arafat in his back, reaching his heart. Another Palestinian youth, Mohammad Khawaja 20 years-old was shot in the head. The two teenagers were taken to emergency surgery in the Ramallah hospitals were their states remain highly critical. On Sunday late afternoon, Arafat Khawaja died from his wounds, while Mohammad passed away this early morning.

Arafat’s mother (center) cries "My son, where is my son, where is my baby"

Picture: jbphotos

Five other demonstrators were seriously injured by bullets. This latest incident lead the death toll from Nil’lin to 3 children and teenagers killed and more than 400 injured, as a results of their peaceful action, and the brutal retaliation from the Israeli army for the past 7 months.

To Salah Al Khawaja, spokesman of the Nil’in popular Committee against the Wall, “the same military that killed Arafat yesterday is the same that committed the heinous massacre in the Gaza Strip”.

Women grieve at the Khawaja family home.

Picture: jbphotos

Women grieve at the Al Khawaja family home.

Picture: jbphotos

Prayers are read to the mourners

Picture: jbphotos

In the town of Silwad, East of Ramallah, another Palestinian young man was killed on sunday evening, during clashes with the Israeli forces. Muhammad Hamid, the 17-years-old teenager, was transferred to Ramallah Hospital and pronounced dead after medics discovered 3 gunshots in his abdomen and chest. Hamid is the second victim in the West Bank after the attack on Gaza, but as protests continue he might very well not be the last.

Just hours after the two deaths, the IOF stormed the village of Madama near Nablus arresting four young men. According to a member of the local council 12 military vehicles entered the village at 2 am, when the IOF ransacked several houses. A 47-year old father of one of the arrestees said that the soldiers stole his wife’s jewellery and his life savings of 500 Jordanian Dinars.