Israeli army kills Palestinian youth in occupied East Jerusalem

Ramallah, Occupied West Bank – Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian youth during a military raid on the Kufr Aqab neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem.

Mohammad Ibrahim Shham, 21, was shot at his home on Monday by the army, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

His father told local media that the Israeli army raided their home at dawn and shot their son in the head from point-blank range. The army then arrested his son and announced his death shortly after.

“We don’t know the reason or why they came to the house. They would have killed us all if my other son and I hadn’t hidden inside,” said Ibrahim Shham, adding that left his son on the ground for over half an hour before arresting him.

وكالة وفا: استشهاد الشاب محمد شحام جراء إطلاق قوات الاحتلال النار عليه من مسافة صفر بعد اقتحام منزله في كفر عقب شمال غربي #القدس#الجزيرة pic.twitter.com/fE0YeDfQe6

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) August 15, 2022

[Translation: Wafa news agency: Martyrdom of the youth Mohammad Shham in Israeli occupation army fire from point-blank range after his home was raided in Kufr Aqab, northwest of Jerusalem]

Their neighbour, Tareq al-Zarou, told local media he heard Ibrahim screaming “my son has been martyred”.

Al-Zarou said the army forbade him from coming close to the Shham apartment’s door, but that he could see Mohammad lying on the ground. He confirmed that Israeli forces spent about half an hour before they took Mohammad and left.

Israeli media cited the army as saying Shham had “attempted to stab soldiers which opened fire in response”.

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry said in a statement they “condemn the criminal execution of the martyr al-Shham and consider it tactics of an organized terrorist mafia”.

The ministry added the killing is part of “the series of executions and field assassinations committed by the occupying forces under instructions of the political level in the occupying country.”

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society condemned the killing, echoing the context of “increasing field assassinations by Israeli occupation forces since the start of the year”.

In recent months, Israeli forces have carried out a series of killings of Palestinians, mainly armed resistance fighters in the northern occupied West Bank, under a military campaign Israel terms Breaking the Wave.

Last week, the army killed Ibrahim al-Nablusi, a 19-year-old commander along with two others, Islam Sabbouh, 32, and 16-year-old Hussein Jamal Taha, in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

The Israeli army carries out near-daily raids on Palestinian towns and villages, which often result in the wounding or killing of Palestinians.

On Monday, Israeli forces arrested at least 26 Palestinians across the occupied areas of West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Kufr Aqab falls within the borders of Jerusalem but has been separated from the city by Israel’s separation wall, placing it on the occupied West Bank side.