Israeli Hearth Kills Palestinian American Teen In Occupied West Financial institution

Israeli fireplace on Friday killed a Palestinian American teenager within the occupied West Financial institution, fueling elevated scrutiny for President Joe Biden’s continued unconditional army help for the nation at the moment accused on the international stage of genocide.

Tawfiq Hafez Ajaq, 17, was fatally shot by Israeli fireplace east of Ramallah, in line with documentation collected by Protection for Youngsters Worldwide-Palestine. Each Israeli troopers and a settler reportedly opened fireplace, however it’s nonetheless unclear who shot the bullets that killed the boy.

Tawfiq and his pal have been inside his automobile throughout a barbecue in Al-Mazra’a Al-Sharqiya when an Israeli settler drove by and started firing stay ammunition, in line with DCIP. Whereas the settler chased Tawfiq by automobile, an Israeli army automobile reportedly appeared from the wrong way and fired on the teen.

Tawfiq’s automobile veered off and overturned earlier than Israeli forces surrounded him and, for quarter-hour, blocked males from getting the boy medical assist, DCIP mentioned. A type of males was Tawfiq’s relative, Joe Abdel Qaki, who mentioned he and different Palestinians on the scene have been briefly detained by Israeli forces who required identification from them earlier than they may attain the teenager.

Tawfiq was then transported to an ambulance, in line with Abdel Qaki, the place he died on the way in which to the hospital. The boy was reportedly shot as soon as within the head and as soon as within the chest.

“Palestinian children live in a hyper-militarized context where Israeli civilians illegally settled in occupied territory are armed by the Israeli government as a matter of official policy,” DCIP accountability program director Ayed Abu Eqtaish mentioned in an announcement.

“Israeli soldiers, police and private security staff not only protect Israeli settler populations, but they also aid, abet and perpetrate unlawful killings of Palestinians, including children.”

Giant teams of Palestinians within the occupied West Financial institution gathered on Saturday for Tawfiq’s funeral, the place males carried the boy’s physique wrapped in a Palestinian flag and surrounded by flowers. On the funeral, Tawfiq’s father demanded Individuals “see with their own eyes” the continued bloodbath of Palestinians by the hands of “killer machines.”

“The American society does not know the true story,” Hafez Ajaq mentioned. “They are using our tax dollars in the U.S. to support the weapons to kill our own children. How many fathers and mothers have to say goodbye to their children? How many more?”

Tawfiq can be a U.S. citizen, born and raised in a Louisiana city close to New Orleans known as Gretna. The boy’s dad and mom introduced him and his siblings to Al-Mazra’a Al-Sharqiya, their ancestral village, final 12 months so they may reconnect with their Palestinian heritage.

Muslim Individuals in New Orleans additionally held a vigil for Tawfiq this weekend on the Masjid Omar mosque, in line with NOLA.com. The teenager would spend Friday nights enjoying basketball with pals on the mosque, and deliberate to return to New Orleans to check engineering in school, his family members advised the outlet.

“Some teenagers are rude or defiant. He is one of the good ones,” the mosque’s president Nabil Abukhader advised NOLA.com, including that Tawfiq was “full of life.”

Requested on Friday about Tawfiq’s killing, White Home nationwide safety spokesman John Kirby advised reporters that the U.S. is “seriously concerned about these reports.”

“The information is scant at this time. We don’t have perfect context about exactly what happened here. Seriously concerned about it,” he mentioned. “And we’re going to be in constant touch with counterparts in the region to get more information. But it’s definitely deeply concerning. But I’m afraid I don’t have more information to that right now.”

Tawfiq is one in all 369 individuals killed by Israeli forces and settlers within the occupied West Financial institution since Oct. 7, 2023, together with 95 youngsters, in line with the Palestinian Well being Ministry. The U.S. has given unconditional army help to Israel in its acknowledged try to eradicate Hamas militants in Gaza, however has requested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut back the violence within the occupied West Financial institution, the place Hamas will not be stationed.

Kirby mentioned it’s unlikely that Biden introduced up Tawfiq’s killing throughout his name with Netanyahu this weekend. Israeli police mentioned they might examine the incident, although the nation’s probes of Palestinians being killed have hardly ever resulted in well timed reviews or indictments.

Nihad Awad, the nationwide government director for the Council of American-Islamic Relations, mentioned in an announcement on Friday that Tawfiq’s loss of life “again shows that President Biden’s unwillingness to call for an end to the ongoing Israeli genocide and ethnic cleansing is resulting in the deaths of Americans citizens and their relatives.”

“The Biden administration has consistently shown its disregard for the killing and injuring of Americans of Palestinian descent,” Awad continued. “How many Palestinians must die before the Biden administration does what it would do for any other people similarly targeted by genocide?”