Bassel al-A’raj

March 6, 2017: Bassel al-A’raj, 31, was killed by Israeli soldiers in al-Biereh town in the central West Bank district of Ramallah after the soldiers surrounded a home and exchanged fire with him for more than two hours.

Locals said the Palestinian ran out of ammunition before the soldiers stormed the property, killed him, and dragged him from his feet for a distance, leaving a blood trail. They then took his corpse to an unknown destination.

The invasion led to clashes between the soldiers and many local youngsters, who hurled stones on the military vehicles, while the army fired live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs. Two Palestinians were wounded. Bassel was from al-Walaja, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Bassel was a pharmacist who graduated from an Egyptian university and worked in this profession near Jerusalem.

He was a historian and a writer who documented the ongoing Palestinian revolutions, starting in the 1930’s against the British occupation, and worked with various youth groups introducing them to the history of Palestine, including through trips to historic sites. Source: IMEMC