August 15, 2023: Qusai Omar al-Walaji, 16, was shot and killed, before dawn during a military incursion into the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, south of Jericho, in the northeastern part of the West Bank.
Media sources said that the Israeli occupation army stormed the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, just south of the ancient city of Jericho.
Israeli soldiers opened fire at local Palestinians under unclear circumstances, however it is presumed that the youths were protesting the invasion.
There is no mention of resistance from armed Palestinian fighters, however social media videos show an exchange of fire between resistance fighters and the invading army.
During the invasion, soldiers shot and seriously injured two Palestinian civilians, including a child, who were transported to the Jericho Governmental Hospital.
Medical sources said that Qusai Omar al-Walaji, 16, and Muhammad Ribhi Nujoom, 25, were admitted to hospital in critical condition, and both were pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
It was reported that the slain young men were shot with live rounds, however, no further details were provided regarding the nature of the wounds.
The Jericho chapter of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) reported that soldiers abducted Mohammad Nasr Abu Al-Assal, 20, from his home in the camp.
Later on the same day, hundreds of Palestinians gathered at the Jericho Governmental Hospital to receive the body of Mohammad Ribhi Nujoom, 25, and proceeded to his family home for loved ones to say their final goodbyes.
Mourners performed the funeral prayer, and laid the body of the slain young man to rest in the martyrs’ cemetery, in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp.
The body of the slain child, Qusai Omar al-Walaji, 16, was held at his family home in the “Katt al-Wad” neighborhood in Jericho city, while loved ones paid their respects.
The funeral procession began from there to the Old Jericho Mosque, where the funeral prayer was performed, before the body of the child was laid to rest.
Qusai was from Jericho, in the eastern part of the West Bank. Source: IMEMC