Bashar Zubeidat

January 11th, 2021: Bashar Zubeidat, 19, died Monday from wounds sustained the previous Friday, when he was shot by Israeli police with multiple live rounds.

Bashar was a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship. In response to his murder, hundreds of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship took to the streets on Tuesday to protest his death, and several other recent deaths of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli police and security forces.

On Monday, doctors at Rambam Israeli Hospital in Haifa reported that Zubeidat, from Basmat Tab’oun village, near Haifa, died from his serious wounds he suffered, on Friday, January 8, 2021.

Mossawa Advocacy Center for Rights Of Arab Citizens of Israel said it contacted the Investigation Department of the Israeli Police to obtain information about the fatal shooting, and was informed of the allegation that the slain young man was sitting in the passenger seat of a car, and that the driver tried to drive away when the police ordered him to stop. The Center also reported that, during the chase, the police fired many sporadic rounds of live fire at the car, and injured Zubeidat, before detaining two others who were in the car.

The Israeli Police claim that a car rammed a police officer who tried to stop the vehicle in Haifa, before fleeing the scene, and added that the police later located the vehicle, but the driver tried to flee before the officers opened fire again at the car. The police told reporters that they were later informed that two persons were injured and were receiving treatment at Rambam hospital.

Video of the protests that followed this police killing:

Bashar was from Basmat Tab’oun village, near Haifa. Source: IMEMC

‘Aahed Abdul-Rahman Ekhlayyel

January 04, 2021: ‘Aahed Abdul-Rahman Mahmoud Ekhlayyel, 24, was shot and killed by Israeli forces near the military base of Gush Etzion, in the southern part of the West Bank.

The Israeli soldiers claimed that Ekhlayyel had attempted to carry out a stabbing attack, but offered no evidence to support this claim.

After killing Ekhlayyel and holding his body, the Israeli military imposed a closure on the entire village of Beit Ummar, forcing all of the Palestinian residents to remain indoors, and preventing anyone from entering or leaving the village.

A squadron of Israeli soldiers then invaded the village and issued warrants for all the members of the Ekhlayyel family to come to Gush Etzion military base for interrogation.

According to a statement by the Israeli military, “(A) community security officer spotted a suspect approaching the junction. Following their suspicion, the security officer and a soldier operated to stop the suspect by firing into the air. The suspect then threw a knife, and the officer responded with live fire, neutralizing the suspect.”

Israeli forces frequently accuse Palestinians of knife attacks after killing them and have been known to plant knives on the bodies of dead Palestinians on a number of occasions.

The army closed the Gush Etzion junction to all Palestinian traffic after killing the young man.

After killing the young man, Israeli soldiers invaded Beit Ummar, before storming his family’s home and searching it.

The soldiers also summoned his family for interrogation in the Etzion military base and security center, north of Hebron, and closed the iron gate at the main entrance of Beit Ummar, in addition to preventing the Palestinians from entering or leaving it.

The army said it does not intend to transfer his corpse to his family for burial.

It is worth mentioning that, less than a month ago, Ekhlayyel opened a candy store to support his family.

‘Aahed was from Beit Ummar, near hebron in the southern part of the West Bank. Source: IMEMC