September 26th, 2021: Mahmoud Mustafa Hmeidan, 27, was one of five Palestinians shot and killed by Israeli soldiers during a massive invasion into various communities in the occupied West Bank.
The five slain Palestinians have been officially identified as:
- Yousef Fathi Soboh, 16, from Burqin town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
- Osama Yasser Soboh, 22, from Burqin town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
- Mahmoud Mustafa Hmeidan, 27, from Beit Anan town, northwest of occupied Jerusalem.
- Zakariyya Ibrahim Badwan, 36, from Biddu town, northwest of occupied Jerusalem.
- Ahmad Zahran, 37, from Biddu town, northwest of occupied Jerusalem.
It is worth mentioning that Badwan is a former political prisoner who was held by Israeli for nine years, while Osama just celebrated his birthday a day earlier, and his wedding was just 20 days away.
Israeli media sources said undercover Israeli soldiers of the Duvdevan special forces carried out extensive operations to ‘arrest members of Hamas movement’ across the West Bank, leading to exchanges of fire, resulting in the death of at least five Palestinians.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that the soldiers shot Osama Soboh, 22, with live fire causing serious injuries before he was rushed to Ibn Sina hospital in Burqin town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, where he succumbed to his wounds.
Local sources said Soboh was killed when the soldiers invaded the home of a former political prisoner, identified as Mohammad Zar’ini, near the al-Yamoun town.
The soldiers also invaded Burqin town,_ southwest of Jenin, and surrounded a house, while more soldiers were deployed in the area before sporadic exchanges of fire took place for several hours.
In addition, Palestinian medical sources the soldiers shot a young man in the leg when the_ army invaded Kafr Dan village, northwest of Jenin; the soldiers also abducted at least one Palestinian before moving him to an unknown destination.
In Jenin city, undercover soldiers kidnapped Ahmad Abu Rmeila and Mohammad Mazen Sa’adi, after ambushing them in a gas station in Jenin city.
Exchanges of fire between the soldiers and Palestinian resistance fighters were also reported in several areas in the Jenin governorate. At least eight Palestinians, and two Israeli soldiers were injured.
In addition, the soldiers killed three Palestinians and injured several others during an exchange of fire in the Ein Ajeeb area, east of Beit Anan town, and in Biddu town, northwest of occupied Jerusalem.
One of the slain Palestinians has been identified as Ahmad Zahran, a member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
It is worth mentioning that Ahmad is the brother of Zahran Zahran, who was killed by the Israeli army in the year 1998.
Local sources said the army used at least ten drones during its invasions into villages, northwest of occupied Jerusalem, especially in the Ein Ajeeb area.
Amina, the mother of Ahmad Zahran said the soldiers have been invading their home for the last ten days, detonating doors, destroying furniture, and ransacking the property, looking for her son.
She added that, almost three weeks ago, the soldiers invaded the property, looking for her son, and when they failed to locate him, they abducted ten of her children_ and grandchildren, including his wife, Asma’ ‘Aasi, who are all still held captive by Israel.
It is worth mentioning that Amina is also the mother of Zahran Zahran, who was killed by the Israeli army on September 29th, 1998.
Not far from the Zahran family home is the residence of Mahmoud Hmeidan, who was also killed less than two months after he was released from an Israeli prison after spending seven years in captivity.
Mahmoud’s uncle, Jihad Hmeidan, said his nephew was about to start studying for his Master’s Degree at the Al-Quds Open University after he obtained his Bachelors’s Degree while imprisoned in the Negev Israeli detention camp.
Furthermore, Zakariyya Badwan who was also killed by the Israeli army in Biddu was first shot and injured by the soldiers who abducted him despite his wounds, before succumbing to his injuries.
Badwan is a married father of a child, only 18 months of age, and an infant who was born four months earlier.
The Israeli army has been trying to abduct Ahmad Zahran, 35, Ibrahim Badwan, 27, and Mahmoud Hmeidan, 27, during extensive invasions over the last three weeks.
Ahmad and Zakariyya were assassinated by undercover Israeli soldiers in the Ein Ajeeb area, near Beit Anan, northwest of Jerusalem, when they surrounded them while sleeping in a concrete room with a tin ceiling, and opened fire at them.
Eyewitnesses said they saw an Israeli helicopter flying over the area, and added that the undercover soldiers surrounded the room and fired a small shell at it. They added that they only heard the sound of three live rounds, and the explosion resulting from the shell.
The Palestinians could not tell what exactly happened until the morning when they saw the soldiers carrying two corpses and a seriously wounded Palestinian, who later died from his wounds._
In related news, the army invaded Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, and abducted Mohammad Moayyad Thawabta, 20, Qussai Jamal Deeriyya, 22, and Mohammad Ibrahim Deeriyya, 18, from their homes.
Latesr Sunday, the family of Sa’ad Zidan Sa’ayda, 35, said that the soldiers shot him while he was in a car in Burqin town, and dragged him away.
The family does not know what happened to their son, or where the soldiers took him, and said that he, along his brother Odah, and the car’s driver, Jamil Mohammad Sa’ayda, where heading to their work when the soldiers opened fire at their car.
In Hebron, in southern West Bank, the soldiers invaded and ransacked many homes, and abducted two Palestinians, identified as Amer Tawfiq Abu Hlayyil and Hazem Nader Abu Hlayyil, in Doura town, south of the city.
The soldiers also invaded the as-Sammoa’ town, south of Hebron, and installed roadblocks on the main roads of the nearby Thaheriyya town in addition to the Zeev area.
The Israeli army said its soldiers, especially the Duvdevan special forces, in cooperation with the police and border police units, and the Shin Bet security agency, carried out the massive operations in the West Bank to target what it called Hamas members.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Popular Resistance Committees, Hamas movement and various Palestinian factions denounced the Israeli escalation and vowed retaliation to avenge the death of the slain Palestinians.
The Israeli army said two soldiers where injured during the armed confrontations with the Palestinians, and added that the two are in serious condition and undergone several injuries.
Initial investigations revealed that “while it remains unknown who fired that shots that injured the two soldiers, the two could have been injured by friendly fire.”
Mahmoud was from Beit Anan town, northwest of occupied Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC