As Al-Badawi collapsed, his family members present rushed to his side, attempting to place him inside of a car to take him to the hospital. As they carried the bleeding man, Israeli forces threw stun grenades around the family.
As Al-Badawi collapsed, his family members present rushed to his side, attempting to place him inside of a car to take him to the hospital. As they carried the bleeding man, Israeli forces threw stun grenades around the family.
Omar Al-Badawi, a 22 year old man from the Al-Arroub refugee camp between the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron, was shot and killed by Isreali security forces after stepping outside his home with a towel on the 11th of November, the anniversary of legendary Yasser Arafat’s death. Part of his house had reportedly caught on fire when a few teenagers had thrown a Molotov cocktail in the air, accidently hitting his house.
Al-Badawi had run outside with a towel, shouting at his neighbor to bring water quickly. An Israeli soldier then immediately shoots him point-blank. Israel had since claimed that the soldiers had mistaken his towel for a ‘firebomb’.
This incident took place during a few protests, which happen almost annually on the anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s death. In the Palestinian occupied territories like Al-Arroub, these days of unrest usually happen with a few protests, although Israel has often shot and killed innocent demonstrators who were armed with nothing more than stones or Molotov cocktails.
During this year’s day of unrest, Al-Badawi was renovating his home, and was not participating in the demonstrations when the Molotov cocktail mistakenly hit his home. Video footage of the moment he was shot was taken by Palestinian press photographer Muad Amarna – who would later himself be in the news for losing an eye after being shot by IDF security forces near Hebron four days later – and shows Al-Badawi running outside with only a towel before being shot in the upper torso.
As Al-Badawi collapsed, his family members present rushed to his side, attempting to place him inside of a car to take him to the hospital. As they carried the bleeding man, Israeli forces threw stun grenades around the family. Speaking to Haaretz news, the family first took him to the local UNRWA (United Nations refugee agency) clinic, where Al-Badawi was then placed inside an ambulance to be taken to the Al Ahli Hospital in Hebron. But because of the numerous Israeli checkpoints and road-blocks, the ambulance was forced to take the longer back roads. More than an hour after he had been shot, Al-Badawi was pronounced dead.
This tragic death is another horrifying reminder of how brutal the Israeli occupation of Palestine really is. Not only are Palestinians denied human dignity, but they are also shot and killed almost indiscriminately. Once in need of hospital services, many often do not make it simply because of road-blocks, Israeli checkpoints, or lack or medical services. IDF watchtowers surround refugee camps like Al-Arroub, reminding those trapped in Israel’s colonization that world governments remain largely silent when it comes to protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian statehood and human rights of its people.
