Moussa is eight years outdated and actually likes marbles. But for the previous month, this Palestinian boy, dwelling within the occupied West Bank, has a brand new sport: “Pretend daddy isn’t dead.”
He calls his dad, imagines what he did along with his day, and acts like he’s immediately going to run into him.
But his father, Bilal Saleh, was killed on October 28.
The 40-year-old was shot within the chest whereas choosing olives along with his household close to his house within the village of al-Issawiya.
Saleh is one in all greater than 250 Palestinians killed by Israeli troopers and settlers within the West Bank, based on a Palestinian authorities tally, since Hamas’s assault on October 7 sparked a brand new warfare with Israel.
“He was a simple man, attached to his land,” says his widow, Ikhlas, displaying pictures on her cellphone of Saleh within the fields, reciting the Quran with Moussa and at a marriage.
She struggles to even take a look at them, not to mention inform the story of what occurred.
The youngsters pressed round her to fill within the particulars.
Videos from the scene present 4 males carrying the knitted yarmulkes which might be widespread amongst Israeli settlers, shouting in direction of the household as they’re harvesting.
One is armed with an automated rifle.
The household flees, however Saleh has forgotten his cellphone and runs again to fetch it.
A couple of minutes later, a gunshot rings out.
The household rushes again to search out Saleh bleeding from the chest.
He was taken to a hospital about 10km (6 miles) away however declared lifeless quickly after.
The household says Ikhlas’s brother and father noticed on social media {that a} man had been arrested for the capturing however launched a couple of hours later.
The police and COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry physique overseeing civilian actions within the Palestinian territories, didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark.
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/12/6/west-bank-family-sees-no-hope-of-justice-in-settler-killings?traffic_source=rss
