Aida Refugee Camp is where Terry and I live when visiting the West Bank and Israel. It is filled with children.
Yesterday we received the following email informing us that one of these children had been murdered by Israeli soldiers.
As shocking as this story may be — and I hope it does shock you — I am sorry to say that its details are not unusual. We live in a cruel world where average, ordinary people commit horrible acts of cruelty every day.
Below is the email. (Emphasis is mine):
Dear friends,
This morning, just after fajr prayers, the seventeen-year-old
Mohammed Ali Aziah from Aida camp was killed by an Israeli sniper.
Mohammed, who was in his last year of high school, was shot when he
was on the roof of his house to study. The occupation soldiers raided
the camp, and placed snipers of rooftops and the watchtower next to
the UNRWA school and clinic.
After Mohammed was shot in the chest, the occupation army
prevented the Red Crescent ambulance from entering the camp, and
instead moved Mohammed’s critically injured body near the great key
of return. He had to wait there until the occupation authorities
arrested him and took him away. Mohammed died from his injuries
shortly after.
We are devastated by the senseless death of Mohammed, who was still
a child and had a bright future ahead of him.
During the raid that killed Mohammed, five people from Aida camp
were arrested, bringing the total of arrests from Aida and Al-Azza camp to 65. One of them is 32-year-old Hanin Al-Massaeed. She is the
first woman who was arrested from our community, and we are
worried about her well-being after worrying reports of physical
violence against women in Israeli prisons.
Please keep calling out to politicians and institutions in your country to
release Palestinian political prisoners, and end this injustice and
suffering.
Best wishes,
Anas Abu Srour
Director of Aida Youth Center
