This is a developing story, and we will keep updating it with more details as they become available.
Jerusalem24 – 21-year-old Mohammad Ibrahim Al Shaham has died of wounds sustained when he was shot in the head with live ammunition by Israeli forces this morning while in his house in Kafr Aqab, northwest occupied Jerusalem.
In an interview this morning with Haaretz, Al Shaham’s father said: “I have three children, two suffer from blindness, Muhammad was the middle child. Without any reason, security forces raided our home last night, blew the door and brutally entered, and directly shot my son in the head for no reason. It was murder for all intents and purposes.”
Al Shaham’s mother told Al Jazeera in a live interview: “Around 4:00 am, I was already up to get ready for work. They blew the door and entered, it all happened so quick. We thought they were thieves.”
“Mohammad was asleep. When he heard the sound, he jumped from his bed to reach to the door but was shot point-blank. We did not hear the gunshot, they used a muffler.”
Al Shaham’s mother explained that a lot was happening at the same time. “There was smoke, lasers everywhere, the sound of the soldiers. I wanted to go check on the girls who were in their room, but a soldier told me to stop and get back. I didn’t and I got the girls while he kept shouting,”
“When I got back, I went to hold Mohammad’s hand… He was on the ground, the bullet hit his head… He looked at his sister and smiled at her. While I was holding Mohammad’s hand the soldier pushed me against the wall and commanded that we all leave the house.”
According to the parents, two of their children suffer from retinal weakness and own special papers. The mother said that her other son told the soldier, “I will sue you, I have special papers.”
“The soldier asked for the paper, saw it, then told me, ‘We wrongfully entered this house, we wrongfully shot him,'” the mother told Al Jazeera.
“I shouted at him [the soldier], ‘Who do you want? Why did you do all of that? I want to check on my son…’ and he said no.”
The soldier only cracked the door open so Mohammad’s mother could see him lying on the ground. “They left him bleeding for around 15-20 minutes. I asked them to take him to a hospital and they refused.”
Haaretz reported that Israeli police said forces were operating in the neighborhood in search of weapons, claiming that as forces were closing in on the Al Shaham family’s home, family members confronted the soldiers. According to them, A Shaham attempted to stab officers, who opened fire in response. He was treated at the scene and pronounced dead later on.
According to both Al Shaham’s parents, he received no medical treatment at the scene.
Denouncing the image of a knife released by police, Al Shaham’s father said that his son didn’t try to stab anyone. “At three o’clock in the morning, no one sleeps with a knife in hand.”
“Every Palestinian, according to the Israeli story, always carries and holds a knife as if it justifies shooting to kill,” he said. “My son did nothing.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the killing of Al Shaham in a statement, saying Israeli forces “committed this crime in the manner of the ‘mafia’ and organized gangs, in the premeditated practice of assassination.”
A video published by media platforms shows Israeli forces moving Al Shaham after he was shot.
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