Jerusalem24 – Yara Alnazer – Teenager Aissa Hani Al-Talakat died yesterday after surgery, four weeks after being shot in the neck by an Israeli police officer in the town of Arara in the Naqab desert inside Israel.
Jerusalem24 is still working to determine Aissa’s exact age.
The Soroka Medical Center in Beer Saba’ announced his death yesterday during a routine surgery. He had been hospitalized for his injuries since he was shot on 1 November, and appeared to have made a good recovery in the days leading up to his death.
“He simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time”
Aissa was accidentally shot by an Israeli police officer when the officer discharged his weapon at a car which he says came “towards him at a high speed”, according to the commander of the Aro’er police station. According to reporting by Haaretz, “the shot that wounded Al-Talakat was fired after motorists drove wildly through the town or Arara and endangered a police officer.”
Aissa’s uncle Riad Al-Talakat said a number of cars were celebrating the results for the United Arab List party in the Israeli general election, and that Aissa was walking nearby in the street when the officer fired and he was shot.
The Arara village council held a comprehensive strike following Aissa’s shooting and organized a sit-in in front of the police station to protest police violence. The council also called for an investigation.
The Israeli Ministry of Justice launched an investigation into the accident and questioned the police officer who shot Aissa, in addition to a Border Police officer who was present at the scene.
Al-Talikat said of his nephew: “Assa was standing at the time on the side of the road next to the railing, just watching the celebrations, and the bullet hit him. He simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
There are over 200,000 Palestinian Bedouins with Israeli citizenship living in the Naqab. They face discrimination, poor employment prospects, and around half live in derecognized villages which Israel refuses to provide with basic services and infrastructure.
