(AFP) – American-Palestinian Muhammad Rabee feels abandoned by the United States, he told AFP on Monday, a day after Israeli forces killed his 14-year-old son during a family visit in the occupied West Bank. Rabee’s family lives in New Jersey, and like the vast majority of Palestinians from the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, are dual citizens. However, the father said Washington “turns a blind eye” to soaring Israeli attacks and abuses against them.
The sorrow on his face was evident even from behind his large sunglasses as Rabee carried the body of his son, Amer, shrouded in a Palestinian flag, through the streets of Turmus Ayya. Dozens of residents came out to pay their final respects. An AFP correspondent reported that some were waving flags and chanting slogans as the funeral procession made its way from the local morgue to a mosque, and finally on to the cemetery.
After the shooting that killed his son and wounded two other teenagers in Turmus Ayya, near a main road through the West Bank, Rabee expressed a message to US President Donald Trump. He urged Trump to “stop this situation, stop sending weapons” to Israel that are then used “to kill his people,” referring to American citizens like himself. The mayor of Turmus Ayya, Lafi Shalabi, told AFP that the three boys were hit with live fire while picking green almonds. One of the two wounded, who are both 14, is also a US citizen, he added.
However, Israel’s military labeled them as “terrorists” who threw rocks at cars traveling on the road. The military released a black-and-white video showing three individuals, one of whom appears to throw an indiscernible item. Rabee contended that the “video is not accurate” and does not prove that his son had thrown rocks. “There were six bullets in his body, two in his heart, two in his shoulder, and two in his face,” the father lamented.
Rabee noted that in past cases of attacks around Turmus Ayya, the US embassy has typically accepted the Israeli version of events, despite evidence showing violence from Israeli settlers under army protection, including “assaults, killings, arson, and theft of Palestinian land.” “All of these things — the US embassy turns a blind eye to,” he remarked. Many residents share his view.
Majdi Arif, a retired teacher who lived in New Jersey for two decades, stated that their concerns often go unanswered. “Usually, the US embassy does nothing,” or merely reports cases to the Israeli government, which he described as “useless to us,” he told AFP. Turmus Ayya is situated near the Israeli settlement of Shilo, whose residents, according to Shalabi, have been involved in attacks on Turmus Ayya. The Palestinian health ministry and Mayor Shalabi both affirmed that an Israeli settler was present with the soldiers at the time of the shooting.
Yaser Alkam, head of Turmus Ayya’s foreign relations department, expressed that “Palestinian-Americans in Turmus Ayya are simply disappointed… we are the forgotten citizens” of the United States. “We’ve reached out to the US embassy many, many times,” he said, to no avail. The US State Department responded to AFP, offering its “sincerest condolences to the family on their loss.”
“We acknowledge the IDF initial statement that expressed that this incident occurred during a counter-terrorism operation and that Israel is investigating,” it continued, adding that out of “respect for the privacy of the family,” it had no further comment.
“Turmus Ayya is made up of 80 percent Americans,” Alkam stated. “When an Israeli soldier shoots at… young children, there is an 80 percent chance he’s hitting an American.” Alkam, who lived for 25 years in California, condemned daily Israeli army incursions into the town, stating they occur “for no reason” and often escalate rapidly, resulting in fatalities among Palestinians, including children who are regularly shot for hurling rocks. He warned that with Trump’s “unconditional support” for the Israeli government, there will be even “more violence with impunity” against Palestinians.
Violence has surged since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023. At least 918 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank since then, according to Palestinian health ministry figures. “Whether it’s the Israeli army, settlers, or police — the entire Palestinian people are being targeted,” concluded Shalabi.
– Louis Baudoin-Laarman
© 2024 AFP
