Father of teen slain on Egypt border blames government

The father of the Israeli teenager shot dead while working on the Egyptian border fence accuses the government and military of not providing protection and failing to properly respond to the shooting.

The father, Bassem Abu Amar, says the Israel Defense Forces did not sufficiently guard the workers.

“They abandoned him,” he tells reporters outside Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center, where his son was taken after the incident.

“More people could have died. Where’s the prime minister? Where’s the defense minister?” he asks.

While several members of Knesset have expressed condolences to the family and anger at the Defense Ministry for having a minor in its employ through a civilian subcontractor, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman have yet to release public statements on the incident.

According to the manager of the work site, the teen had been working on the Egyptian side of the border during the incident, giving out coffee to the other employees.

— Judah Ari Gross