Palestinians: Man with Down syndrome killed in clash with IDF
Family says 22-year-old injured in May rushed to help friends as they rioted against troops near Hebron
Palestinians on Monday buried a man said to have had Down syndrome, who they said was fatally shot by Israeli troops in the West Bank during clashes with IDF forces in May.
Arif Jaradat, 22, was wounded during the clashes on May 4 in his home village of Sair. He died of his injuries at a Palestinian hospital in nearby Hebron on Sunday, staff said.
He was “a special case” with “special needs,” his mother Zakia Jaradat told AFP as she received a stream of condolence visits in the living room of the family home.
Jaradat’s father, Sharif, who wore the traditional white headscarf of the Bedouin, said Arif had heard villagers and troops were engaged in clashes and had rushed to the scene.
“He got about 10 meters (yards) from the soldiers and put his hands in the air,” said Sharif, 68, leaning on a walking stick.
“Four of his brothers were there and they called out to the soldiers in English and Hebrew not to shoot,” he said. “There were seven soldiers there; they started to leave but one came back and fired.”
The Israeli army said that during routine activity in the village troops encountered violent rioters.
“An initial review of the incident revealed that during the riot the force identified a Palestinian man that was about to hurl a Molotov cocktail at them and opened fire to negate the threat. The review revealed that the soldiers had no way to assess the assailant’s medical condition.”
The army added that it had received a complaint regarding the incident and was looking into it.
Troops regularly use non-lethal means to subdue riots. Forces at times use limited live fire when they say soldiers’ lives are endangered.
“He was the most lovable (person) in the village,” his father said tearfully, as dozens of relatives and neighbors walked in a long funeral procession with the body, which was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.
Since October, 32 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed in acts of Palestinian terrorism and violence. Some 200 Palestinians have been killed in the same period. Israeli authorities say more than two-thirds of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. Others were killed in clashes with security forces or by Israeli air strikes on terror targets in the Gaza Strip.
The Times of Israel Community.