Parents of slain Bedouin teen seek terror victim status

The parents of an Israeli Bedouin teen shot dead while he worked at the Egyptian border fence last October are demanding that the state recognize their son as a victim of terror, Israel Radio reported Monday.

Nimer Bassem Abu Amar, 15, from Lakiya, a predominantly Bedouin village in southern Israel, was struck in the upper body by shots fired from Egypt as he worked along the border fence, near Mount Harif, on October 25.

He had been pouring coffee for other workers in an area where markers on the ground between Israeli and Egyptian territory can be unclear. He later died of his injuries.

If the Defense Ministry were to accept the request of Nimer’s parents and recognize their son as an official “victim of hostilities,” they would be qualified for special state benefits.

A week after the boy’s death, his father, Bassem, accused the government and military of failing to provide adequate protection for Israeli workers on the border.

“They abandoned him,” the elder Abu Amar told reporters outside Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center, where his son had been taken for treatment before he died. He also criticized the army for not returning fire after the shooting.

In response to the family’s request, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office and the Ministry of Defense said the police are investigating the incident and that when they are finished, the family’s questions will be answered.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.