Palestinian man killed by Israeli forces during dawn raid in Nablus
A Palestinian man was killed by Israeli forces on Thursday during a dawn raid on the Balata refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.
Bakir Hashash, 21, suffered severe blood loss after receiving a single bullet to the head, first responders from the Palestinian Red Crescent told The New Arab’s sister publication, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Hashash was taken to hospital but pronounced dead soon after arrival.
His uncle, Bashir Hashash, told The New Arab that the Israeli army had raided eastern Nablus at around 3am, leading local youth to confront the soldiers.
"Hundreds of young men, including Bakir, clashed with them blocking their way with rocks and burning tyres and throwing stones at them, to which the Israeli forces responded with live fire," said Hashash.
Goodbye Bakir Hashish.
— 𝙷𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝙺𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚢﮼هند،الخضري (@Hind_Gaza) January 6, 2022
The Israeli forces killed Bakir earlier this morning. We wont forget, we wont forgive. #IsraeliCrimes
Photos by: @QudsNen pic.twitter.com/Y6tDNVShGd
Bakir had four older brothers, all of whom have disabilities. Their father died when Bakir was four years old.
Bakir "worked as a guard in a security company and was the backbone of his family," his uncle said.
A general strike was declared on Thursday in the Balata refugee camp to mourn Hashash. Calls were made for a large demonstration in Nablus city in the afternoon, to accompany Hashash’s funeral.
Israeli forces also raided other towns of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. In the village of Um Al-Khair, in the Jordan Valley, an Israeli military vehicle ran over an 85-year-old Palestinian, wounding him.
An Israeli settler also reportedly ran over and killed a 25-year-old father of one in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
Mustafa Falaneh was crossing a street close to the city of Ramallah when he was struck by the vehicle, the Wafa news agency reported.
The city of Nablus, the second largest in the occupied West Bank, is regularly raided by Israeli forces.
In mid-December, another Palestinian was killed in an Israeli nighttime raid in Nablus, while dozens of Palestinians in the city have been arrested by Israeli forces over the past month.