JERUSALEM: The families of two Palestinian-American teenagers killed in separate but eerily similar incidents in the West Bank say investigators from the American Embassy have visited their homes to look into the shootings.
The launch of American probes into the killings of Mohammad Khdour and Tawfic Abdel Jabbar reflects what appears to be a lack of confidence in the Israeli justice system to properly investigate the cases. Rights groups have long said that Israeli investigations into killings of Palestinians rarely lead to prosecutions, and the State Department has previously called for an “expeditious and thorough” Israeli investigation into Abdel Jabbar’s killing.
Both shootings occurred as the Biden administration signals a desire to crack down on settler violence in the volatile territory.
Khdour, who was born in Hollywood, Florida, was shot last Saturday while driving with a cousin on a hillside in Biddu, the town just outside of Jerusalem where Khdour had lived since the age of 2, relatives said. Khdour was born in Hollywood, Florida.
Seeking some fresh air after studying, Khdour joined the cousin on a drive to the forested hillside where villagers often barbecued, his brother Hamed Khdour said.
In videos and photos taken before the shooting and seen by The Associated Press, the boys joked around, taking photos of each other for social media and eating chocolate-covered waffles.
The boys were returning to the village, Hamed said, when they heard gunfire. At least one shot came through the car window, hitting Mohammad squarely in the head.
Hamed said his cousin told the family that the shots came from a white Mitsubishi with an Israeli license plate parked on a road below the hill, a vehicle that villagers said they had seen before. Hamed said the car was across the security fence separating Biddu from Israeli territory. The cousin then managed to escape and run back to the village.
A video taken directly after the incident and seen by The Associated Press showed a group of men pulling a body out of the car, littered with shattered glass and stained with blood. Hamed said Mohammad was pronounced dead at a Ramallah hospital late Saturday night.
Ahmad Khdour, Mohammad’s father, said he did not know if Israel had begun investigating the case and had heard nothing from Israeli officials.
The Israeli military referred questions to the Shin Bet internal security service, which did not respond to requests for comment.
But US Embassy officials visited the home and the scene of the shooting Thursday, taking pictures of the car Khdour was driving and the scene around it, Mohammad’s father said. He said the officials told the family they are preparing a report on the incident.
The US Office of Palestinian Affairs wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it was “devastated” by the killing and called for “a quick, thorough, and transparent investigation, including full accountability.”
Khdour lived in Biddu with his mother and four brothers. He hoped to go back to the US to study law once he finished his final year of high school, Hamed said.
“Mohammad was a simple kid, like any other kid. He had dreams. He loved cars,” said Hamed. “He never fought with anyone. Everyone liked him.”
The shooting came nearly a month after the killing of Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, also a 17-year-old Palestinian-American shot while driving down a dirt road close to his village in the northern West Bank.
The sole passenger in the vehicle said the shooting was unprovoked, describing apparent Israeli fire hitting the back of the vehicle before it overturned several times. The incident prompted an expression of concern from the White House and an uncommonly quick pledge from the Israeli police to investigate.
But Israeli police have still not released any new findings in the case.
A video shared with the AP by Abdel Jabbar’s father raised new questions of the police’s original theory, which never mentioned that the teen had been shot while driving.
Instead, the police said that a civilian, an off-duty police officer and a soldier had targeted people “purportedly engaged in rock-throwing activities” along a main West Bank thoroughfare.
The video, which the father said was taken moments after the shooting, shows two Israeli soldiers standing about 20 meters (yards) from the vehicle, guns cocked — indicating that soldiers were in the vicinity that day.
Abdel Jabbar’s father said that Israeli investigators took the vehicle into custody for under a week before returning it.
He said that last week that US Embassy investigators collected medical and legal reports issued by the Ramallah prosecutor’s office and the hospital that treated Abdel Jabbar. The reports indicated that the cause of Tawfic’s death was a gunshot wound to the right side of the head.
Tawfic was from Gretna, Louisiana, and had been in the West Bank for under a year. Like Khdour, he was planning to return to the US for college.
In an unrelated incident, Israel arrested a 46-year-old Palestinian-American woman, also from Gretna, last week for alleged incitement in posts on social media. The woman’s family says it has not seen or heard from her since.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said a week ago that he was “confident” that Ambassador Jack Lew was looking into Samaher Esmail’s case, as well as a circumstances around the detention of two Palestinian-Americans in Gaza that Israel says are affiliated with Hamas.
“Obviously, this is the kind of thing we take very seriously, so we’ll be talking to our Israeli counterparts and trying to get information, more context here about what happened,” he said.
The deaths come as violence surges across the occupied territory. Since the shock attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 from Gaza into southern Israel, Israel has also held the West Bank in a tight grip.
Biden’s administration has provided military and diplomatic support for Israel’s war against Hamas. Still, the administration has condemned rising violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, most recently releasing sanctions targeting four settlers.
Since Oct. 7, 395 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli fire, according to Palestinian health officials. Most have been killed in clashes during near nightly Israeli army raids aimed at suspected militants.
US investigators visit homes of two Palestinian-American teens killed in the West Bank
https://arab.news/pmrva
US investigators visit homes of two Palestinian-American teens killed in the West Bank
- Rights groups have long said that Israeli investigations into killings of Palestinians rarely lead to prosecutions
- The State Department has previously called for an “expeditious and thorough” Israeli investigation into Abdel Jabbar’s killing
Egypt urges robust efforts to bolster Palestinian hopes for self-determination
- Deadly bombardment of Gaza humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, draws widespread condemnation
- Tor Wennesland, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process since 2021, also condemned the strike on Al-Mawasi
CAIRO: An Israeli strike on a crowded tent camp housing Palestinians displaced by the war in Gaza prompted condemnations on Wednesday from across the region and beyond.
The strike hit Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip, which Israel had designated as a humanitarian zone early in the war.
Egypt condemned the bombardment in the strongest terms.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates also called for “intensifying efforts to restore hope to the Palestinian people in achieving self-determination and regaining their freedom.”
Al-Mawasi has been turned into the main displacement and refuge area for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, who have been ordered by the Israeli military to leave their homes.
The Egyptian statement denounced the “continued Israeli massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip in the absence of any effective international action to put an end to such human suffering.”
It said Israeli actions “challenge the credibility of all humanitarian standards and values and constitute a violation of the most basic rules of international humanitarian law and human rights.”
It also said Egypt “considers that the continuation of these crimes and the disregard for the lives of innocents and civilians has become a threat to regional and international peace and security and calls on all global stakeholders to shun the policy of double standards and assume their humanitarian and moral responsibilities to halt this human tragedy immediately.”
The statement said Egypt “reminds all parties that putting an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people in a just manner and restoring regional security and stability will not only be achieved by reaching a full ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but also by achieving a just and lasting settlement to this conflict — the sole foundation of which is the two-state solution based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Tor Wennesland, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process since 2021, also condemned the strike, saying international humanitarian law “must be upheld at all times.”
Israel says soldier killed in West Bank truck-ramming attack
- The suspected assailant was “neutralized” by Israeli forces “and an armed civilian” at the scene of the attack
- It later identified the dead soldier as 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Geri Gideon Hanghal
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said a soldier was killed Wednesday when the driver of “a Palestinian truck” rammed into “forces conducting operational activity” in the occupied West Bank.
The suspected assailant was “neutralized” by Israeli forces “and an armed civilian” at the scene of the attack near the Jewish settlement of Givat Assaf, north of Ramallah, an army statement said.
It later identified the dead soldier as 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Geri Gideon Hanghal.
The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967 and is separated from the Gaza Strip by Israeli territory, has seen a surge of violence during nearly a year of the Israel-Hamas war, though Palestinian car-ramming attacks have been rare.
The latest incident comes days after a Jordanian truck driver shot dead three Israeli guards at a West Bank crossing with Jordan.
Since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
At least 24 Israelis, including security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, according to Israeli officials.
The West Bank is home to some three million Palestinians as well as 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements that are illegal under international law.
Israeli strikes terrorize Lebanese in southern border towns
- Border area witnessed reciprocated strikes, which residents described as some of the most intense operations since the mobilization of the southern front around a year ago
- Israeli warplanes carried out more than 15 airstrikes that targeted the forested area and orchards between the outskirts of the towns of Zibqin and Qlaileh, creating a belt of fire
BEIRUT: An Israeli combat drone on Wednesday targeted a motorcycle in the border town of Mays Al-Jabal, killing its rider, a Hezbollah member, and wounding another.
Hostilities between the Israeli army and Hezbollah intensified after the attack.
Throughout Tuesday night, the border area witnessed reciprocated strikes, which residents described as some of the most intense operations since the mobilization of the southern front around a year ago.
The escalation coincided with the arrival in Beirut of Josep Borrell Fontelles, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
The border situation is expected to be high on the agenda during his meetings with Lebanese officials.
At dawn, Israeli warplanes carried out more than 15 airstrikes that targeted the forested area and orchards between the outskirts of the towns of Zibqin and Qlaileh, creating a belt of fire.
Video footage revealed the screams of children inside houses and the prayers of the elderly amid the earth-shattering explosions nearby.
Israeli warplanes also raided the outskirts of the towns of Yater and Rashaya Al-Fakhar, the orchards and valleys near the towns of Qlaileh, Zibqin, Al-Ḥaniyya, Majdal Zoun and Tayr Harfa, and the outskirts of the towns of Deir Seryan and Zawtar Al-Charkieh. The warplanes also carried out a raid on Naqoura.
Two Israeli drones exploded in the park of the village of Maroun Al-Ras, causing damages to facilities.
The Israeli army spokesman announced that it “targeted in four different areas in southern Lebanon about 30 Hezbollah rocket launchers and military structures that posed a threat to the citizens of Israel.” Their forces also targeted the Dhayra area in southern Lebanon with artillery shells.
The missile attacks raised questions about why Israel has been targeting the valleys daily for about two weeks.
Political analyst Ali Amin told Arab News that “despite the Israeli army facing challenges in its conflict with Hezbollah, it appears to be preparing for a prolonged war. It (the Israeli army) previously revealed the mobilization of the Mountain Brigade and plans to sever the eastern and western (mountain) ranges from southern Lebanon.”
Al-Amin, a resident of the border area, said: “The forested areas that have been bombed for two weeks are known to be off-limits to ordinary people and contain Hezbollah military bases, making it almost impossible to move around in them.
“Israel, following the severance of technological communication between the party’s (Hezbollah) members and its leadership, is actively working to fragment the southern region and place it under constant surveillance.”
He said that an increased level of shelling in forests and valleys, along with the failure to protect civilians in targeting Hezbollah, signaled a heightened risk.
It underscored, he added, the necessity of not assuming that Israel would refrain from targeting civilians in its bombardment of the south.
“This escalation may represent a new phase in the war, which is nearing its first anniversary.”
On Aug. 25, Israel targeted forested areas and valleys in the regions of Iqlim Al-Tuffah, Kunin, Zawtar, Rachaf, Deir Siriane, Chamaa, Rihan, Kfar Melki, Beit Yahoun, Ain Qana, Zebqin, Hadatha, and other villages, coinciding with Hezbollah’s response to the assassination of its military leader, Fuad Shukr.
At that time, it claimed to have “thwarted Hezbollah’s retaliation by bombing 6,000 rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.”
On Aug. 30, similar Israeli attacks were recorded on Majdal Zun, Al-Jabeen, Sheheen, Alma Al-Shaab, Hamoul, Wadi Hassan, and Naqoura.
On Sept. 4, Israeli aircraft launched 14 raids on launch pads in Al-Jabeen, Zawtar El-Charkieh, and Ramya.
On Sept. 6 and 7, Israeli warplanes carried out more than 20 raids on forested areas in Srifa, Froun, Al-Ghandouriya, Yater, Qabrikha, and Ainata.
The Israeli army’s radio confirmed on Wednesday that “the military targeted Hezbollah positions and the air force destroyed approximately 25 rocket launch sites.”
The Hezbollah member killed was Hani Ezzeddine, born in 2001, from the town of Deir Qanoun En Nahr in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah targeted “a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of Al-Raheb site with missile weapons,” as well as “the site of Rweizat Al-Qarn and the Zabdine barracks in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms.” It confirmed that there were casualties.
Hezbollah said that it successfully struck a “bunker where enemy soldiers were positioned at the Al-Matala site using appropriate weaponry.”
The Israeli military operations on Tuesday advanced deep into the southern region and the western Bekaa, reaching more than 30 km, into some of the targeted towns from the border.
US military says it destroyed 5 Houthi drones and 2 missile systems
- Houthis reported that US and UK warplanes had struck an area under their control in the southern province of Taiz
- Minister blames international community’s inaction for escalating militia crackdown on civil, humanitarian society in Yemen
AL-MUKALLA: The US military said on Wednesday that it had destroyed several Houthi drones and missile systems that were threatening international shipping lanes off Yemen as the Houthis reported that US and UK warplanes had struck an area under their control in the southern province of Taiz.
The US Central Command said that over the last 24 hours, its forces destroyed five Houthi drones and two missile systems in Houthi-controlled Yemeni areas that “presented a clear and imminent” threat to international and US and allies’ ships in the region.
The Houthis reported on Wednesday new strikes on Taiz for the second day in a row, with two airstrikes by US and UK aircraft on unidentified targets in the province’s Al-Kamp region.
Since Sunday, Houthi media has reported daily airstrikes by the two nations on Hodeidah, Ibb, and other Yemeni locations.
The Houthis said on Tuesday that two students were killed and at least 10 were injured in a stampede at a school in Al-Janad, Taiz province, caused by large explosions from a location targeted by US and UK warplanes.
In response to the Houthi attacks on ships that began in November, the US formed a coalition of marine task forces to protect ships, designated the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization, and launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, including military bases where drones and missiles were being assembled and coastal areas where drone boats were being prepared to attack ships.
The Houthis claim that their campaign, which has targeted over 100 commercial and naval ships over the last 10 months, is intended to force Israel to end its war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
This comes as Yemen’s Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani has reiterated his calls for tougher international action to punish the Houthis for abducting dozens of Yemenis with international organizations as well as the militia’s violations of human rights.
During the last three months, the Houthis have abducted at least 70 Yemenis working for UN agencies, international aid and humanitarian organizations, and foreign missions in Yemen, accusing them of using their positions with those organizations to spy for the US and Israel.
In a lengthy post on X on Tuesday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Houthi abduction of workers, the Yemeni minister blamed the international community’s inaction for the escalating Houthi crackdown on civil and humanitarian society in Yemen, noting that the world had long “turned a blind eye” to the Houthis’ violations that preceded their latest crackdown.
“The terrorist Houthi militia considered the hesitant international positions a green light to escalate its repressive measures against international and humanitarian organizations operating in the areas under its control, and the local employees working there, without any regard for the disastrous effects of these practices on the difficult economic and humanitarian conditions in the areas under its control,” Al-Eryani said.
He also reiterated his government’s call for international organizations, including UN agencies, to relocate offices to Aden, the country’s interim capital, to protect workers from Houthi repression.
Israeli airstrikes hit UN school and homes in Gaza, killing at least 34 people, hospitals say
- The deadliest strike came Wednesday afternoon, targeting the UN’s Al-Jawni Preparatory Boys School in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp
- The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas militants planning attacks from inside the school
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight and Wednesday hit a UN school sheltering displaced Palestinian families as well as two homes, killing at least 34 people, including 19 women and children, hospital officials said.
The deadliest strike came Wednesday afternoon, targeting the UN’s Al-Jawni Preparatory Boys School in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas militants planning attacks from inside the school. The claim could not be independently confirmed.
At least 14 dead from the strike, including two children and a woman, were brought to Awda and Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospitals nearby, officials from the facilities said. At least 18 people were wounded in the strike, they said.
One of the children killed was the daughter of Momin Selmi, a member of Gaza’s civil defense agency, which works rescuing wounded and bodies after strikes, the agency said in a statement. Selmi hadn’t seen his daughter for 10 months, since he remained in north Gaza to keep working while his family fled south, the agency said.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes by Israeli offensives and evacuation orders are living in Gaza’s schools. The Al-Jawni school, one of many in Gaza run by the UN agency for Palestinians UNWRA, has been hit by multiple strikes over the course of the war.
Israel frequently bombs schools, saying they are being used by Hamas militants. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties from its strikes, saying its fighters base themselves and operate within dense residential neighborhoods.
More than 90 percent of Gaza’s school buildings have been severely or partially damaged in strikes, and more than half the schools housing displaced people have been hit, according to a survey in July by the Education Cluster, a collection of aid groups led by UNICEF and Save the Children.
Israel’s 11-month-old campaign in Gaza has killed at least 41,084 Palestinians and wounded another 95,029, the territory’s Health Ministry said Wednesday. Israel launched its campaign vowing to destroy Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 250 others.
Earlier Wednesday, a strike hit a home near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, killing 11 people, including six brothers and sisters from the same family ranging in age from 21 months to 21 years old, according to the European Hospital, which received the casualties.
A strike late Tuesday on a home in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed nine people, including six women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the civil defense. The civil defense said the home belonged to Akram Al-Najjar, a professor at the Al-Quds Open University, who survived the strike.
