Mohammad al-Kurdi, the 13-year-old boy from Aida Refugee camp, was shot yesterday with live ammunition during clashes to protest the death of Arafat Jaradat.
Yesterday at noon, a large number of demonstrators rallied at Bab Ez-Iraq, in the center of Bethlehem, to show solidarity with the martyr Arafat Jaradat on his funeral day. The demonstration, organized by the three refugee camps in Bethlehem; Aida, Deishah and al-Aza, marched towards Rachel’s Tomb and reached the entrance of Aida camp, where clashes erupted with the Israeli army. Confrontations continued until the evening. Tear gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets, and live ammunition were fired at demonstrators.
Dozens of people were injured from tear gas suffocation. In addition, two boys were shot with live ammunition. One of the boys, Mohammad al –Kurdi, was taken to Beit Jala hospital in critical condition and is now in the Intensive Care Unit. Doctors declared the bullet cannot be removed as it is close to his spin. Another boy was shot with rubber-coated steel bullet in the head and, after being denied medical attention by the Israeli army for more than half an hour, was taken to a hospital in Jerusalem.
On the day of Arafat Jaradat funeral, numerous demonstrations occurred in cities and villages across the West Bank and Gaza. These protests coincided with the multiple demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and hunger strikers which have taken place all across Palestine in the last weeks.