“Moussa, a Palestinian Boy in the Occupied West Bank, Pretends His Father Isn’t Dead in Heartbreaking Game”
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Moussa is eight years old and really likes marbles. But for the past month, this Palestinian boy, living in the occupied West Bank, has a new game: “Pretend daddy isn’t dead.”
He calls his dad, imagines what he did with his day, and acts like he is suddenly going to run into him.
But his father, Bilal Saleh, was killed on October 28.
The 40-year-old was shot in the chest while picking olives with his family near his home in the village of al-Issawiya.
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Saleh is one of more than 250 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank, according to a Palestinian government tally, since Hamas’s attack on October 7 sparked a new war with Israel.
“He was a simple man, attached to his land,” says his widow, Ikhlas, showing images on her phone of Saleh in the fields, reciting the Quran with Moussa and at a wedding.
She struggles to even look at them, let alone tell the story of what happened.
The children pressed around her to fill in the details.
Videos from the scene show four men wearing the knitted yarmulkes that are popular among Israeli settlers, shouting towards the family as they are harvesting.
One is armed with an automatic rifle.
The family flees, but Saleh has forgotten his phone and runs back to fetch it.
A few minutes later, a gunshot rings out.
The family rushes back to find Saleh bleeding from the chest.
He was taken to a hospital about 10km (6 miles) away but declared dead soon after.
The family says Ikhlas’s brother and father saw on social media that a man had been arrested for the shooting but released a few hours later.
The police and COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civilian activities in the Palestinian territories, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Title: Palestinian Father Killed by Israeli Settler in the West Bank
Subtitle: Bilal Saleh’s Death Adds to Rising Toll of Palestinian Lives Lost in Recent Conflict
Date: [Current Date]
Moussa, an eight-year-old Palestinian boy from the occupied West Bank, has been trying to cope with the loss of his father, Bilal Saleh, who was tragically killed on October 28. In an effort to pretend his father is still alive, Moussa engages in a game where he calls his dad, imagines his daily activities, and anticipates his return.
Saleh, a 40-year-old man dedicated to his land, was shot in the chest while picking olives with his family near their home in the village of al-Issawiya. This incident is just one of over 250 cases documented by the Palestinian government, where Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed Palestinians in the West Bank since the recent escalation of violence triggered by Hamas’s attack on October 7.
Ikhlas, Saleh’s widow, describes her late husband as a simple man who cherished his land and family. She struggles to look at images of Saleh on her phone, depicting him in the fields reciting the Quran with their son Moussa and attending a wedding. The pain of his absence is too overwhelming for her to recount the details of the tragic event.
The children, however, fill in the gaps of the story. Videos captured at the scene show four men, identified as Israeli settlers by their popular knitted yarmulkes, shouting at Saleh’s family while they were harvesting olives. One of the men is seen carrying an automatic rifle. Fearing for their safety, the family retreats, but Saleh realizes he left his phone behind and goes back to retrieve it.
Within minutes, a gunshot rings out, prompting the family to rush back, only to find Saleh lying on the ground with a bullet wound in his chest. Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, Saleh succumbs to his injuries and is pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The family claims that Ikhlas’s brother and father saw on social media that a suspect had been apprehended for the shooting. However, to their dismay, the individual was released just a few hours later. Requests for comments from the police and COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for overseeing civilian activities in the Palestinian territories, went unanswered.
Saleh’s tragic death adds to the rising toll of Palestinian lives lost during the recent conflict. As the international community calls for a resolution to the ongoing violence, incidents like these serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need for peace and justice in the region. The mourning widow, Ikhlas, and her children are left to grapple with the heart-wrenching loss of a beloved husband and father, while the search for accountability and justice continues..
Source
Al Jazeera said West Bank family sees no hope of justice in settler killings | Israel-Palestine conflict
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