A Palestinian injured in the neck on Friday by Israeli army fire during clashes in the occupied West Bank now suffers from quadriplegia, the Palestinian health ministry said.
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"
The citizen who was wounded today with live ammunition by the occupation forces (the Israeli army, editor's note) in Massafer Yatta, was hit in the neck (nerves and spine), which resulted in quadriplegia
" , the ministry said in a statement.
Haroun Rasmi Abu Aram, 24, was injured in clashes with the Israeli army in the village of Al-Tuwanah, south of Hebron city, Palestinian sources previously said.
According to the Palestinian Wafa News Agency, which quotes witnesses, "
soldiers opened fire at point blank range
" and wounded the Palestinian as he tried to prevent them "
from stealing his electric generator
."
In a video shared on social media, Palestinians are seen attempting to retrieve a generator from Israeli soldiers, against the backdrop of screaming and shoving, then a shot is heard and a man is on the ground.
“
At the time of the shooting, Abu Aram was helping to build the house of his neighbors,
” said the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem.
"
The soldiers arrived with the intention of confiscating the equipment that the family was using for the construction, including a generator
."
"
Abu Aram was targeted by a shot in the neck at close range as he and other Palestinians tried to retrieve the generator from the soldiers,
" B'Tselem said in a statement released before he was declared quadriplegic.
Contacted by AFP, the IDF said it was "
aware of information that a Palestinian was wounded with live ammunition
" and said it was examining "
the incident
".
According to her, a "
routine
" operation to "
confiscate and evacuate an illegal building
" turned into a "
riot
", during which "
a number of Palestinians attacked Israeli troops
".
"
The soldiers used various means of anti-riot dispersal and fired in the air,
" she added.
The West Bank is a Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by the Israeli army.
About 2.8 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which is also home to more than 450,000 Israelis in settlements deemed illegal by international law.
Another Palestinian was wounded on Friday by a rubber bullet fired by the army during an anti-colonization demonstration in Deir Jarir, near Ramallah, according to Wafa.
At another rally in the northern West Bank, in Kfar Qaddum, 18 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli army fire, the same source said.
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