A group of men marched, carrying the body of a seven-year-old Palestinian child who is believed to have died from fear of Israeli soldiers.
Palestinian child died from fear of Israeli soldiers
Men carrying the body of a young Palestinian child marched through the West Bank community looking for a final resting place. Rayan Suleiman, a child with bright eyes and a rucksack on an animated racing car was reportedly pursued by the Israeli military on Thursday. The boy was on the way back from school with his brothers. The army pounded on his door and threatened to arrest the kids when they began fleeing from the house. Rayan, the youngest died soon after.
“The soldiers shouted at him that he’s a stone thrower. He ran away from one side, and the soldier met him from the other side [of the house]. Rayan saw the soldier in front of him, and was shocked and dropped dead out of fear,” said Mohammed Suleiman. Suleiman is Rayan’s cousin. He revealed to Al Jazeera that the boy was pursued by soldiers and they were shouting at him when he reached home.
More on the incident
According to Hadeel Salman, a witness and neighbor, the Israeli soldiers were “going in all directions looking for any child they could find”. “The soldiers even summoned my young brother – they told him he threw stones at them and needed to be arrested. He insisted he had nothing to do with it,” stated Salman. Since then, the news of the incident is spreading like wildfire throughout West Bank. Anger against Israel’s military move is gaining an emotional focus following the death of the young Palestinian.
The images of young Rayan’s lifeless body, covered by a sheet are turned into a forceful emblem. His death occurred following a bloody incursion since the Israeli military increased crackdowns in the region earlier this year. The European Union has expressed outrage over the boy’s Tragic death”. Additionally, the US State Department urged a formal investigation.
