17 Year Old Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl. Picture Credit: PSP
The large group of armed settlers began shooting towards Palestinian homes in Saffa at around 9am, leaving one Palestinian injuried. At the same time, a second group of settlers attacked an area of Beit Ummar called Jodor. Yousef was shot in the head in this area while he was standing in grapes vines he had planted on his family’s land.
Dozens of Palestinians from Beit Ummar and the nearby village of Surif began coming to the area to defend their communities. Seven jeeps of Israeli Forces also arrived in the area and escorted the settlers back to Bat Ayn.This is the second settler attack with live ammunition on Palestinians in as many days. On January 27th, Uday Maher Qadous was shot and killed in Iraq Burin, in the Nablus district, by armed settlers as he was working his land.In today’s attack, settlers also shot 16-year-old Bilal Mohammad Abed Al-Qador with live ammunition in his arm.
Yousef Fahkri Ikhlayl is from the village of Beit Ummar and has worked on initiatives with the Palestine Solidarity Project, an anti-occupation organization in Beit Ummar. In the summer of 2010, Yousef attended the Center for Freedom and Justice’s Freedom Flotilla Summer Camp where he engaged in educational projects, community service, and unarmed demonstrations against the Israeli occupation. In the fall of 2010 Yousef was a participant in a youth photography class also sponsored by the center.
Karmei Tsur, an illegal settlement according to international law, is one of five built on land belonging to Beit Ummar villagers. Weekly demonstrations are held every Saturday and organized by the National Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, and the Palestine Solidarity Project.