ISRAELI OCCUPATION KILLS A YOUNG MAN NEAR THE AL-AQSA MOSQUE COMPOUND

Israel’s occupation forces shot and killed a young man near one of the gates of the the al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem late on the morning of Saturday February 22nd.

The victim has been identified as 33-year-old Maher Yusef Zaatara from the al-Salaa neighbourhood of Jabal al-Mukaber in the occupied East Jerusalem. He leaves behind three children aged 3, 4 and 6.

Palestinian eye-witnesses have denied the standard Israeli occupation forces’ claim that he would have ‘tried to stab’ Israel’s occupation forces’ members.

Israeli occupation claimed that Zaatara would have approached Israeli occupation forces’ members “rapidly” and “raised a knife to stab”. According to contradictory eye-witness claims, he was jogging beside a wall when shot or walking, his hands up, towards the occupation troops after having been commanded by them to do so.

Videos capture only the immediate aftermath of his shooting, with Israeli occupation police officer closest to him with a hand-gun in his hands, and Israeli occupation paramilitary border guards approaching from another direction.

No effort to check on the Maher Zaatara and give him first aid is shown in the videos and photographs that show him slumped on the ground beside a wall after he was shot.

Later photographs show his body being removed from the scene of the incident. Israeli occupation has so far published no photographs of the alleged knife.

Maher Zaatara’s home in Jabal al-Mukaber was raided by Israeli occupation forces after he was killed. At least one person was seen as being kidnapped by Israel occupation troops.