Ramallah: Israeli forces have carried out yet another extrajudicial execution of a Palestinian youth when on Tuesday it shot dead 23-year-old Baha Al Harbawi at the Jaba’a crossing.
Al Harbawi was on his way home after visiting his sister in Ramallah to Al Ezariyah in occupied East Jerusalem when Israeli forces claimed he attempted to stab them at the checkpoint.
However, his family says accounts from eyewitnesses on the scene completely contradict the Israeli version.
“Several soldiers surrounded Baha and shot him execution-style at close range for no apparent reason,” his uncle, Eyad, told Gulf News.
He has challenged Israeli authorities to produce the video footage of the incident.
“If they refuse to release the footage, it means my nephew was murdered,” he told Gulf News.
Following the murder, Israeli occupation forces raided Baha’s home and arrested his father, Emad.
No reason was given for the raid and Israeli authorities decided to punish the family by refusing to hand over the body for proper burial — a common Israeli practice. They used tear gas and rubber-coated bullets on Palestinian villagers who came out to protest the raid.
Baha’s uncle described him as a “peaceful young man and devoted son” with no arrest records and no political affiliations. Baha worked with his father as a plumber to help support his family of nine brothers and sisters.
International legal and human rights organisations have documented Israel’s practice of extrajudicial executions among other crimes which violate international law.
When Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom raised the issue of extrajudicial killings last year, Israel lashed out by calling her “irresponsible and delusional”. The exchange sparked a diplomatic row between the countries and Wallstrom was told she was “no longer welcome” in Israel.
