Ramallah: In the latest extrajudicial execution by the Israelis, a resident of the Al Farea’a Refugee Camp near Nablus, who was formerly a member of the Palestinian security forces, was shot dead by plainclothed Israeli soldiers in his own home on Tuesday.
Mohammad Al Salhi, 32, died after being shot six times at close range, according to the Red Crescent.
The soldiers raided Al Salhi’s home Tuesday morning and shot him at point blank range, according to Khalid Mansour, an official of the Palestinian National Initiative.
“He was shot in front of his elderly mother,” he told Gulf News.
Israeli authorities claim Al Salhi ‘mistook’ the soldiers for thieves and attacked them as they raided his home. They did not explain the aim of the raid or why they were not wearing uniforms.
But Mansour believes that is simply a convenient excuse for Israeli authorities, who consistently claim all murders of Palestinians are acts of ‘self-defence’.
“Had it been clear that they were Israeli soldiers, he wouldn’t have attacked them in such a way,” he said.
Al Salhi was left on the floor in a pool of blood for some time before the occupation forces left the house and medical teams could render aid.
“Israel simply wanted him dead,” Mansour said.
Al Salhi had previously spent three years in Israeli prison during which time his father passed away.
He is survived by his mother who suffers from chronic respiratory problems and one sister.
Palestinians and international rights groups have documented dozens of extrajudicial killings committed by Israel.
They accuse Israel of planting knives near the bodies of executed Palestinians in order to cover up their crimes.
Palestinians believe the killing could simply be a retaliation for an attack in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday, where a Palestinian ran over Israeli soldiers with a van, killing four.
Since October 2015, accelerating violence has rocked both Israel and the Palestinian territories.
There is widespread outrage among Palestinians over the repeated Jewish incursions into Al Haram Al Sharif, the third holiest site in Islam.
Around 290 Palestinians, 42 Israelis and three foreign nationals have died in the violence that began in October 2015.
