Chicago – January 18, 2024
According to witnesses in the occupied West Bank, Israel targeted a group of Palestinian civilians who had no affiliation with armed groups and posed no threat to Israeli soldiers.
Seven men, four of them brothers, were murdered in an Israeli air attack early on January 7 as they sat around a fire near the road through al-Shuhada village, 10 kilometers (six miles) from Jenin.
Witnesses offered compelling evidence that the guys were not members of armed extremist groups and that no conflicts with Israeli forces were going place at the time.
Khalid al-Ahmad, the first paramedic to arrive that morning, is confident the men did nothing wrong.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has linked the strike to a military operation hours earlier in the Jenin refugee camp, in which a female soldier died.
They possessed Israeli permits, allowing them to enter Israel for daily agricultural work. These licenses are frequently difficult to obtain and are quickly revoked for anyone Israel considers a security threat – or is linked to someone who is.
The three men killed with them were part of their extended family.
Permits for two of the brothers, obtained by the BBC, were issued in September 2023 and can be used for many months. Since the Hamas attacks in October, the crossings with Israel have been blocked to Palestinian workers.
