“We were near the fence separating the area of Sinama north of Salfit from the settlement of Ariel when we heard several bullets fired from the barrel of a gun of a soldier stationed behind the wall and barbed wire.”
“In the meantime Hamed Omar al-Masri 14 years old fell to the ground motionless and we tried to help him but the Israeli soldiers were faster than us.”
This was the narrative of teenager Ahmed who witnessed the shooting near the fence adding: “The army rushed to kidnap Hamed. We found that a bullet hit his face under his eye and near his nose. He was in a critical condition and went in a coma at Beilinson Hospital. I do not know whether he was then transferred to another hospital or not” said Ahmed.
“The health situation of Hamed is stable he underwent several surgeries and his father Omar visited him at the hospital after the Israeli army gave him a permit but his family is still worried about his health condition” said Mahmoud al-Masri a relative of the family.
Al-Masri pointed out that the army’s account of what happened with Hamed was not true and it was refuted by all who were present st al-Sanama area near the wall north of Salfit. Hamed did not hold a knife as the Israeli army claimed at the beginning.
The Israeli army fired live bullets at the child on 12 December 2017 before arresting him near Salfit to the north of the West Bank.
According to the child’s father the army initially alleged that Hamid tried to carry out a stabbing attack and changed this claim later by stating that he put his hand in his pocket and did not have a knife as claimed by the Israeli Daily Newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth a few hours after his arrest.
Three surgeries
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reported that the injured detainee Hamed underwent a surgery on Friday 15 December 2017 in his face. He is still in a coma and his health condition is critical but stable.
The lawyer of the Prisoners’ Club Khaled Mahajna said Hamed is in the intensive care unit at Schneider Children’s Hospital and is scheduled to undergo three more surgeries in the coming few days.
As for the health condition of the child the Prisoners’ Club explained that according to the doctors at the hospital the bullet broke his nose and caused a serious injury to his left eye.
