At the house of child Amir Abu Musa’id the family does not feel his absence completely yet. Being the youngest of nine children his touch remains in every corner of the house and his words about Jerusalem still echo in the ears of his parents and siblings.
Four Israeli bullets penetrated Amir’s chest a few days ago and his arm was cut off silencing him forever as three other young men bled next to him after Israeli bullets hit their bowels and legs.
When Amir Abu Musa’id a 15-year-old boy approached the separation fence east of al-Bureij refugee camp along with a group of boys he was surprised by two sources of fire one of an Israeli machine gun from the Abu Mutibq military site and another of an Israeli sniper both fired at him.
The last day
On his last night the border area was quiet until Amir and his friends were shot. A number of young men tried to transfer the injured until the Red Crescent arrives in the area but Amir died quickly of his wounds while his friends received explosive bullets in their bowels.
Ghassan Amir’s brother said that he was infuriated the moment the US administration recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that as a young man he decided to do whatever he could to protest what was going on.
He added “Amir used always to take part in the peaceful protests carrying his slingshot with him hoping to cross the dividing line to reach Jerusalem. He always said: I hope to open a hole in the separation wall to go to Jerusalem.”
Ghassan wonders why the Israeli occupation forces use brutal forces such as explosive bullets and banned shells to keep children and young men away from the border area when protests take place.
Since the moment his youngest child was martyred Abdul Hamid appears to speak less except with relatives and mourners who came to his house.
“My little child was close to the separation fence and was hit by heavy and explosive bullets my son was very bold and always spoke about Jerusalem and the crimes of the occupation” said Abdel Hamid.
Wounded and witnesses
The PIC reporter left the house of Abu Musa’id and went to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah. After checking the records of the wounded with the hospital administration the eyewitnesses of the shooting of Abu Musa’id were identified.
In room No. 6 Adam Baroud 19 is surrounded by his brothers and friends who came to check on his health which is in danger despite several surgeries.
“I went to the separation fence and I was with Amir and when it was the afternoon I prayed and then we approached the border. I saw the soldiers cursing us. Then they shot me in the knee and I started bleeding. When I tried to escape they fired an explosive bullet again. My back was hit before the young men reached me.”
In the ambulance Adam met again with Amir who he saw for the last time an hour ago but this time in a different situation. Amir was silent and his arm was amputated. Adam’s knee and stomach were bleeding. They were separated forever soon after they reached the hospital.
In room No. 7 at the surgery department young Mahmoud al-Masri is in a bad condition and his condition is still in danger after a bullet was extracted from his stomach and a second bullet is still in his liver.
“I cannot speak. I am very tired and the bullet in my stomach still hurts me” he said. His brother Mohammed intervenes adding some details: “He was hit in the stomach and a bullet is still in his liver. He underwent a surgery but still needs another one weeks later to get the bullet out.”
One of the eyewitnesses who declined to be identified said that Amir and the wounded young men approached one of the rainwater drainage pipes in a low area near the border. They were surprised by the heavy shooting at them and all of them fell on the ground. There was no ambulance in the area.
According to a medical source at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital the shooting of child Abu Musa’id was strange. The bullet that penetrated his body made a 4-cm-wide hole and a 5-cm-wide exit which broke his arm and damaged his internal organs.
Since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada in October 2015 the occupation has been using explosive bullets to target children and young men along the separation fence; dozens of young people have been killed dozens of limbs have been amputated and permanent disabilities have been inflicted.
