THOUSANDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF PALESTINIAN SHOOT DEAD IN HEBRON HOSPITAL
Hebron, 30 Muharram 1437/12 November 2015 (MINA) – Thousands of Palestinians on Thursday attended the funeral of Abdullah Azzam Shalaldah, 28, in the Hebron town of Sair, hours after he was shot dead by undercover Israeli forces during a dawn raid at a Hebron hospital.
The funeral procession set off from the al-Kabir mosque in Sair and laid Shalaldah to rest at the al-Shuhada cemetery, Ma’an News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as repoting.
Mourners chanted slogans condemning the killing by undercover Israeli forces and called for revenge and international protection from Israeli violations.
Abdullah was shot several times by forces who raided the surgery unit of al-Ahli hospital in order to detain his cousin, Azzam Ezzat Shalaldah, 20, who was shot by an Israeli settler last month, said a hospital staff.
Abdullah and another relative were in the hospital visiting Azzam when around 20 undercover Israeli soldiers entered the hospital at around 4:00 a.m., witnesses said.
The forces tied up the relative while Abdullah, who was in the bathroom at the time, entered the room and was shot dead on scene.
The undercover forces then retreated from the hospital with Azzam, taking him into custody, witnesses added.
Video footage from security cameras shows a group of around 16 men walking through the corridors of the hospital just before 4 a.m. pushing a wheel chair, when suddenly the man sitting down removes his blanket, stands up, and all the men draw guns and proceed down the hall.
The footage also shows what appears to be an Israeli agent dressed as a Palestinian woman, and other Israeli forces dressed as Palestinian Muslim men, wearing keffiyehs and appearing to have fake beards.
An Israeli army spokesperson was unable to comment on the presence of undercover forces during the raid, while Israeli media reported that the forces arrived in two large vans with someone pretending to be pregnant.
The army spokesperson told Ma’an that a combined force of Israeli army and police members had entered the hospital in order to detain Azzam, when an “additional suspect attacked the forces.”
The forces responded with live fire, killing the man, the spokesperson confirmed.(T/P008/R03)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
