A teen born in Louisiana has been killed by Israeli gunfire within the occupied West Bank.
Tawfiq Ajaq, 17, was shot and killed Friday – lower than a yr after relocating to the war-torn nation to complete highschool and reconnect with Palestinian tradition.
His mother and father introduced him and his 4 siblings this previous summer season, earlier than the battle broke out.
He was shot lifeless as he made the drive again to the small village by a member of the Israeli navy, they stated Saturday – earlier than claiming the Biden Administration made the homicide doable.
Speaking from his funeral abroad, the teenager’s father, Hafez Ajaq, criticized the nation’s long-standing assist for Israel, and implored Americans to ‘see with their very own eyes’ the reality of the battle.
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Tawfiq Ajaq, 17, was shot and killed Friday – much less then a yr after relocating to the war-torn nation to complete highschool and reconnect with Palestinian tradition
Relatives mourn at his funeral in his household’s Palestinian dwelling village in Al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, West Bank, Saturday
Meanwhile, each the US and Israel have issued statements indicating they’re investigating the teenager’s loss of life, although the latter has but to verify accountability.
As of Sunday morning, each probes – with Israel’s being carried out by the nation’s police power – have but to provide something substantial.
Hafez, in the meantime, claimed Americans aren’t getting the ‘true story’ in regards to the taking pictures – and the battle generally – and thus must ‘see with their very own eyes’ the senselessness of the violence.
‘They are killer machines,’ he stated of Israeli forces, who’ve obtained greater than $260 billion from the US alone for the reason that nation was shaped in 1945.
‘They are utilizing our tax {dollars} within the US to assist the weapons to kill our personal kids,’ he continued, talking from the ceremony at Al-Mazra’a Ash-Sharqiya.
‘The American society doesn’t know the true story,’ he went on. ‘Come right here on the bottom and see what’s occurring.’
He then requested: ‘How many fathers and moms need to say goodbye to their kids?’
‘How many extra?’
Ajaq – considered one of greater than 30 Americans killed within the battle – was born and raised in Gretna, Louisiana, close to New Orleans, family members stated
His mother and father introduced him to Ash-Sharqiya – which has a inhabitants of below 5,000 – final yr, and on Saturday, he was given a hero’s sendoff. Crowds of Palestinians have been pictured pulsing by village streets, as males who held aloft a stretcher with the teenager’s physique.
It was wrapped in a Palestinian flag. Ajaq was killed Friday by Israeli fireplace and police say they’ve launched an investigation
‘I’m feeling filled with disappointment, for his mom, his father, his uncles, myself – all his family members,’ stated Mohammad Salen, Ajaq’s nice uncle. ‘In this example, the disappointment is masking us from throughout’
‘The good all the time dies younger,’ Tawfiq’s cousin, Maher Abdul Jabbar, stated. ‘That’s a main instance of what occurred to my cousin.’
He additional instructed NBC News : ‘Born and raised within the U.S., he is been right here for one yr,”
‘He does not know anything – I’m teaching him what’s life. I’m teaching him what’s the land. What’s the cost of the land.
‘And here he is,’ he continued, after carrying the boy’s casket. ‘He’s [now] paying for it, for freedom.’
Newsnation also spoke to several of the victim’s family members Saturday, and learned how they are ‘heartbroken’ over the loss.
They described how they are still trying to piece together what happened, in their first broadcast interview since the incident.
‘I am feeling full of sadness, for his mother, his father, his uncles, myself – all his relatives,’ said Mohammad Salen, Ajaq’s great uncle .
‘In this situation, the sadness is covering us from all over.’
Appearing by videolink, the man went on to reveal how Ajaq had been planning to spend his senior year overseas, before heading back to New Orleans, his birthplace, for college.
There, Salen said, the teen intended to study business – dream that’s now been cut short.
The boy’s father, meanwhile, claimed Americans are not getting the ‘true story’ about the shooting – and the conflict in general – and thus need to ‘see with their own eyes’ the senselessness of the violence
‘They are killer machines,’ he said of Israeli forces, who have received more than $260 billion from the US alone since the country was formed in 1945
‘They are using our tax dollars in the US to support the weapons to kill our own children,’ he continued, speaking from the ceremony at Al-Mazra’a Ash-Sharqiya
‘The good always dies young,’ Tawfiq’s cousin, Maher Abdul Jabbar, said. ‘That’s a prime example of what happened to my cousin.’
He and others proceeded to explain how Ajaq had been a member of a local mosque in the New Orleans area before moving, and that the place of worship had held a vigil for him Saturday night as officials’ investigation continues.
When asked if he ‘could tell him something now’, Jabbar repliedd: ‘I would tell him that I was always proud of him – [that] he was such a good kid. [That] I loved him.
‘That’s the main thing,’ he added, growing emotional. ‘I loved him; our whole family loved him. He was really precious to us.’
Israeli defense forces, meanwhile, have said they are investigating the incident, issuing a statement.
The bulletin stated that they had already received reports about an incident that took place near where Ajaq was killed, where an off-duty police officer and a civilian ‘fired toward a Palestinian individual suspected of hurling rocks in the area’.
‘An IDF soldier was present in the area,’ the military said. ‘The claim that the soldier fired at the Palestinian is under review. The Israel Police have opened an investigation into the incident.’
The US Department addressed the teen’s death in its own statement, one bolstered by comments from NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby at a White House press conference.
Israeli forces, meanwhile, have said they are probing the incident, issuing a statement claiming they had already received reports about an incident that took place near the shooting, where an off-duty cop and a civilian ‘fired toward a Palestinian individual suspected of hurling rocks in the area’
‘An IDF soldier was present in the area,’ the military said. ‘The claim that the soldier fired at the Palestinian is under review. The Israel Police have opened an investigation into the incident’
he incident is only the latest latest fatal shooting in the West Bank, where nearly 370 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war more than three months ago
The US Department addressed the teen’s death in its own statement, saying it has asked Israel for more information
The sparse assertion learn: ‘We can confirm the death of a US citizen civilian in the West Bank on January 19, 2024.
‘We are working to understand the circumstances of the incident and have asked the government of Israel for further information.’
Questioned about the killing at Friday’s press briefing at the White House, the U.S. National Security Council spokesman said: ‘It’s definitely deeply concerning,’
‘I’m afraid I don’t have anymore information,’ he added. [But] [W]e’re seriously concerned about it.’
Meanwhile, the incident is only the latest latest fatal shooting in the West Bank, where nearly 370 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza more than three months ago.
The Biden administration recently has repeatedly expressed concern about violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
Ajaq – one of more than 30 Americans killed in the conflict – was born and raised in Gretna, Louisiana, near New Orleans, relatives said.
His parents brought him to Ash-Sharqiya – which has a population of under 5,000 – last year, and on Saturday, he was given a hero’s sendoff.
Crowds of Palestinians were pictured pulsing through village streets, as men who held aloft a stretcher with the teen’s body.
It was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.