Wheelchair-Bound Palestinian Protester Killed by Israeli Troops
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Palestinian activist who lost his legs in an airstrike was shot dead by Israeli troops as he protested against the US decision to recognize Jerusalem (al-Quds) as Israel’s capital.
Wheelchair-bound Ibraheem Abu Thuraya, 29, was one of four Palestinians killed during Friday’s violent clashes, according to officials, Independent reported.
Witnesses said he was unarmed.
The Palestinian Authority’s health ministry said Abu Thuraya was shot just east of Gaza City. A 31-year-old, Yasser Sokhar, was killed in the same clash.
The violent protests followed the decision by Donald Trump earlier this month to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Another 82 Palestinians were injured, five of them seriously, in clashes along Gaza’s border with Israel, the health ministry said.
Abu Thuraya had lost his legs and a kidney in an Israeli airstrike, according to local reports, and was regularly seen with other Palestinian activists at protests.
“He was injured in 2008 by an Israeli helicopter that targeted him after he brought down the Israeli flag and raised the Palestinian flag along the border,” his brother Samir told AFP.
“It did not stop him from demonstrating for Jerusalem. He went alone every day to the border.”
Tear gas was reportedly used against the protesters and at some point Abu Thuraya abandoned his wheelchair, crawling through the grass before he was shot.
Photos and videos showing Abu Thuraya being pushed in his wheelchair shortly before his death have been widely shared on social media.
He was known for climbing electricity poles and holding up Palestinian flags during protests.
Several thousand Palestinians took part in Friday’s protests at the West Bank, al-Quds and Gaza, according to reports.