Former prisoner killed in clashes with Israeli forces

A former prisoner of the Israelis was shot and killed by security forces on Tuesday evening during a protest in Al-Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron. Mahmoud Al-Titi, aged 25, was killed when the Israeli occupation forces opened fire with live ammunition.

Witnesses said that Palestinian refugees were taking part in a protest against the violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque by illegal Israeli settlers earlier in the day. A large number of Israeli soldiers were used to crack down on what had until then been a peaceful protest. As protesters threw stones at the soldiers, they returned live fire. Mr. Al-Titi was hit along with two other Palestinians. All three were rushed to hospital where he was declared dead. The other two casualties are in a stable condition.

Al-Titi served three years in an Israeli jail and was detained several times by the Palestinian Authority (PA) security services. He was released from a PA prison just two days before he was killed.

AHRAR Centre for Prisoners Affairs said in a statement that Al-Titi was an activist and campaigner against Israeli and PA detention of Palestinians. He was the administrator of the centre’s Facebook page.

Local sources in Hebron said that the shooting was followed by mass protests across Hebron which are expected to spread to other towns and cities in the occupied West Bank.

In Tulkarem, meanwhile, the Israelis searched a number of Palestinian homes and detained two men. Bassam Bleedy, aged 20, and Ibrahim Khoraim, also 20, were taken to an unknown destination.