Israel soldiers raid house of Palestinian they shot and made disabled 4 years ago

A Palestinian who was shot four years ago in the head by Israeli soldiers is being called in for interrogation with no reason provided, Haaretz reported yesterday.

The family house of 21-year-old Khalil Mahmoud from the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya was raided last Thursday by Israeli forces who tried to arrest him.

Khalil told Haaretz a large number of Israeli soldiers “maybe 30” wearing border force uniforms – crowded into the house while his father Ahmed, a house painter was at work.

There were more soldiers in civilian clothes stationed outside, he added.

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After ransacking his room, they confiscated four shield trophies made of olive wood, which Khalil had received from various Palestinian NGOs as tokens of esteem and solidarity with his suffering.

With a bullet still lodged into the right side of his skull to his day, Khalil is severely disabled and house-bound, his speech has been impeded by the attack by Israeli occupation forces and his left foot is paralyzed.

Only 17 at the time, he was shot with an M-16 rifle when occupation forces shot at local Palestinian youth who were demonstrating against their presence in the occupied area, he denies he was part of the protests.

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He says he was on his way to a neighbour’s house to return money his family had borrowed from them when he was shot.

A year after the attack, Khalil underwent seven operations in two different hospitals and he was unable to move or speak.

According to Haaretz, when an Israeli soldier who intended to arrest him last week asked “Why does Khalil look like that?” his eldest brother Salah replied outraged: “Because the Border Police shot him four years ago, how will you arrest him? He can’t walk and he can barely talk!”

The occupation forces then proceeded to hand a form his father requesting that he bring Khalil in for questioning without giving a reason for the summons.

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However, the family decided not to take him in.

The town of Issawiya, home to more than 15,000 people, is well-known among Palestinians as a beacon of civil resistance to the Israeli occupation.

Community leaders have expressed concerns regarding Israeli’s escalating violence in Issawiya over the past several months, and its excessive use of force against residents, undermining stability and increasing tensions in the neighbourhood.

Khalil’s father believes that the attempt to arrest Khalil and his summons for interrogation is to send a message to the people of Issawiya that even the disabled will be harassed for interrogation.