PA President awards iconic activist, Suleiman Al-Hathlin, Order of Jerusalem Medal

The Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, awarded, on Tuesday, the iconic Palestinian iconic activist, Suleiman Hathalin, who succumbed on Monday to wounds sustained when an Israeli police tow truck ran him over two weeks ago, the Order of Jerusalem Medal.

The 75-year-old activist and community leader from Masafer Yatta, was run over by an Israeli tow truck on 5 January, when Israeli police arrived in Umm Al-Khair village in Masafer Yatta to seize unregistered and allegedly stolen vehicles, Middle East Eye news site reported.

According to the site, after locals tried to stop the tow trucks, Israeli police fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse the crowds.

READ: Elderly Palestinian anti-occupation activist succumbs to wounds

On Tuesday, the Governor of Hebron, Jibrin Al-Bakri, handed the Order of Jerusalem Medal to Haj Suleiman’s family, on behalf of Abbas, in Umm Al-Khair village, south of Hebron.

Former Palestinian Minister of Education, Sabri Saidam said Abbas has decided to award Haj Suleiman the Order of Jerusalem Medal in recognition of his honourable national struggle in defending his homeland, Palestine.

Since the establishment of the Israeli settlement, Carmel, on parts of Umm Al-Khair in 1980, Hathalin has led protests against its expansion, which threatened the displacement of the village’s residents.