WEST BANK (Dispatches) – A mentally disabled Palestinian man, described as a ‘suspect’ by the Zionist regime’s army, died on Saturday, four days after being shot by the occupying regime’s troops at a checkpoint.
Hussein Qawariq, 59, from the village of Awarta, was shot on Tuesday by Zionist troops manning a checkpoint in Huwara, near the West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Zionist regime’s army told AFP that the troops “spotted a suspect approaching them at a military post” and initially fired in the air after “receiving no response”.
“The suspect continued approaching the soldiers, who responded with fire toward him. A hit was identified,” the army said.
Huwara’s mayor, Wajih Odeh, said that Qawariq was “mentally disabled”. He “used to collect bottles and cans from the street and ask for money from businesses in the area,” he said.
Qawariq’s family, too, said he had a “mental disorder,” Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. He died from his wounds in the Rabin Medical Centre, it added.
His family said Qawariq suffered from “psychiatric disturbances,” while Huwara mayor, Wajih Odeh, said that he was “mentally disabled.”
Reacting to Qawariq’s death, Hamas resistance movement urged all Palestinians to stand together in the face of the Zionist regime and escalate their resistance against the occupying entity.
“The occupation’s disregard for the life of Palestinians and its cold-blooded killing of civilians is a crime that requires intensification of all forms of resistance in defense of our people and land,” Hamas said in a press release on Saturday.
The Palestinian man’s death came just a day after a 16-year-old Palestinian died of injuries received at the hands of Zionist troops.
Thousands of Palestinians took part in the funeral of the Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank.
Identified as Amjad Abu Alya by the Palestinian Health Ministry, the 16-year-old boy succumbed to his critical injuries on Friday as a result of live ammunition fired by Zionist troops in the chest during a military raid on the al-Mughair village, northeast of the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Friday.
According to witnesses, clashes erupted after the troops and settlers violently cracked down on a rally against settler attacks in the village.
The protest had been called for by several popular committees and the Palestinian Authority’s Committee against the Wall and Settlements, which regularly organizes protests.