Nasrallah Abu Siyam was just trying to save his neighbors’ goats. He was 19 years old, and he was living in the small village of Mukhmas in the occupied West Bank, northeast of Jerusalem. On February 18, the first day of Ramadan, Israeli settlers stormed into the town wearing masks and carrying assault rifles. Among them were several IDF soldiers. The settlers tried to steal the Palestinian community’s small herd of goats and sheep, its main economic lifeline; the people of Mukhmas objected, and were met with “tear gas and stun grenades.” Some of the settlers threw rocks; some of the villagers threw rocks back. Then, as the BBC reports, the Israelis opened fire, shooting “at least three of the villagers, including Abu Siyam, who was struck fatally.” Independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel has spoken to several eyewitnesses, who confirmed the details: “Nasrallah was shot in the thigh, the bullet severing his main artery. Settlers crowded around him after he fell, striking him with rods.” As the raiders left with the animals, an ambulance was called, but it was delayed by IDF checkpoints. When it finally arrived, “Nasrallah was bleeding heavily in the back seat, his pulse fading.” He lost so much blood that doctors couldn’t save him, and he died that night.

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