The death of a seven-year old boy ‘on fear’ of Israeli soldiers in Palestine has evoked an emotive focus for fury over Israel’s military tactics.
As per a report by Associated Press (AP), a group of men holding the body of the Palestinian kid marched through a town in the occupied West Bank toward the child’s final resting place on Friday. According to his parents, the kid died from fear of Israeli soldiers.
As per the kid’s family members, Rayan Suleiman, with bright eyes and a backpack emblazoned with an animated race car, was walking home from school on Thursday when he and his brothers were chased by Israeli soldiers.
After the boys raced home, the troops banged furiously on the door and threatened to arrest them. Just moments later, the youngest of the three brothers- Rayan was dead.
The incident evoked mass anger in the region and what Palestinians complained is their victimization by the Israeli occupation. On the other hand, Israeli army called the death a tragedy and said its soldiers should not be blamed for the incident, reported AP.
It was a routine work for the heavily armed Israeli soldiers to arrest Palestinian children in the West Bank. Nearly half a million Israeli settlers live on the land that Palestinians want for a future independent state.
The seven-year-old boy’s death has struck a nerve with Palestinian parents. Fear for their children’s safety and the dread of soldiers knocking on the door are part of daily life under an entrenched Israeli military rule that is now in its 56th year.
While the European Union expressed outrage over Rayan’s ‘tragic death’, the US State Department urged for an investigation into the incident, reported AP.