RAMALLAH: Israeli armed forces killed a 21-year-old Palestinian in northern Jerusalem at dawn on Monday.
Mohammed Al-Shaham was left bleeding, and eyewitnesses said the Israelis prevented any attempt to provide him with first aid after he was shot.
His father Ibrahim said special forces had raided the house, shot his son in the head from close range, left him bleeding on the ground for more than 40 minutes, failed to provide an ambulance, arrested him, and later announced his death.
Another relative, Nasser Al-Shaham, said special forces had raided the Zughayer neighborhood of Kufr Aqab where the family lived, blowing up the main door upon reaching the apartment. Soldiers shot Mohammed at close range, leaving him to bleed for more than half an hour, he added.
The soldiers assaulted Mohammed's parents and siblings. They tied up the family and confined them to one room. Israeli army personnel searched the house, causing significant damage, and left with Mohammed, who was still bleeding.
They are still holding Mohammed’s body.
“We have been informed of the martyrdom of Mohammed, but we have not yet been informed of the date of receiving the body,” said Nasser.
Meanwhile, the UN called for an "immediate, comprehensive and independent investigation" into the young man's murder. The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said in a tweet: "I am deeply disturbed by the killing of the Palestinian youth, Mohammed Al-Shaham, at the hands of the Israeli security forces in his home in Kufr Aqab, in disputed circumstances.
"This requires an immediate, thorough and independent investigation."
Senior PLO official Hussein Al-Sheikh said: “The crime of executing citizen Al-Shaham deserves an immediate and urgent international investigation.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayieh condemned the killing: “What happened is a major crime.”
Mosques mourned Mohammed's death, and clashes broke out in Kufr Aqab and Qalandia refugee camp.
Al-Shaham was a painter inside Israel and belonged to the Fatah movement. The army had previously shot him during clashes that coincided with its incursions into Qalandia and Kufr last year.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the heinous crime was an extension of the executions and field assassinations committed by the occupying forces.
“As the ministry views this crime and its nature very seriously, it will follow up on it at all levels, especially the International Criminal Court, the Human Rights Council, and other legal levels of the United Nations, in the context of its continuous efforts to put an end to Israel's impunity.”
Israeli police claimed that Al-Shaham came out of his house carrying a knife and tried to stab their officers, who responded by shooting and neutralizing him.
But Ibrahim rejected this account. He also said his son had never been arrested and was not wanted by the Israeli army.
The Israeli army and police have killed 139 Palestinians this year.
The army arrested 24 Palestinians during a raid on Jenin and other parts of the West Bank at dawn on Monday.
