Palestinians bury Down’s syndrome man shot by Israeli troops

HEBRON  — Palestinians on Monday buried a young man said to be suffering from Down’s syndrome, who was fatally shot by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank.

Arif Jaradat, 22, was wounded during confrontations with the Israeli armed forces on May 4 in his home village of Sair.

He died of his injuries at a Palestinian hospital in nearby Hebron on Sunday, staff said.

He was “a special case” with “special needs”, his mother Zakia Jaradat told AFP as she received a stream of condolence visits in the living room of the family home.

Jaradat’s father, Sharif, who wore the traditional white headscarf of the Bedouin, said Arif had heard villagers and troops were engaged in confrontations and had rushed to the scene.

“He got about 10 metres from the soldiers and put his hands in the air,” said Sharif, 68, leaning on a walking stick.

“Four of his brothers were there and they called out to the soldiers in English and Hebrew not to shoot,” he said.

“There were seven soldiers there; they started to leave but one came back and fired.”

The Israeli army spokesperson’s office had no response Monday when asked by AFP about the shooting.

“He was the most loveable [person] in the village,” his father said tearfully, as dozens of relatives and neighbours walked in a long funeral procession with the body, which was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

Violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed at least 208 Palestinians, 32 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.