"We heard gunshots that sounded like loud claps," they said. "An Israeli activist told us it was live ammunition, saying he'd never seen such disregard for human life. The soldiers on the ridge were spraying bullets everywhere. After the protest we found live bullet casings littering the ground where soldiers had been firing at protesters. This case shows how far Israeli forces will go to avoid admitting their crimes despite the overwhelming evidence against them."
Abd's family told ISM that they were not surprised by the army's refusal to admit to using live fire. "The Israeli army never admitted any crime here," they said. "Of course they said that because they don't want to be questioned about it."
Recently Abd was moved from a Tel Aviv hospital to Beit Jala, after Israeli doctors said there was nothing else they could do. "He can't speak and no changes [to his condition] occurred since he was shot," his family said. "The doctors say that his condition is still in danger and that a huge damage occurred in his brain because of the bullet."
Images from Forensic Architecture report show difference in soldiers firing live ammunition to rubber-coated metal bullets
(Image by International Solidarity Movement) Details DMCA
Kafr Qaddum residents said the feeling in the town since the shooting has been "indescribable."
A resident who preferred not to be named told ISM: "A child who is supposed to live peacefully just like any child in the world is being shot brutally. Instead of offering a safe environment for children here, they are being shot and exposed to violent acts."
Forensic Architecture's report is the latest piece of evidence stacking up against the Israeli army over the shooting. It joins a previous report by Israeli human rights group B'tselem which blamed the incident on Israel's "reckless open-fire policy that allows soldiers to use live fire even when neither they nor anyone else is in any danger."
In the past three months alone, 100 Palestinian children have been shot with live ammunition. Despite these gross human rights violations, government's around the world have remained silent on the Israeli army's callous use of live fire against children.
Instead Abd's family has turned to the media in the hope that justice can be delivered through them. "If the world knows what is really happening to the children here, this may bring justice one day."
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[Video added by OEN editor.]
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