Israel has killed six Palestinian youths in March only

Hundreds of Palestinians took part on Wednesday in the funeral of 23-year-old Ahmad Seif, who was shot by Israeli forces in the village of Burqa, west of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.

Seif succumbed to wounds he had sustained after being shot by Israeli forces at the village's entrance on March 1. He had been under intensive care at Al-Najah hospital in the city of Nablus, and was pronounced dead late on Tuesday.

The director of the intensive care unit at Al-Najah hospital told The New Arab’s sister publication Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Seif had been hit with four live bullets, three of which in his chest and stomach, destroying his internal organs, and one in his leg, cutting a main artery.

وداع حزين للــشــهــ ـيــد أحمد سيف في قرية برقة قرب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/ej0CyUkoBd

— #القدس_ينتفض 🇵🇸 (@MyPalestine0) March 9, 2022

According to Israeli media, the Israeli army said that its soldiers were responding to fire after Molotov cocktails had been thrown at them.

Seif’s death “had a big impact on the entire village”, his cousin, Imad Seif, told The New Arab. “He was appreciated and respected by everybody”, he said.

“Ahmed worked in construction and was a hard-working young man,” pointed out Imad Seif, “he was saving for his marriage that was supposed to be in a few weeks, and his fiancée, who is an intern nurse at Al-Najah hospital, knew that he had been wounded when he was brought in as an emergency case”.

The village of Burqa has been at the center of violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers and forces since December.

“In late December Israeli settlers came to Burqa in large numbers and attacked homes and farming lands,” Dhirar Abu Amr, a resident of Burqa and local activist, told The New Arab.

الالاف يشيعون جثمان الشهيد احمد سيف في قرية برقة#فلسطين_قضية_الشرفاء #فلسطين_ستبقي_ف_قلوبنا pic.twitter.com/aA8hV2BvIY

— شاعرة_فلسطينية_رناطبيلة_حساب 2 (@Lina61328631) March 10, 2022

“The youth of the village clashed with them, and then with the Israeli army, who came to protect the settlers, and since then clashes haven’t stopped”, he said.

“Ahmed was at the forefront of clashes from the beginning,” noted Abu Amr, “he died at a moment of high tensions and anger in the village, and his death has only increased this anger.”

Ahmad Seif is the sixth Palestinian youth to be killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of March. On the first day of the month, Israeli forces killed a 22-year-old and an 18-year-old Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp, north of the West Bank, and a 19-year-old in the village of Beit Fajjar, near Bethlehem.

Last Sunday, Israeli forces killed a 19-year-old in Jerusalem old city after he stabbed two Israeli officers, and a 16-year-old during clashes in the town of Abu Dis, south of Jerusalem.