'His childhood friend was killed eleven days ago': Hundreds mourn Palestinian killed in Jenin
'His childhood friend was killed eleven days ago': Hundreds mourn Palestinian killed in Jenin
"Mohammad felt very strongly about the Israeli occupation raids in Jenin, especially since many of his friends were arrested or killed," noted his father
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Mohammad Marei was killed during an Israeli military raid in Jenin on Wednesday. [Getty]
Hundreds of Palestinians took part in the funeral of 23-year-old Mohammad Marei, who was killed early on Wednesday by Israeli forces, during an Israeli military raid into Jenin.
Crowds carried Marei's body from the Jenin public hospital to the Jenin mosque, before carrying it through the city's streets amidst slogans of rage, gunshots in the air and Palestinian flags.
"Mohammad was a simple and caring young man," his father, Maher Marei told The New Arab. "He had dropped out of school to work and worked in several manual jobs, and he most recently worked at a restaurant in Jenin city," said his father.
#Palestinians participate in the funeral processions of Mohammad Marei, who shot dead by Israeli forces earlier today in Jenin.
— Wafa News Agency - English (@WAFANewsEnglish) June 29, 2022
Credit: Wafa News Agency pic.twitter.com/b9OYusNDHU
"Mohammad felt very strongly about the Israeli occupation raids in Jenin, especially since many of his friends were arrested or killed," noted his father. "I kept telling him to focus on his own life and that I'll help him build his house so that he can start a family, but he refused."
"He became even more insistent in taking part in confronting Israeli forces when they raid Jenin, especially after his closest childhood friend, Baraa Lahlouh, was killed by Israeli forces in a raid eleven days ago," the deceased's father added.
Israeli media quoted the Israeli army saying that its soldiers had fired at Palestinians who had "thrown explosive devices at them", adding that "hits were identified".
The Palestinian foreign affairs ministry condemned the killing of Mohammad Marei, considering him "a victim of Israel's impunity" and called upon the UN Secretary-General to "activate the international protection system for the Palestinian people".
For its side, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement mourned Marei as one of its members.
Earlier in June, Israeli forces killed three Palestinians in a raid on Jenin. The city and the adjacent refugee camp have been at the centre of Israeli military escalation since the Gilboa prison break in September.
In May, Israeli forces killed Palestinian-American journalist and Aljazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, while covering an Israeli military raid into the Jenin refugee camp.
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