According to Reuters Israeli troops claim that 27yr old Ahmad Erekat was shot and killed after he attempted a car-ramming at an Israeli military checkpoint near the town of Abu Dis in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and that one officer, was lightly injured.
Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization, claims the the “occupation army” (Israeli military) are lying and told Reuters that Ahmed was a relative of his and that not only was it his sister’s wedding yesterday, Ahmed himself was expecting to get married the following week.
Eyewitnesses report that Ahmad did not “attempt to run over [the soldiers], but rather the car crashed into the edge of the median where the soldiers are stationed, prompting the Israeli occupation forces to shoot at the car.” Video footage then showed that Ahmad was left bleeding out on the floor, without any medical attention, for quite some time. It’s understood that by the time the Israeli ambulance arrived, Ahmad had already bled to death.
The Middle East Eye interviewed other members of the Erekat family who, understandably, are all in a state of shock and disbelief. Emad Erekat, Ahmad’s cousin, told Middle East Eye. “Ahmad would never, ever plan to attack the soldiers as they are claiming…He was pressed for time to pick up his sisters, the flowers, and all these other things from Bethlehem,” He also pointed out that Ahmad was driving a Palestinian-plated rental car at the time – rented specifically for the purpose of running errands on his sister’s wedding day.
Ahmad’s sister Eman was at a salon with her mother getting her hair and makeup done for the wedding and waiting for Ahmad to come and pick them up. Her mother then received a call from Ahmad’s phone so they initially assumed he was outside waiting to collect them but when their mother answered the phone she was told the devastating news that her son had been shot and killed.
