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Young Palestinian refugee killed by Israel was 'saving to start his own business': relatives

Young Palestinian refugee killed by Israel was 'saving to start his own business': relatives
"Ahmad had started a job at the intercontinental hotel, not far away from the camp and he was happy with his new job," Mohammad Assi, director of the Aqbat Jabr sports club and a relative of Oweidat, told °®Âþµº.
3 min read
West Bank
26 April, 2022
Three other Palestinians were wounded during the raid, said residents. [Getty]

Ahmad Oweidat, a 20-year old Palestinian near Jericho in the occupied West Bank, "was trying to improve his family's life," Faysal Al-Basha, his uncle, told °®Âþµº.

"He was an outstanding student in his second year of business administration at ," Al-Basha said. "He had plans to start his own business and provide a better life for his family, which is why he began to work at night to save money for his project."

"He was the eldest of six siblings, and felt responsible for helping them," his uncle continued, "he was raised by his grandfather who considered him as his own son and lived with him." 

"His grandfather is in a state of denial since he heard the news, and his health deteriorated under the shock," Al-Basha noted.

Oweidat was killed early on Monday during an Israeli raid on the refugee camp of Aqbat Jabr, , as reported by the Palestinian health ministry.

"Israeli troops raided the camp before dawn and arrested two young men who are brothers and their father," Ayoub Assi, a resident of the refugee camp told °®Âþµº.

"The youth in the camp threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the army during the raid, to which they three young men in the legs," Assi added.

"On their way out, opened fire towards a group of young men who were standing at the entrance of the camp, not taking part in the confrontations," said Assi. "One of them was Ahmad [Oweidat], and he was struck by a bullet in the forehead that killed him instantly." 

"Ahmad had started a job at the intercontinental hotel, not far away from the camp and he was happy with his new job," Mohammad Assi, director of the Aqbat Jabr sports club and a relative of Oweidat, told °®Âþµº.

"He was coming home from work after a night shift at the same moment that the raid was taking place," said the director.

"When one of the youth that Israeli soldiers escaped, a soldier came down off the jeep and opened fire towards him, but instead he hit Ahmad," he added.

an Israeli army source saying that "dozens of Palestinians threw stones, set fire to tires and threw Molotov cocktails at the forces" during the raid. Israeli reports admitted that Oweidat was not taking part in the confrontations.

A general strike was called for by civil society organisations in Jericho on Monday in mourning of Ahmad Oweidat. His burial is planned to take place late on Monday.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrested six Palestinians at least in the West Bank, including two in Qabatia, near Jenin, which Israeli forces .

On Monday, the UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, said that "Violence over the past month has underscored that managing the conflict is not a substitute towards resolving it."

Wenessland's words came during  on the situation in the Middle East.

For his side, Palestine's permanent representative at the UN, Riyadh Mansour, said at the same meeting that "Israel evades accountability while killing in plain daylight." 

"Double standards and the lack of justice only steer despair and anger," Mansour added. 

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