The martyrs of Palestine speak to one another in their final acts, emulating the examples of those that came before them, and turning into icons for those that will come after them.
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in separate incidents on Monday and Tuesday. In the cases of both Palestinians who were killed, a will was found, purportedly written by each person, detailing their final wishes in death.
The two Palestinians were Amer al-Khmour, 14, and Hamdi Abu Dayyeh, 40. The killing of the two brought the total number of Palestinians killed in January to 15. In the last six days alone, Israeli forces have killed 11 Palestinians.
Adam Ayyad, 15, was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a raid on the Dheisheh refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem. Ayyad is the third Palestinian killed by the Israeli army in 24 hours, and the first Palestinian child killed in 2023.
In his final handwritten will, Ayyad left behind a message to the world:
“Martyrdom is the end. It’s true that your life ends, but it ends with your happiness, and I want to send this message to the entire world, like [Ibrahim] al-Nabulsi said: ‘I just wish that the people will wake up.’
And now I’m telling you all, set your compass and point it towards the occupation.”
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians during raids overnight in Jenin and Bethlehem, just hours after killing a Palestinian journalist in Hebron and attacking her funeral. Their deaths bring the total number of Palestinians killed by Israel since the start of the year to 60.
What would you do if you were living in a refugee camp during a global pandemic? For the first time in months, Palestinian refugee camps are seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases raising concerns over the potentially devastating effects the virus can have on disadvantaged communities like the Dheisheh refugee camp.
The first case of coronavirus was reported in a Bethlehem refugee camp, sparking concerns over the potentially devastating effects an outbreak could have an overcrowded and underserved camp.