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.
In Jenin refugee camp, Israeli forces killed resistance fighter Adham Jabareen. When eyewitness Jawad Bawaqneh tried to save him, he was also shot and killed by Israeli forces.
On Monday, January 16, Ahmad Kahla, 41, was killed in cold blood by Israeli soldiers at a temporary military checkpoint in the West Bank, just feet from his 20-year-old son. The anguish felt by Kahla’s family stems not only from the sorrow of loss, but from the fact that Ahmad’s killer would be standing at the same checkpoint the next day.
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.
The Israeli army has continued its onslaught against resistance strongholds in the West Bank. It now has its sights set on Jenin, and is drowning it in a river of blood.
Israel assassinated two Palestinian resistance fighters in Jenin today, and a third martyr succumbed to wounds sustained two weeks ago, bringing the total number of Palestinian martyrs in 2023 to 12.
In less than two days, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, and Jenin.
Ahmad Amer Abu Juneid, 21, was killed with a bullet to the head in the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus; Sanad Samamra, 19, was killed in Hebron after an alleged stabbing attempt; Samir Ouni Aslan, 41, was killed with a bullet to the chest in the Qalandia refugee camp; and Habib Mohammad Abdelrahman Kamil, 25, and Abdelhadi Fakhri Nazzal, 18, were killed in Qabatiya, Jenin.
Amer Abu Zaytoun, 16, was shot and killed with a bullet to the head when Israeli forces invaded Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. Abu Zaytoun is the fourth martyr to be killed by the Israeli military during the first week of 2023.
2023 is likely to be a year of escalations, but one question will decide its fate: what will become of the Palestinian resistance?
Israel has already killed two Palestinians and demolished two homes in 2023, signaling that ‘Operation Break the Wave’ is far from over.