Palestinians bury amputee protester killed in Gaza border clashes
Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, who lost both of his legs in an IAF strike in 2008, was often seen taking part in clashes on the Gaza border. He was killed Friday, with the Palestinians claiming he was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper; IDF: 'Troops instructed to shoot at lower body of main instigators.'
Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, an amputee who lost both of his legs in an IAF strike in Gaza in 2008, was among the three Palestinian rioters buried Saturday after they were killed in clashes with the IDF the previous day.
Abu Thuraya, killed in the "day of rage" protests on Friday, was one of the regular protesters on the Gaza border. The Palestinians claim he was killed when a "sniper shot him in the head," while IDF officials said soldiers are instructed, according to the rules of engagement, to shoot main instigators only in the lower body area.
Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh attended Abu Thuraya's funeral. "There is no forgiveness to anyone after the killing of Ibrahim Abu Thuraya. This shahid (martyr) is not like all other shahids, and this campaign is not like all other campaigns. News of his death reached all corners of the Earth," Haniyeh said.
"There isn't an entity in the world that could change the truth about Palestine and about Jerusalem, which belongs to the Palestinians only," Haniyeh declared.
"Jerusalem has been a graveyard for plots throughout history," he continued. "There are no concessions on Jerusalem. I'm not just saying east Jerusalem, but the united Jerusalem—not the east nor the west."
Abu Thuraya, 29 and unmarried, lives with his parents. He hasn't had a steady job since losing his legs in 2008, during an IAF strike east of the Bureij refugee center in the center of the strip.
"He was wounded in 2008 when an Israeli helicopter hit him after he took down the Israeli flag and hoisted the Palestinian flag in its stead near the border," his brother, Samir, claimed. "It didn't stop him from continuing to protest for Jerusalem. He went to the border every day on his own."
In a video filmed on Friday, Abu Thuraya is seen waving the Palestinian flag and waving a victory sign at IDF soldiers across the border.
"I want to go there," he is heard saying, pointing to the other side of the border, while a number of youths around him are waving the Palestinian flag and throwing stones at IDF soldiers.
"This land is our land, we will not give up. America has to withdraw its decision," he says in another video, which was put online following US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
A few hours before his death, he climbed an electricity pole to raise the Palestinian flag, eyewitnesses and journalists present told the AFP.
A 32-year-old Gazan was also killed in clashes on the strip's border on Friday. A Palestinian from 'Anata in the West Bank, who was injured by gunfire and evacuated to a hospital in Ramallah, also succumbed to his wounds.
The terrorist who stabbed and moderately wounded a Border Policeman on Friday, while carrying a fake explosive belt, also succumbed to his wounds after he was shot by forces on the scene.
The IDF Spokesman's Office said in response: "On Friday, there were clashes in several locations on the strip's border with thousands of Palestinians participating. The rioters threw stones, set fire to tires and tried to sabotage the border fence. Security forces shot toward a number of main instigators, and the army is examining the claim two Palestinians were killed from the gunfire, one of them an amputee."
