By Ola Attallah
 
"They killed my mom in cold blood," cried a tearful Heba. "They knocked her to the ground and left her bleed to death."

Mariam Ayyad, a 60-year-old grandmother, was minding her own business when armed-to-the-teeth Israeli soldiers raided her building in the village of Abu Dis, east of occupied Al-Quds, on Sunday, September 21.

The Israelis hammered the door and stormed their way into the building.

She pleaded with them not to terrorize children and women in their sleep but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

"The occupation forces stormed their way to detain students from Al-Quds University stay in the same building," recalls Heba with tears strolling down her face.

"When their went to the direction of my brother’s flat my mom rushed and blocked their way with her fragile body. She told them that only his kids and wife were sleeping inside," she adds.

"They started cursing and beating. Suddenly the soldiers pushed her down the stairs," said the grieving daughter choking to the memory.

Ayyad’s head hit the ground and her blood soon painted the floor.

"I was speechless and motionless. There my mom was lying in her own blood on the floor," said Heba growing hysterical.

"I collected my self and rushed to the door to call an ambulance but the Israeli soldiers prevented me," she added.

"They forced me to stay indoor at gunpoint. They prevented me from saving her."

The director of the clinic where Ayyad was eventually later taken said she arrived dead, with a broken skull and possible internal bleeding.

But the Israeli military, as always, denied responsibility saying she only fell on a stairway.

No Eid

The tragic death of Ayyad is casting a gloomy shadow over not only her immediate family, but the entire village.

"I can not imagine our life without her," Heba tells mourners who flock to the family’s house to show solidarity.

"Her laugh echo in my ears and I can see her in every inch of the house."

Ayyad’s forced absence is leaving a huge vacuum.

"How would we spend the rest of Ramadan? Who will wake us up for suhur and Fajr," cried her daughter.

"Who would play with the kids and buy them new clothes for `Eid?"

`Eid Al-Fitr, one of the two main religious festivals on the Islamic calendar, marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

"Why did they kill her?" Heba says gazing at her mom’s picture on the wall.

(IslamOnline.net)