Israeli police forces shot sponge-tipped bullets at two Palestinian children in East Jerusalem in two separate incidents this week, reported Haaretz.
Both incidents occurred in the Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Issawiya, which has experienced almost a year of violent harassment by Israeli occupation forces.
According to Haaretz, 16-year-old Mohamed Atia “was shot Monday while standing in his schoolyard and his arm was fractured”.
#شاهداستهتار جنود الاحتلال بحياة طلبة المدرسة الثانوية في #العيسوية.. اصابة طالب بعيار مطاطي وهو داخل ساحة المدرسة#WatchThe occupation forces' negligence to the lives of students in the village of Issawiya…a student is injured by a rubber bullet in the school's courtyard
Posted by Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Silwan مركز معلومات وادي حلوه -سلوان on Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Ten-year-old Fawzi Abid, meanwhile, “was shot Tuesday while standing on the balcony of his home…sustaining an injury to his hand that required medical attention.”
In the case of Atia, “video footage of the incident shows police officers getting out of the vehicle and pushing a man who was selling food to students at the school entrance.”
One police officer is then seen “inserting his weapon between the bars of the gate at the entrance to the school and firing five shots at children in the schoolyard.”
“He was in the yard, standing near the principal, when all of a sudden, they shot him in the hand,” the boy’s father, Awani Atia, said.
#Palestinian Boy Shot by #Israeli Policeman Loses his Eye https://t.co/rpNVAbxHCl via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/ecXn5hdbkO
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 26, 2020
Police claimed that the incident began after a student hurled a stone at a passing police vehicle.
Over the last few months, Israeli police forces have been raiding the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya on a daily basis, ransacking homes and arresting and assaulting Palestinians.
The Israeli campaign against Issawiya is aimed at oppressing and making life miserable for all who live there as part of efforts to push the native residents out of the holy city.
(Palestine Chronicle, MEMO, Social Media)