Palestinian footballer killed by Israel in West Bank: Medics
Palestinian medics say Israeli forces have shot dead a 23-year-old footballer and wounded five others during confrontations in the occupied West Bank.
Ahmed Daraghmeh was mortally wounded early on Thursday when Palestinians exchanged fire with Israeli troops who raided the city of Nablus to escort Jewish Israelis to a site known as Joseph’s Tomb in the Palestinian city.
The sound of gunfire was heard in amateur videos that Palestinians recorded from their windows.
Daraghmeh was from the nearby town of Tubas. Local Palestinian media reported that he played football for the West Bank Premier League club Thaqafi Tulkarem.
The popular Arabic football website Kooora listed him as having been the team’s top scorer this season, with six goals.
It was unclear whether he was taking part in the confrontations.
The Israeli military said they had fired at Palestinians who had thrown explosives and shot at Israeli troops when they arrived in Nablus, before adding that “suspects” were hit.
The Palestinian group Hamas, which controls the blockaded Gaza Strip, said that Daraghmeh was a member, but did not specify whether he was engaged in fighting when he was killed.
Some 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem this year, according to official figures, making 2022 the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2006.
Another 31 people have also been killed in Palestinian attacks.
Tensions on the ground have been high since last year. Israeli military raids and killings in Palestinian cities and villages are taking place on a near-daily basis, in parallel with a rise in Palestinian armed attacks, as well as an increase in illegal settler attacks against Palestinians.
The Israeli raids have been particularly focused on the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus, where Palestinian armed resistance is growing.
Last week, Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old Palestinian girl, Jana Majdi Zakarneh, during a military raid on the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.
Zakarneh was playing with her cat on the roof of her home when she was shot dead, according to local media. The ministry said she was shot in the head.
Palestinian body held as bargaining chip
Meanwhile, Israel’s defence minister said on Wednesday that the remains of a Palestinian prisoner who died a day earlier from lung cancer would not be released for burial.
Benny Gantz’s office said the body of Nasser Abu Hmaid, one of the founders of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, would be held as a bargaining chip for the return of captive Israelis and the remains of soldiers held by the Palestinian group Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Abu Hmaid, 50, was a former leader of the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party. He had been serving multiple life sentences since 2002 after being convicted of being involved in the deaths of seven Israelis during the second Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, against Israel’s occupation in the early 2000s.
Israel often withholds the remains of Palestinians killed while allegedly carrying out attacks. Israel says the policy serves as a deterrent for future attacks and leverage for prisoner exchanges, while rights groups say the action is a form of collective punishment inflicted on grieving families.
Hamas has been holding two Israeli captives and the remains of two Israeli soldiers killed during the 2014 Gaza war.
Palestinian officials had called for Abu Hmaid’s release as his health deteriorated in recent months, and on Tuesday blamed Israel for his death.
Gantz denied the allegations that Israel had any involvement in Abu Hmaid’s death.
Source: aljazeera
Palestine’s FA asks FIFA to probe reported Israeli killing of footballer
Local footballer Ahmed Daraghmeh, 23, played for West Bank Premier League team Thaqafi Tulkarm
“Palestinian football has been grieved by the assassination of one of its top footballers,” PFA told Arab News in a statement
DUBAI: Palestine’s Football Association has called on the sport’s governing body FIFA to investigate the death of local football player Ahmed Daraghmeh after it said the 23-year-old striker was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday.
The PFA said in a statement to Arab News: “While the rest of the world still basks in the festivities of a splendid World Cup 2022 in Qatar, and prepares to celebrate the season and welcome a new year, Palestinian football has been grieved by the assassination of one of its top footballers.
“And as we grieve for the loss of this young life, we express our heartfelt condolences to the family of Ahmed, his club, and his teammates and demand the international football organizations take a closer look into the racist policies and practices of the Israeli occupation, its constant violations of the international sport regulations, and hold it responsible for depriving Palestinian footballers from their enshrined right to develop and practice sport.”
Daraghmeh played for West Bank Premier League team Thaqafi Tulkarm and had scored six goals, the fourth highest total in the league this season.
His club said in a statement: “The family of Tulkarm, the management, players and fans mourn Ahmed Atef Mustafa Daraghmeh.
“We send our condolences to his family, his relatives and the entire sports family.”
The forward had previously been called up for Palestine’s Olympic team but injury had prevented his participation.
Mahmoud Hafez Daraghmeh, a coach at his club, said: “Ahmed had a distinguished personality and was a special player.
“He was tireless as a player and scored some decisive goals.”
The Israeli military said that its soldiers had fired back after coming under attack by Palestinians on entering Nablus.
The PFA has complained in the past that the Israeli occupation has affected the development of football in Palestine, including its attempts to qualify for the World Cup.
Former national football coach Noureddine Ould Ali said earlier this year: “People in Palestine are not free in their movement.
“If you want to leave then you must first go through a number of checkpoints, and if you get through those then you still have to go through the border into Jordan.”
Daraghmeh’s death comes after several positive weeks for the country on the international football stage. The country’s flag was unfurled by Morocco’s players after their historic win over Spain in Qatar on their way to a historic semifinal appearance.
With the flag a common sight at the competition and on the screens of the world’s televisions, Palestine were called in some quarters the tournament’s “33rd team.”
It is now reported that there have been 224 Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire since the start of 2022.
Source: Arab News
