Israeli war adds scars to Palestinian psyche
Activists see Israel’s bombing of cultural centers, bookstores and other cultural institutions in the Gaza Strip, as well as the killing of a 17-year-old in a refugee camp in the West Bank, as an attempt to obliterate Palestine’s cultural identity.
On May 17, the Israeli army killed 17-year-old Obaidah Akram Abdel-Rahman Jawabreh, who was shot dead with a bullet to his heart in clashes with Palestinians that erupted in Al-Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank along the Hebron-Jerusalem road.
Jawabreh had appeared in a 2019 documentary prepared by the Defense for Children International - Palestine on children imprisoned by Israel. Human rights activists said the killing amounted to a targeting of Palestinian culture and children.
His cousin, Zain Jawabreh, 21, who was very close with the victim, told Al-Monitor, “Obaidah lived with his family at Al-Aroub refugee camp. He was the eldest among his seven siblings. He was a culinary student at Talitha Kumi Community College in Beit Jala, in the southern West Bank. He used to love cooking and swimming. He owned a food store at Al-Aroub camp and helped his father in supporting their family.”
“Obaidah was captured by the Israeli army four times, and imprisoned for a long period of time twice in 2016. In 2015, he was arrested for the first time at the age of 14, and then jailed twice the following year,” Zain Jawabreh added.
