Yet another Palestinian activist killed by Israeli forces

Published March 7th, 2017 - 09:56 GMT
A picture of Basel Araj, shot dead at age 31 by Israeli forces. [Twitter]
A picture of Basel Araj, shot dead at age 31 by Israeli forces. [Twitter]

A Palestinian activist who had struggled against Israeli occupation has been killed in a two hour shootout between himself and Israeli forces, according to Ma’an News Agency. Basel al-Araj was detained without reason for five months, participated in hunger strikes in protest of torture in prison, and had been in hiding before he finally met his end.

Though the Israeli government had made the unfoudned claim that Araj was the leader of a terrorist cell, Palestinians say he was an intellectual; one of many activists, but more of a bookworm than a violent security threat.

People have emerged on social media to show solidarity with their fallen hero:

In this heartbreaking tweet, a user posts a picture of Al-Araj’s mother holding a photograph of him:

According to this tweet, Palestinians went to Basel’s home in Ramallah after his death. There was a march scheduled in his memory:

Here’s footage of a different march, reportedly from the Deheishe refugee camp in Bethlehem:

Some people couldn’t find words to express their sadness:

Lastly, this  poignent Arabic tweet sums up the tragedy of the event:

It is from the ugliness of this world that the intellectual freedom fighter departs, while the ignorant mercenary remains.

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Tags:RamallahGazaIsraeli governmentMa’an News AgencySafwat SafiBasel al-ArajAl Araj picAli Hussein
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