Majida Obaid, killed by Israeli forces in Jenin, was ‘very loved’ | Occupied West Bank News

According to her daughter, Majida Obeid had just finished praying when Israeli forces shot and killed her “indiscriminately” in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

Kifaya Obeid said she saw her 61-year-old mother sitting and looking out her bedroom window after completing prayers on Thursday. Kifaya went downstairs and after a few moments heard several shots.

“As soon as I went downstairs, I heard a big bang,” Kifaya told Al Jazeera.

“My mother had just finished praying and was sitting in her room in front of the window. I approached and found that she had fallen from a chair and she had a neck injury, ”said the 26-year-old man.

Kifaya placed her hand on her mother’s bleeding neck and heard her repeat the “shahada” (confession of faith). She held her in her arms until a group of young men rushed in to take her to the nearest medics, but she died soon after.

Kifaya said that prior to the shooting, she had seen soldiers on the rooftops of buildings surrounding the family home.

Obeid was one of nine Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday. She was the only woman killed on one of the West Bank’s deadliest days in recent memory. A tenth Palestinian was later shot dead in a separate incident in the city of Al-Ram, north of Jerusalem.

Israeli forces have said they are looking into reports of Obeid’s death, but have yet to make any further announcements.

At least 20 people were wounded by live ammunition during a raid in Jenin, which the Palestinians called a “massacre”.

The Palestinian Health Ministry has accused Israeli forces of obstructing ambulances and medics in Jenin.

Obeid was “very much loved and a cheerful person,” Kifaya said. She always supported and encouraged the young people in the camp, praying that they would be protected and “come out victorious” when Israeli troops raided the camp.

Over the past year, Israeli raids have increased in the occupied West Bank, especially in Jenin and Nablus. Many raids ended in killings and mass arrests of Palestinians. At least 200 Palestinians have been killed in the past year.

The raids are part of an Israeli “Breaking the Wave” campaign aimed at crushing armed Palestinian resistance to the occupation. The Israeli government has said it is targeting militants associated with armed groups such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) Al-Quds Brigades and Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

“Deeply disturbed”

“She knew about the first martyr yesterday before she died,” Kifaya said, referring to the first victim killed on Thursday. “She … was upset that every time the army came, [to the camp]there are wounded or martyrs.”

Kifaya said her mother survived the Israeli invasion of Jenin in 2002, during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Jenin was also the center of Palestinian armed resistance at the time, and at least 52 Palestinians were killed during the week-long fighting.

“We were young,” Kifaya recalls. “She would hold us all and say that if there is a missile, I want it to hit me, not you.”

Obeid was the mother of five daughters and one son, and also had 12 grandchildren.

According to Kifai, Israeli forces continued shelling her mother’s bedroom “even after we got to her.”

“You mean to tell me that the sniper who shot her didn’t know it was a woman just looking out the window,” she said.

Israel launched several airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip on Friday, saying it came after two rockets were fired from the enclave. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the missiles.

Earlier, Israel launched several attacks on the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians living under a brutal Israeli siege.

Thor Vennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, tweeted that he was “deeply disturbed” and “saddened” by the recent events. He added that he was working with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to “reduce tension, restore calm and prevent further conflict.”

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir hailed Israeli forces in the Jenin raid. Ben Gvir is part of the recently restored government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has repeatedly said it will further consolidate its illegal occupation.

The nationalist-religious government has already banned Palestinian flags from Israel and occupied East Jerusalem. It also seeks to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank and annex territory.

Additional report by Zena Al Tahhan.