Detained Palestinian Yassin al-Saradih was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces in Jericho on 22 February 2018, only minutes after his arrest, in the latest example of Israeli extrajudicial killing and murder in the form of an “arrest raid.” Al-Saradih, 33, was seized in a pre-dawn invasion of Jericho in which he was harshly beaten by occupation forces before being seized.
“His death came about due to the unreasonable use of force. Despite this being evident, the occupation authority communicated to Palestinian officials that he died as a result of cramps and choking from gas used by the soldiers,” said Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and the Palestinian Prisoners Club in a statement. Video footage depicted the occupation soldiers clearly kicking and striking Saradih after shooting him and dragging him away; nevertheless, occupation forces originally attempted to claim that they were the victims of an “attack” by Saradih, who Israeli media also labeled a “terrorist.” Later, they claimed that he accidentally died due to tear gas exposure after the released video failed to back up their claims that Saradih attempted to “steal a soldier’s gun.”
The occupation forces killed Saradih as he was among dozens of Palestinians protesting the occupation forces’ armed invasion of Jericho. Saradih’s murder is only the latest in a series of extrajudicial executions carried out by occupation forces.
Saradih’s family, in Haaretz, noted that he was a laborer who worked in construction and agriculture as well as playing soccer at the Alhalhel football center in Jericho.
The killing of Saradih echoes multiple previous killings of Palestinians by Israeli occupation forces during “arrest raids,” including Raed al-Salhi, Basil al-Araj, Ahmad Jarrar, Moataz Washaha and others, as well as multiple cases of extrajudicial executions by occupying forces against Palestinians, especially youth, shot down in the streets, including the case of Nadeem Nuwara, Mohammed Odeh, Mahmoud Badran and many others.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network denounces this latest Israeli crime against Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian people. It reflects the institutionally violent nature of the entire system of colonial imprisonment, repression and occupation imposed upon the Palestinian people. The widespread international silence and acceptance of such Israeli crimes also underlines the role of the United States and other imperialist powers in protecting the Israeli occupation state from any form of accountability for over 70 years of crimes against the Palestinian people. This brutal killing must inspire all of us to escalate our advocacy and organizing for Palestinian liberation, challenging all of those forces that seek to keep the Palestinian people oppressed, suppressed and vulnerable to the type of crimes that took Yassin al-Saradih from his home, community, family and people.
