A clash between IDF soldiers and rioting Arabs in the Shiloah (Silwan) section of Jerusalem Sunday night has led to another round of Arab media incitement and an attempt to launch a “day of rage” on Monday.
IDF soldiers opened fire Sunday night when they determined they faced a life-threatening situation when an Arab riot spun out of control in the Ras el-Amud neighborhood.
The soldiers came under attack from the masked Arabs and others who threw some 10 firebombs (Molotov cocktails) at the force. Mob control measures were used to disperse the rioters.
When the force felt their lives were endangered, the soldiers said they fired at the lower limbs of one of the rioters who threw a firebomb and then disappeared.
No hits were confirmed, but reportedly one Arab teen was shot.
The Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency quoted the “Wadi Hilweh Information Center” on Monday as saying that “Israeli forces on Sunday evening shot dead a Palestinian teenage boy during clashes in the neighborhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem.”
The news agency, which serves as a mouthpiece for the Palestinian Authority, reported that 17-year-old Ayman Samih al-Abbasi died “after he was shot in his chest… Israeli forces subsequently stormed the local Ein al-Lozeh medical center searching for the boy’s body but were reportedly unable to find it, the information center said.”
The Arab news agency quoted the “center” as saying that “Israeli police held medical staff inside the center and prevented them from leaving.”
Ma’an apparently also felt compelled to add – in the interests of accuracy, and possibly in order to avoid having its Israeli GPO (government press office) credentials revoked – that Abbasi had “previously spent 18 months in Israeli jails and a further 10 months under house arrest, the information center added.”
In addition, the Arab news agency noted the “circumstances in which he was killed were initially unclear, with locals saying that the Ras al-Amoud area was mostly calm before he was shot dead… Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said that Israeli police had been carrying out patrols in the area when Palestinians threw ‘10 petrol bombs’ at them.’
Rosenfeld was unable to confirm for the agency that forces had subsequently opened fire on the attackers but said police officers were still in the area.
The police spokesperson’s account was backed up by Jawad Siyam, directed of the “information center,” who agreed that it had been “quiet” in Silwan before the incident.
Following the clash, Ma’an reported that unnamed Arab “groups” allegedly have now called for a “day of rage” on Monday.