Israeli bullets leave Palestine brothers in wheelchairs

By Hani Shaer

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Three Palestinian brothers are now wheelchair-bound after having been shot by Israeli troops during anti-occupation demonstrations in the Gaza Strip.

Mohamed al-Homs, 27, was participating in the rallies near the Gaza Strip’s eastern border on March 30, when he saw his younger brother Attalah, 20, shot by Israeli forces.

He rushed to help his brother and took him to a nearby hospital for medical attention. Shortly after, he came back to rejoin the rallies, but quickly he was shot in the leg by Israeli soldiers stationed near a security fence on Gaza border.

Hearing the news that his two brothers were injured, Wagdi left his shop and rushed to the border fence to look for them, but he was also shot by Israeli forces.

“I was shot by an explosive bullet; I’m now wheelchair-bound,” Mohamed, a graduate of sports school in 2014, told Anadolu Agency.

“I don’t know why they [Israeli soldiers] shot the three of us,” he asked. “Our peaceful rallies are in no comparison to the military capabilities of the occupation army, so why they targeted us?” he asked.

-No regret

Wagdi, for his part, said Israeli forces intentionally used explosive bullets against the Palestinians to make sure that the protesters were left with disabilities.

“Hundreds of the injured are now suffering severe wounds,” he said.

Despite their injuries, the three brothers have no regret for taking part in the anti-occupation protests.

“This land is ours,” Wagdi said. “We have committed no crime to be targeted by Israeli bullets.”

“Though we all were shot, we don't regret participating in the demonstrations," he stressed.

Since March 30, more than 115 Palestinian demonstrators in the eastern Gaza Strip have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.

Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this story in Ankara