Latest news with #PACC
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian American Teen In Occupied West Bank
Israeli forces shot three Palestinian American teenagers in the occupied West Bank on Sunday ― killing one of them in what is the latest incident of the military targeting U.S. citizens, usually without consequence. A group of children were protesting an Israeli raid at the village of Turmus Ayya when Israeli soldiers opened fire on them, hitting three teenage boys who are U.S. citizens, according to local media and the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Two 15-year-old Palestinian American boys, Ayoub Jabara and Abdulrahman Shihada, were rushed to a hospital to get treatment for their wounds, according to the village's mayor Adeeb Lafi. But Israeli soldiers detained the third, 14-year-old Amer Mohammad Saada Rabee, before paramedics could get him help. Israeli troops shot Rabee 11 times, according to the Palestinian American Community Center (PACC). The New Jersey teen was pronounced dead in custody. Video on the ground shows Rabee's mother kissing her son's lifeless body during his funeral in Ramallah on Monday. PACC, based in New Jersey, held a prayer service in honor of the boy, whose death the group said was 'entirely preventable and horrifically unjust.' 'Amer was killed for speaking out at a time when the U.S. and Israel are doing everything they can to crush dissent, but we will not be silenced,' Illinois state Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, a fellow Palestinian American whose family is also from Turmus Ayya, told HuffPost on Tuesday. The Democrat said he's spoken to some of Rabee's relatives in Chicago, who are 'understandably heartbroken.' The Israel Defense Force has confirmed the attack, justifying the shooting by saying the teens ― only referred to as 'terrorists' ― were 'endangering civilians' by throwing rocks at the highway. 'By labeling children who throw stones as 'terrorists,' Israel entrenches a fabricated system above international law, violating its fundamental rules and principles, fabricating pretexts for killing, and entrenching its policy of institutionalised, systematic and unlawful violence and persecution against Palestinians,' Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor posted on X. 'The killing of children is not self-defense. Stone-throwing is not terrorism,' the Geneva-based rights group continued. 'What Israel is committing is fully-fledged apartheid violence and relentless settler-colonial violence – ongoing, and met with impunity.' Rabee is the latest American to be killed by Israeli forces, an all-too-frequent occurrence that almost never resulted in consequences under the Biden administration. An Israeli airstrike killed Michigan-based Dr. Kamel Ahmad Jawad in October while he was helping injured civilians in Lebanon. An Israeli sniper killed Turkish American student Ayşenur Eygi in September for protesting the occupation in the West Bank. An off-duty Israeli soldier killed Palestinian American teen Tawfiq Abdel Jabbar in January while he was visiting family in the West Bank. Israeli soldiers beat and detained Palestinian American Omar Assad while he was driving home in the West Bank in January 2022, eventually dying of a heart attack after they left the elderly man in the cold still handcuffed. An Israeli sniper killed high-profile Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022, while she was covering Israeli raids on the West Bank city of Jenin. An Israeli soldier ran a military bulldozer over American activist Rachel Corrie in March 2003, killing her while she was protesting the occupation in Gaza. Despite repeated calls for accountability from both Israel and the U.S., the Justice Department has never pursued prosecution in these cases. The White House, regardless of who occupies it, has nearly always deferred to the Israeli military's self-investigations, which when announced have rarely led to consequences. The IDF did not answer HuffPost's repeated questions as to whether there would be an independent investigation in Rabee's death, nor if there were any consequences that came out of the investigation into Eygi's death. 'We know the frustration of hearing Israel scrambling to falsely justify the targeting and killing of a loved one, as if anything justifies the killing of this child,' Eygi's family said in a statement on Monday. 'We remember our rage seeing the unwillingness of our government to seek justice for the killing of one of its own citizens, despite our repeated calls for accountability.' 'If Ayşenur's killing had been investigated and those responsible had been held accountable, maybe [Amer] would be alive today,' the family continued. 'The impunity afforded to Israel by the United States, as well as its allowance on billions of dollars in weapons sales to Israel, allows Israel to continue its killing of American citizens.' The Trump administration is now facing calls to reinstate sanctions on violent settlers and to investigate Rabee's killing, including by both New Jerseysenators and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce would not answer reporters' questions about a possible investigation, only sending condolences to the teenagers' families. 'We are not calling for special treatment – only equal protection under the law for all Americans, regardless of their ethnic or religious identity,' CAIR said in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi. 'When Americans are murdered abroad, especially by actors from a U.S.-funded foreign military like Israel, our government has an obligation to respond with the full force of U.S. law. Failure to do so perpetuates injustice and undermines the principle that every American life matters.' The Sunday shooting is also part of a spike in violence against Palestinians by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including a larger offensive in the northern region that has killed at least 99 people and displaced tens of thousands, according to the United Nations. While Palestinians in the West Bank continue to face such threats, Israeli forces have kept up their 18-month destruction of Gaza, where UN officials say children have bore the brunt of the violence and displacement. 'We know that [Amer's] killing, like Ayşenur's, has only garnered attention in America because he was a US citizen, and we also know there are thousands of other [Amer's] and Ayşenur's killed by Israel whose stories have not been told, simply because of where they were born,' Eygi's family said. 'Israel must not only be held accountable for the killing of [Amer] and Ayşenur, but also for its continued genocide of the Palestinian people.'
Middle East Eye
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
'They executed him': Palestinian Americans outraged over killing of teen in West Bank
The Israeli military "executed" a Palestinian-American teenager as he picked green almonds in a village in the occupied West Bank, bereaved family and members of the Palestinian community in New Jersey told reporters on Tuesday. Amer Mohammed Saada Rabee, 14, who was born in Saddlebrook, New Jersey, and lived between the occupied West Bank and the US, was killed on Sunday when Israeli forces fired at him and two other minors in the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya. Amer, a US citizen, was shot 11 times and died from his injuries, while the two other boys - one of whom is also a US citizen - sustained several bullet wounds but managed to survive. Both boys - one with minor and the other with severe injuries - were taken to a Ramallah hospital. At a sombre press conference held at the Palestinian American Community Center (PACC) in Clifton, New Jersey, on Tuesday, organisers said the community had once again fallen victim to "senseless violence" from the Israeli state with the full consent and support of the US government. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Amer's father, Mohammed, who joined the press conference via Zoom from the occupied West Bank, said the family was heartbroken and in mourning over the loss of his son. He said he was at home when he was told the Israeli military had opened fire on three boys in the village, including his son. He immediately contacted the US embassy, but they were slow to respond to his pleas for help, asking him for "unnecessary" details even though he was a US citizen with all the proper paperwork. Hours later, he was informed that his son's body was at a military base near Nablus. He said his son was given to him in a blue bag. His clothes had also been removed. Exploding bullets Mohammed said a doctor who examined his son's body said it appeared that Amer had been struck by two different types of bullets, including a type that exploded once it entered his body. He noted his son also had suffered two gunshot wounds to the head. 'This was a cold blooded murder,' Rami Jbara, Amer's uncle who lives in New Jersey, said. Amer Rabee would have turned 15 in May (Rabee family/Supplied) Rania Mustafa, executive director of PACC, said the village of Turmus Ayya is surrounded by Israeli settlers who routinely look to intimidate and interfere with Palestinian villagers. The Rabee family's farmland and farmhouse had been set alight and burnt by settlers last summer. Mustafa described Amer as a bright kid who liked playing video games and spending time with friends, like any other boy his age. Mustafa said Amer was visiting family in New Jersey as recently as February. She said his only fault was that he was Palestinian. "The reality is, like many Palestinians, that he was living in Palestine, and he was subjected to senseless murder and an execution," Mustafa said. "Our stories are consistently ignored. Our people are consistently dehumanised. Amer was killed after he and two boys picked green almonds off a tree," Mustafa said, clarifying that it was almond-picking season in Palestine. 'Amer was not in Gaza. He was in the West Bank. Palestinians are not safe neither here, nor in the West Bank, Gaza or even the US," Mustafa said. Israeli soldiers said the boys were "throwing rocks" at Highway 60, a motorway that runs through the occupied West Bank from Beersheba to Nazareth. They described the boys as "terrorists". But Amer's father, Mohammed, said his son, along with the other two boys, were climbing trees, and if they were throwing stones - of which there is no evidence that they were - it was likely they were trying to break off almonds to eat when they were fired upon by Israeli soldiers. 'Even if he was throwing stones [at anyone], he was 14 years old. They could have caught him and stopped him, but they wanted to kill him," Mohammed said. Though the Palestinian-American community is calling for accountability from US officials over the killing of Amer, given his American citizenship, there is very little evidence to suggest that the US government will hold Israel to account. In 2021, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed while reporting in the West Bank, and this case has been all but buried. Likewise, in 2023, 17-year-old Mohammed Khdour was shot in the head by Israeli forces while he sat in his car. No actions have been taken in either of these cases. On Tuesday, the US State Department said it was "aware" of the killing by Israeli forces of a Palestinian-American teenager, adding that it was still seeking more information on what had transpired.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Be ‘Forever Young' at this Valentine's event
WACO, Texas (FOX 44) – Senior citizens in Waco will be celebrating Valentine's Day in a fun way! The Forever Young Valentine's Dance: An Evening for Seniors is taking place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Waco's Performing Arts Community Center (PACC), located at 924 Austin Avenue. This free event is designed especially for the senior community, and offers a night of delightful music, dancing, and mingling. Attendees can savor a delicious selection of food and wine as they reconnect with friends, make new memories, and enjoy the lively, romantic atmosphere. Whether you're coming with a partner or solo, everyone is welcome to celebrate love, friendship, and the joy of togetherness! For more information, you can visit the PACC's website here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
