Just Another Day in Occupied Palestine

I was driving from Nablus to Ramallah. Light rain was falling as I approached the Israeli checkpoint at Huwwara. Another car was in front of me, moving slowly, trying to keep its distance from an Israeli military vehicle about 50m ahead. No sense in provoking them. On the grassy verge beside the road a young boy was walking in the same direction as the cars. The Israeli military vehicle braked suddenly, an order barking from it. The boy put his hands up. The car in front of me began to drive around the Israeli vehicle. I followed suit. I could see the boy with his hands up as I passed. I looked for the boy in my rear view mirror. He was on the ground. It happened so fast. One minute he's standing there with his arms up. The next he's on the ground, dead. I stopped the car, as did the driver in front of me. We had both just witnessed an execution. Not long after, Israeli state media announced that their military had killed 15-year-old Abdullah Hussein Nasasra from Beit Furik near Nablus. The military said that he had 'charged the armed forces while armed with a knife.' I saw no knife. Nor did I see him charge them. They had guns trained on him. Why would he try to attack them with a knife? (Adapted by MERC from Checkpoint violence: blood and occupation, Vijay Prashad, counterpunch.org, 29/12/15)