{"id":6443,"date":"2026-05-04T10:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T10:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/i-cant-feel-my-leg-israeli-gunfire-disables-teenagers-in-west-bank\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T10:35:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T10:35:25","slug":"i-cant-feel-my-leg-israeli-gunfire-disables-teenagers-in-west-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/i-cant-feel-my-leg-israeli-gunfire-disables-teenagers-in-west-bank\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I can\u2019t feel my leg\u2019: Israeli gunfire disables teenagers in West Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><strong>Nablus, occupied West Bank<\/strong> \u2013 Islam Madani says families and young people from the Askar refugee camp would once congregate beneath the olive trees on the slopes of Tel Askar, a hilly area in the north of the occupied West Bank which is home to the camp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut most won\u2019t go anymore because soldiers shoot so many people there,\u201d the 32-year-old father of two told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/19\/israeli-ministers-celebrate-re-establishment-of-sa-nur-west-bank-settlement\">Israeli ministers celebrate re-establishment of Sa-Nur West Bank settlement<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/21\/israeli-sexual-violence-helping-push-palestinians-from-west-bank-report\">Israeli sexual violence is pushing Palestinians from West Bank: Report<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/4\/24\/negotiations-that-enable-israels-land-grabs\">Negotiations that enable Israel\u2019s land-grabs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/26\/what-lies-ahead-for-gaza-after-ceasefires-in-iran-and-lebanon\">What lies ahead for Gaza after ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Amjad Refaee, director of the Askar Social Development Centre, says memories of those killed by Israeli soldiers haunt one of the only green spaces in the camp where children can play.<\/p>\n<p>The military has killed three teenagers there, and maimed many more since October 7, 2023, when Hamas led an attack on Israel, and Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>The soldiers no longer fire rubber bullets or aim below the waist, \u201cthey shoot to kill, or cause disability\u201d, Refaee told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are animals to them,\u201d he added. \u201cThey terrorise us, kill our young people in cold blood, and keep us here in a prison.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>People from the camp say Tel Askar has become the entrance point used by invading Israeli soldiers as they infiltrate the narrow and dilapidated streets of the camp, often via the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/11\/israeli-settlers-kill-palestinian-during-raid-on-occupied-west-bank-village\">illegal settlement<\/a> of Elon Moreh that looms over the east of Nablus.<\/p>\n<p>It was on the hill where soldiers shot 18-year-old Amir Othman last January, leaving him with a disability. The shooting was almost at the exact spot where his childhood friend Mohammed Abu Haneen was killed by the army just over a year before. He was 18.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4537604\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4537604\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Tel-Askar-1777660783.png?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"A track surrounded by trees at Tel Askar refugee camp\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4537604\">Tel Askar in the occupied West Bank [Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"i-asked-my-uncle-to-shoot-me\">\u2018I asked my uncle to shoot me\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Amir was a promising footballer and dancer until Israeli soldiers shot him in the leg last January as a convoy of jeeps drove through Tel Askar.<\/p>\n<p>He had travelled extensively performing Dabke, a traditional Palestinian line dance.<\/p>\n<p>Amir, now an aspiring nurse, was hauling his wounded friend \u2013 also shot by soldiers \u2013 to safety when he was hit by a bullet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy kneecap and my thighbone were shattered,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t feel my leg anymore, so I thought I had lost it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe blood felt like boiling water spilling out of my leg.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Soldiers blocked ambulances from reaching Amir as he lay bleeding. Healthcare officials and international organisations say that has happened hundreds of times since October 7, when Israel intensified <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/1\/15\/israel-carries-out-raids-and-demolitions-arrests-dozens-across-west-bank\">raids on Palestinian communities<\/a> in the occupied West Bank, particularly refugee camps.<\/p>\n<p>Amir eventually underwent four operations to help him walk again. He spent four months bed-bound, doctors tell him his mobility will never return to normal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I woke up from the first surgery, I asked my uncle to shoot me, because I thought it\u2019d be better,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I\u2019m learning to accept the situation and keep living.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amir said he still dreams of touring, dancing Dabke and running with his friends. \u201cBut none of that is possible now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-children-of-refugees\">The children of refugees<\/h2>\n<p>At least 13 Palestinians have been killed in Askar since Israel\u2019s assault on the occupied West Bank intensified after October 7, according to Palestinian monitoring groups. Many others have been shot during the military\u2019s incessant raids.<\/p>\n<p>At least 157 children have been killed by soldiers or Israeli settlers in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem since 2024, according to data compiled by Defense for Children International \u2013 Palestine.<\/p>\n<p>Israel denies targeting children, saying its military raids are necessary for security reasons, and to clamp down on Palestinian fighters.<\/p>\n<p>Askar is among the most densely populated of the 19 refugee camps in the occupied West Bank. It is home to 24,000 people, packed into an area about the size of 17 football fields.<\/p>\n<p>It is plagued by unemployment, and many residents live in poverty and suffer \u201ccramped living conditions,\u201d according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).<\/p>\n<p>Refugee camps originally were makeshift tented communities intended to provide temporary sanctuary to hundreds of thousands of refugees forcibly expelled from historic Palestine in the Nakba of 1948, when the state of Israel was established.<\/p>\n<p>But as the decades passed, and hopes faded for the refugees to return to their homes faded, the camps became overcrowded, built-up areas.<\/p>\n<p>Amir sat in the camp\u2019s newly established emergency health centre with his friend Yamen Habron, aged 17, and Islam Madani, aged 32. They were also shot by the Israeli military in the last three years, leading to disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>The trio were insistent that no one, no matter their age, is safe when the military storms the camps. They noted the case of 14-year-old Iyad Shalakhti, who was shot dead by soldiers on July 9, 2025, in Tel Askar.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4537733\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4537733\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Yamin-Amir-and-Islam-at-the-entrance-to-Askar-Refugee-Camp-1777666414.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C578&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Three young people stand up\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4537733\">Yamen Habron, Amir Othman, and Islam Madani, along with Islam\u2019s four-year-old son, at the entrance to Askar refugee camp in the occupied West Bank [Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"no-safety\">\u2018No safety\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Islam Madani said he forbids his children \u2013 as do many other parents \u2013 to play outside in the refugee camp. His four-year-old son energetically patrolled the meeting room where Al Jazeera spoke with his father.<\/p>\n<p>The young boy cries uncontrollably every time the military enters the camp because he knows what soldiers did to his father.<\/p>\n<p>He was shot by a sniper at 7:30 am on January 9, 2024 as he rushed to clock in at the factory where he worked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI lost so much blood,\u201d he said. \u201cThe paramedic did everything he could to keep me conscious, in case I didn\u2019t wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He recovered from multiple major surgeries. The shot, he says, went in the back of his knee and out the front, leaving gruesome scars.<\/p>\n<p>He said the army now invades at any time of day and doesn\u2019t distinguish between those fighting against the Israeli occupation and peaceful, unarmed residents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone can get shot,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no safety. I was just walking to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Islam is no longer employed at the factory, and cannot stand for long before pain overwhelms him.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s been seeing a psychologist to help him process what he sees as the shame of not being able to provide for his family since he was shot and left jobless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI became more aggressive, angry and impulsive since being shot,\u201d he said. \u201cI pray to God that better is to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"deliberate\">Deliberate?<\/h2>\n<p>Yamen dropped out of school very young to support his family through hardship.<\/p>\n<p>The timid teenager was shot twice in the side by soldiers who surrounded him as he reached his front door after returning from the gym. One bullet became lodged in his hip, and the other sliced through his side.<\/p>\n<p>He told Al Jazeera that all he could remember was his father and brother desperately trying to keep him conscious while he waited for the ambulance, which was being blocked by army jeeps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll I could remember were my mother\u2019s cries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He spent 14 days in intensive care, and doctors spent two days removing the bullet shrapnel. He now walks with a limp.<\/p>\n<p>Centre director Amjad Refaee has known Islam, Amir, and Yamen their entire lives. He says none of them has ever been active in Palestinian fighting groups, as many are in refugee camps.<\/p>\n<p>As they discussed their futures, the young men questioned whether the soldiers had intended to kill them, or whether they aimed to deliberately leave them disabled \u2013 to deepen the misery of their lives in the camp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKids in Askar wake up to the occupation,\u201d Refaee said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have playgrounds. They can only play football in the streets. Many are forced to work from a very early age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Refaee said that his purpose is to keep young people alive by giving them hope, because they are \u201cthe future of the country\u201d. \u201cOtherwise we will disappear,\u201d he added. \u201cWhich is what Israel wants.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nablus, occupied West Bank \u2013 Islam Madani says families and young people from the Askar refugee camp would once congregate beneath the olive trees on the slopes of Tel Askar, a hilly area in the north of the occupied West Bank which is home to the camp. \u201cBut most won\u2019t go anymore because soldiers shoot &#8230; <a title=\"\u2018I can\u2019t feel my leg\u2019: Israeli gunfire disables teenagers in West Bank\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/i-cant-feel-my-leg-israeli-gunfire-disables-teenagers-in-west-bank\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about \u2018I can\u2019t feel my leg\u2019: Israeli gunfire disables teenagers in West Bank\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}