The streets of Silwan were on fire Wednesday morning, as residents of the East Jerusalem neighbourhood expressed their anger in light of the shooting death of a member of their community. Jillian Kestler-D’Amours reporting from Silwan.
30-year-old Palestinian man Samir Solhan was shot and killed by an Israeli settler guard at approximately 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. According to Silwan residents, another man, Halid Abbasi, was also injured in the incident, but his condition remains unknown.
Silwan residents clashed with Israeli riot police and soldiers all morning while police helicopters circled overhead. With scarves and masks covering their faces, young Palestinian men hurled rocks at police, who were guarding the illegal Israeli settlements in the neighbourhood.
Police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and sound grenades directly at homes, the residents and their Israeli and international supporters, in blatant disregard of the many women and children walking through the streets. In fact, schoolchildren had to be escorted back to their homes amidst soldiers and tear gas, visibly shaken by the clashes.
At around 1 p.m., at least 1,000 people marched in a funeral procession with Solhan’s body, which was wrapped in a Palestinian flag, from the heart of Silwan up to Jerusalem’s Old City and the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The group chanted, threw stones at the Israeli settlements and security personnel outposts along the way and smashed one Israeli police vehicle. More clashes are expected Wednesday night in the neighbourhood.
There are approximately 55,000 Palestinian residents in Silwan, in addition to about 300 Israeli settlers who are currently illegally occupying the neighborhood
