Teen PA accused Israel of murdering intended to die as 'martyr'

The teen, who Israeli police shot dead after he attempted to stab a border guard last month, posted his will and last testament on Facebook before the attack.

By ERIC SUMNER
Updated: SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 23:33
PARTICIPANTS IN the Fatah congress in Ramallah clap and cheer before a speech by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. (photo credit: REUTERS)
PARTICIPANTS IN the Fatah congress in Ramallah clap and cheer before a speech by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Following the release last Friday of a 17-year-old Palestinian terrorist's body, a Palestinian Authority governor assailed Israel for "routinely" targeting Palestinian civilians.
At the teen's funeral, a day after Israeli police shot him dead after he tried to stab a border guard at a West Bank security checkpoint last month, Tulkarm Governor Issam Abu Bakr's deputy accused Israel of committing crimes against Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry said the "occupation authorities" (referring to Israeli police) executed the teen in cold blood in an official statement.
But the attacker's Facebook page tells a different story.
Before carrying out his stabbing, Qatiba Zahran posted that he had intended to die as a martyr in order to "avenge the blood of the martyrs in Palestine," according to an article by Palestinian news agency Al Watan translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
He began the post with a condemnation of Jews.
"All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, who protects the mujahideen and humiliates the cursed Jews," he wrote.
He also expressed his desire to join the prophet Muhammad in paradise in his post, which was supposed to serve as his last will and testament.
Despite Zahran's seemingly damning will, which was later reposted by other pages and websites, the PA Foreign Ministry's statement following his attack accused Israel of fabricating the stabbing episode.
"The occupation authorities, as is their custom, justified the cold-blooded execution of young Zahran by means of loathsome stories of the sort they [spread] whenever [they carry out] a field execution, while knowing full well that young Zahran posed no danger to the occupation soldiers at the checkpoint," the statement read.