"Do you think yourself a man, carrying a weapon and chasing children? You think you're so big and powerful but you're the lowest people in society. You're worthless cockroaches, you're worth less than dogs both of you." [Hebrew] "*If you're so afraid of them (children), just don't come to places where they are."

On October 7, between 3 and 4 am, Israeli troops raided the home of 66-year-old Ziad Abu Hlail in Dura, in Al-Khalil governorate, West Bank. The soldiers were there to arrest his son. They ransacked the house and beat Ziad, according to his son Murad.

His widow shared details of the raid: “We were asleep at 4 a.m. when the army surrounded the house and arrested my son. They took him out of the house. His father wanted to run after him, but they didn’t let him. They pushed the door into him, and he fell and died. He became a martyr. We called the ambulance and it didn’t arrive. God took his soul when he was at home, the ambulance didn’t take him to hospital.”

(Sources: 1 2)

Legacy: Ziad Abu Hlail, was a prominent Palestinian non-violent activist, and was often seen peacefully confronting Israeli forces in videos, preventing soldiers from arresting or firing at young Palestinians.

His defiance in the face of Israeli soldiers earned him renown, especially when he responded to a soldier complaining about children throwing rocks at them with "Bihimmish-بهمش" (Arabic dialect which translates to "It doesn't matter" or "I don't care".) back in 2015.

His home was raided by IDF troops at dawn on August 5, 2017, ransacking the house and beating following his participation in protests against the construction of military tower in the village of Kharsa, south of the city of Dura.

Photos: Portrait: 2015: raised the Palestinian flag in Al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli forces detained him afterwards 2016 2017, November 27, at hospital with his 17 y/o son Ahmad who died in a car accident