Iran: Israeli Regime’s History Full of Massacres, Child Killings

Friday, 30 September 2022 4:54 PM 

Rayyan Yaser Suleiman is seen wrapped in a Palestinian flag during a farewell ceremony before his funeral in the village of Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem, on September 30, 2022. (Photo via social media networks)

Iran has slammed Israel over the fear-induced death of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank, saying the history of the usurping regime is replete with such atrocities, among many the killing of children.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana’ani made the remark in a post on his Twitter account on Friday as he pointed to the death of Rayyan Yaser Suleiman, a Palestinian child who lost his life after falling from a high place while running away from Israeli soldiers in the village of Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem.

Palestine's health officials said the child was admitted to hospital due to a heart attack and attempts to revive him had failed.

Kana’ani’s tweet also coincided with the 22nd martyrdom anniversary of 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah, who was killed by Israeli gunfire on his father’s lap in the besieged Gaza Strip on September 30, 2000.

“From Muhammad al-Durrah to Rayyan Suleiman, the history of Israel's apartheid regime is full of assassinations, massacres, torture and killing of children,” Kana’ani said in a Persian-language tweet.

“Rayyan and other martyred Palestinian children are the victims of ‘silence on normalization’ and ‘false claimants of human rights.’”

Palestine's official Wafa news agency said Rayyan "ran away in fear" from soldiers who chased him and other students after leaving their school, causing him to fall from a considerable height.

Rayyan's father, Yaser, said the Israeli soldiers chased his son to their house and because his son was so scared of the troops he tried to run away but his heart stopped and he fell dead. 

Israeli media, quoting Rayyan’s uncle, admitted that the Palestinian boy had died from a heart attack.

"Rayyan's father opened the door and the soldiers entered. Then, there was a commotion and a lot of screaming. Out of fear, [Rayyan] collapsed and had a heart attack," said his uncle Mohammed. "He was a completely healthy boy filled with happiness, and within minutes we lost him."

The Palestinian authorities called the seven-year-old “a martyr” and urged the international community to “hold the occupation accountable for its crimes.”

Israeli forces have recently been conducting overnight raids and committing murder in the northern part of the West Bank, mainly in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, where new groups of Palestinian resistance fighters have been formed.

More than 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied territories since the start of the year, including 51 in Gaza during Israel’s three-day onslaught in August. More than 30 of those killed were either from Jenin or were shot dead in the Jenin region.