22 Dec 2022; MEMO: Just days after the FIFA World Cup during which the issue of Palestine featured prominently, Israeli occupation forces have today shot dead a Palestinian footballer and wounded at least 24 other people in Nablus. Local sources said that Ahmad Atef Daraghma, 23, from the northern West Bank city of Tubas, played for the Thaqafi football club in Tulkarem and was hit by live rounds in the back and feet.
The Israeli occupation forces raided several parts of Nablus to provide protection for settlers who stormed the site of Joseph's Tomb. According to Wafa news agency, the Israeli forces opened fire at young men attempting to block their passage, wounding five of them. Two sustained serious injuries from live ammunition, another was hit by a live round in the eye and two others were injured in the hand and head by rubber-coated steel bullets.
The Israelis also showered the young men with tear gas, causing 19 to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Settlers repeatedly break into Joseph's Tomb, located in a densely-populated Palestinian area in Nablus, provoking chaos and confrontations with local residents. The tomb is a memorial to Sheikh Yousef Dweikat, a local religious figure, although Israeli settlers claim that it is the grave of the Biblical Patriarch Joseph.
The number of Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli army gunfire in the occupied territories since the start of 2022 now stands at 224, including 53 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
