IDF mistakenly shot child holding toy gun; Family donates organs to hospital.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHpalestinian boy 88(photo credit: )
The family of a Palestinian boy who died of his wounds on Saturday has agreed to donate his organs to save the lives of Israeli patients.
Ahmed Isamil Khatib, 12, of Jenin, was shot in the head on Thursday by IDF soldiers who mistook him for a gunman because he was carrying a plastic rifle. Khatib was transferred in critical condition to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where he died on Saturday.
He was shot in the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al- Fitr, when many children often play with toy guns. In a similar incident last year, another boy was shot in Nablus after he was seen brandishing a rifle, which turned out to be fake.
Khatib's uncle, Mustafa Huroub, said the family agreed to the hospital's request to donate the dead boy's organs to patients awaiting transplantations. "We want to show the difference between us and the occupation forces," he said. "They have chosen death for him, while we have chosen to continue searching for life."
He added: "We are happy that Ahmed's organs will save the lives of patients, be they Jews or Arabs. After all, we are all human beings."
The boy's father, Ismail, complained that the IDF had banned him from visiting his son in hospital because he was a former security prisoner. He rejected claims that his son had been shot accidentally and denied reports that he was carrying a plastic rifle.
