More terrible news. Three cherished members from the community of Beit Ummar have been killed by Israeli forces while demonstrating in support of Gaza today. This little village, home of activists from the Palestine Solidarity Project, has been hit so hard by settlers and Israeli military forces over the years, they gang up on that village time and again, relentlessly targeting their children and strangling the community because of its coveted location. So much anguish it is hard to comprehend. It brings me great sorrow reporting these deaths today.

Palestine Solidarity Project press release:

Today, a demonstration was held in Beit Ummar, a village of 17,000 people in Hebron District, against the ongoing assault in Gaza by Israeli Military Forces. Almost immediately, the Israeli military forces that confronted the demonstration shot live ammunition into the crowd of approximately 900 people, a clear escalation from the regular response to Beit Ummar demonstrations, which have been ongoing since the Gaza assault began. THREE HAVE BEEN KILLED Hasham Abu Maria, 47, worked with Defense of Children International-Palestine and was shot in the chest with live ammunition approximately 30 minutes into the demonstration. Sultan Shuqdam and Abd Alhamid Al Brigheith were also shot and were pronounced dead at approximately 4:30 this afternoon in Al Ahli hospital in Hebron. The three will be buried today in the cemetery in Beit Ummar, which is also by the Israeli military watchtower.

Today, @DCIPalestine mourns the loss of staff member Hashem Abu Maria, killed by Israeli forces during a march in solidarity with #Gaza. — Defence for Children (@DCIPalestine) July 25, 2014

BeitUmmar at the funeral for 3 shuhada: “you kill our people, we’ll burn your shit” #PalestineResists pic.twitter.com/4DbmVScosK — Bekah Wolf (@BekahWolf) July 25, 2014

Update:

Defense for Children International-Palestine has issued a statement on Abu Maria’s death that includes some new details: