Teen injured in J'lem 'Nakba' riots dies

Hospital says 17-year-old Milad Ayache died after suffering critical gunshot wound to the abdomen. Jerusalem Police confirms details, says family denied request for autopsy

Omri Efraim |Published: 05.14.11 , 08:33

A Palestinian teenager injured Friday during a Jerusalem riot marking the Palestinian "Nakba," or "catastrophe" of Israel's inception, died Saturday, his family said.

The teen was identified as 17-year-old Milad Ayache. He reportedly suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen during a riot in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

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An orderly at al-Makassed Islamic Charitable Hospital in east Jerusalem, where Ayache was hospitalized, said that he died around 5am, while in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit. The orderly described the teen's condition as critical, adding that he died after having emergency surgery.

The Jerusalem District Police confirmed the details, adding that they had asked to autopsy the body, but were denied by the family

A spokesman for the Red Crescent said nine people were injured in the Silwan riot, including the teen. Still, it is unclear at this time who shot him. The neighborhood's residents said they too were unsure who shot Ayache.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the case was being investigated.

Maher Ayache, the teen's uncle said that his nephew "died after being wounded in the stomach. We'll bury him now."

Palestinian hospital sources had reported some 30 wounded in the incidents that erupted after Muslim prayers Friday in the neighborhoods surrounding Jerusalem's Old City and in the Shuafat Refugee Camp, north of Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Police increased its deployment near Silwan ahead of the funeral, which is set to leave the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amoud at noon, en route to the Muslim cemetery in Temple Mount; fearing an escalation in violence during the procession.

AFP contributed to this report