Palestinian Shot Dead by Israeli Army at 12-Year-Old's Funeral, Also Killed by Israeli Forces in Beit Ummar

Hundreds of residents from the town gathered at the family home before the funeral procession began. The main entrance to Beit Ummar was closed by the Israeli army, and security forces arrived in large numbers ahead of the funeral.

On Wednesday, the boy's uncle told Haaretz that Mohammed's father and two of his siblings were on their way home when they saw a military checkpoint in the entrance to Beit Ummar. After the father decided to turn around and go back, 13 bullets were shot at their car, one of which punctured al-Alami's chest.

The Israeli military said Wednesday that soldiers had identified suspects leaving a vehicle near a military outpost and digging a hole in the ground. In the hole, the soldiers found a dead baby wrapped in a plastic bag and suspected al-Alami's family car which was driving nearby. The soldiers tried to stop the vehicle while following the rules of engagement, which included calls to stop and the firing of warning shots into the air. According to the IDF, when the vehicle did not stop, one of the soldiers fired at one of the vehicle's wheels in order to stop the car.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said that it is still investigating the allegation that the boy was killed by the soldiers' fire.

With respect to the found remains, eyewitnesses from the town explained that on Wednesday a small burial ceremony was held where villagers bury babies, a plot outside the town's official cemetery. Soldiers then arrived at the scene, opened the grave and found the baby.

According to one witness, the car carrying Mohammed and his family arrived at the road leading to the plot shortly thereafter. When the car's occupants noticed the soldiers, they started driving backwards, then turned around and drove back to the road from which they had come. Then, according to the witness, three soldiers started firing in the direction of the car.