Maha Kathem Zaatari
Maha Kathem Awad Zaatari was fatally shot by Israeli soldiers after reportedly stabbing an Israeli soldier at a military roadblock near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. She was denied immediate medical aid, leading to her death at the scene.
According to Israeli military claims, Maha stabbed a soldier stationed at a heavily guarded roadblock near the Ibrahimi Mosque, inflicting a minor injury. In response, soldiers opened fire and fatally shot her. Palestinian witnesses reported that after she was shot, Israeli forces prevented Palestinian medics from approaching to provide life-saving medical assistance. The soldiers also used gas bombs and concussion grenades to disperse Palestinians gathered nearby. Denial of timely medical aid likely contributed directly to Maha’s death at the scene. Her killing was accompanied by aggressive actions against her family, including home raids and interrogations, which further highlighted the harsh military response to the incident.
Biography
Maha Kathem Awad Zaatari was a 24-year-old Palestinian woman from the Abu Da’jan area of Hebron city in the southern West Bank. On April 10, 2022, she was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers near the Ibrahimi Mosque after reportedly stabbing a soldier, who sustained a mild injury. The Israeli military quickly declared the area a closed military zone and prevented Palestinian medics from approaching Maha to provide medical aid. Her death was part of a day marked by heightened violence in the West Bank, including the killing of another Palestinian woman in Husan village. Following her death, Israeli forces raided her family home, interrogated relatives, and confiscated property. Her body was held by Israeli authorities for several months before being released to her family in December 2022.
Maha Kathem Awad Zaatari was a young Palestinian woman living in the Abu Da’jan neighborhood of Hebron, one of the most tense and heavily militarized cities in the occupied West Bank. At 24 years old, she was part of a generation growing up under prolonged Israeli occupation, facing daily restrictions and violence. On April 10, 2022, Maha approached a roadblock near the historic Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, where Israeli soldiers were stationed. According to Israeli military reports, she stabbed a soldier, causing a minor injury, before being fatally shot by the soldiers. However, Palestinian sources highlighted that after the shooting, Israeli forces blocked medical assistance and violently dispersed onlookers using gas bombs and concussion grenades. The military’s response also included raiding her family’s home, damaging property, and conducting interrogations, actions that further traumatized her community. The Israeli authorities withheld her body for more than eight months, releasing it only in late Decem
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Sources & References
Maha Kathem Awad Zaatari, 24, was killed by Israeli soldiers near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, after she reportedly stabbed a soldier, causing a mild injury. The Israeli army claimed the woman arrived at the roadblock, where many soldiers and officers are stationed, and stabbed one before she was fatally shot. After killing the young woman, the army closed the Ibrahimi Mosque and declared the area around it a closed military zone. |Update: On December 23, 2022, the Israeli Authorities finally allowed the transfer of her corpse to her family.|1 israelpalestinetimeline.org Open source