Shaher Abu Khadija
Shaher Abu Khadija was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at a military roadblock near Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem.
On May 16, 2021, Shaher Abu Khadija was killed after Israeli soldiers opened fire on his car near a military checkpoint by Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. The Israeli military claimed he had intentionally rammed his vehicle into the soldiers, injuring several, while eyewitnesses said he had been speeding, caught off guard by the soldiers’ sudden presence, and attempted to avoid hitting them. He was immediately killed at the scene. His death was followed by military raids on Palestinian homes in the neighborhood, illustrating how individual incidents were tied to the broader climate of violence and repression in Jerusalem at the time.
Biography
Shaher Abu Khadija, 41, was a Palestinian resident of Kafr Aqeb, north of Jerusalem. On May 16, 2021, he was killed by Israeli soldiers at a military roadblock near the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem. His death occurred during a period of heightened tensions surrounding Israeli attempts to forcibly evict Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.
Shaher Abu Khadija, 41, lived in Kafr Aqeb, north of Jerusalem, and became one of the many Palestinian victims of Israeli military actions during the May 2021 escalation. On May 16, 2021, Shaher drove his vehicle near an Israeli military roadblock at the entrance of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. According to the Israeli army, the crash was deliberate, injuring seven soldiers, two critically, before they opened fire and killed him instantly. However, eyewitnesses strongly contradicted this account, explaining that Shaher had been driving at high speed, was surprised by the presence of soldiers on the street, and attempted to swerve to avoid them rather than intentionally ram into the checkpoint. Following the incident, Israeli soldiers raided nearby Palestinian homes, firing tear gas and stun grenades, and arrested two young men from the area. Shaher’s killing came amid growing protests in Sheikh Jarrah, where at least 28 Palestinian families faced eviction despite having official ownership deeds issued by the Jordanian government. His death highlighted the wider context of Israel’s ongoing policy of displacement and settlement expansion in East Jerusalem.
Additional Information
Sources & References
Shaher Abu Khadija, 41, was killed by Israeli soldiers at a military roadblock near Jerusalem, in the West Bank. Media sources said the young man drove his car into an Israeli military roadblock at the entrance of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem. The Israeli army claimed the crash was intentional, and added that seven soldiers were injured, two critically, and added that the soldiers opened fire at the car, immediately killing the driver. Eyewitnesses said Shaher was not trying to ram the soldiers with his car but was speeding and was surprised by the soldiers on the street, before trying to swerve to avoid them. Shortly after the accident, the soldiers attacked nearby Palestinian homes and fired teargas bombs and stun grenades into them, in addition to abducting two young men. Sheikh Jarrah is the neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem where the current tensions began. At least 550 indigenous Palestinians, from twenty-eight families live in Sheikh Jarrah a1 israelpalestinetimeline.org Open source