Montaser Mahmoud Zeidan Jawabra
Shot in the head by an Israeli soldier during a protest.
On May 18, 2021, Montaser participated in a protest in the West Bank condemning Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the intensifying violence across occupied Palestinian areas. During the demonstration, Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition at protesters. Montaser was struck in the head by a live round, causing severe and life-threatening injuries. He was taken to ar-Razi Hospital in Jenin, underwent surgery, and was placed in the ICU. After fighting for his life for two days, he died from his wounds on May 20, 2021. His death exemplifies the Israeli military’s use of lethal force during civilian protests.
Biography
Montaser Mahmoud Zeidan Jawabra was a 28-year-old Palestinian man from Um Dar village, near Ya’bad town, west of Jenin in the northern West Bank. A married father of two, including a four-year-old child, Montaser was fatally shot in the head by Israeli forces during a protest on May 18, 2021. The demonstration was held in solidarity with Gaza and against Israeli actions across the occupied territories. He was critically wounded and succumbed to his injuries two days later, on May 20, at ar-Razi Hospital in Jenin. His death was part of a broader wave of violence and repression in the West Bank during that period.
Montaser Mahmoud Zeidan Jawabra, age 28, was a Palestinian resident of Um Dar village, located near Ya’bad, west of Jenin in the northern West Bank. He was a family man, married and the father of two young children, the eldest only four years old. On May 18, 2021, he joined a protest in the West Bank against the Israeli military’s ongoing offensive in Gaza and the concurrent violence in Jerusalem and other parts of occupied Palestine.
During the protest, Israeli soldiers opened fire on demonstrators. Montaser was shot in the head with a live round, causing catastrophic injuries. He was rushed to ar-Razi Hospital in Jenin, where he underwent emergency surgery and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Despite medical efforts, he died two days later, on May 20, 2021.
His death was part of a larger pattern of violent crackdowns on Palestinian protests during that time. On the same day he was shot, four Palestinians were killed, and more than 240 were injured across the West Bank. Montaser’s story is a tragic example of the deadly consequences Palestinians face for participating in demonstrations and expressing political resistance under occupation.
Pleas of Surviving Relatives and Family if any
His wife may have cried:
"He went out to protest for our people, for Gaza, for Jerusalem — and he never came back. Now my children will grow up without their father. How do I explain this to them?"
His parents, possibly elderly, would have mourned the death of their son with anguish:
"He was our strength, our future. He had a family. He worked hard. He protested with his voice, not a weapon — and they killed him."
The family likely expressed anger at the continued use of live ammunition on unarmed demonstrators:
"Why is it that when we protest, we are met with bullets? Montaser was not armed. He wanted peace, dignity, freedom — and he was shot in the head for that."
Their plea to the international community might have been one of desperation:
"Don’t let Montaser’s death be forgotten. We ask the world: How many more fathers, sons, and children must die before someone listens? Before something changes?"
Sources & References
Montaser Mahmoud Zeidan Jawabra, 28, died from serious wounds he suffered, two days earlier, after an Israeli soldier shot him with a live round in the head near Jenin, in northern West Bank. The Palestinian suffered life-threatening wounds before he was rushed to surgery after he was shot and remained in the Intensive Care Unit at the ar-Razi hospital in Jenin until he succumbed to his wounds. Montaser, from Um Dar village, near Ya’bad town, west of Jenin, was a married father of two children, the oldest is four.1 israelpalestinetimeline.org Open source