TIGblogs - Adham Khalil

If I ask anyone about this photo, he or she will answer by saying “Um, it’s a photo of a youth, male, wearing a blouse.” But if you ask me, it's different because he is my brother with whom

I lived for a long time. I remember him when I was young, when he, my older brother, gave me sweets, asked me to wash my hands before eating, played with me, and helped me in my lessons. Unfortunately I lost him on December 15, 1993. On that day, I was with my family listening to the news in which the reporter said that a Palestinian youth had been killed by the Israeli occupation army. The youth’s name was Asharaf Khalil, my brother.
We didn't believe the news. We looked everywhere for him, asking people if they had seen Asharaf?
The Israeli occupation army had told my family that they killed my brother and had his corpse with them. They killed him with thirty bullets in cold blood, stealing parts of his body. The Israeli occupation army prevented me from a last viewing seeing of him because they allowed only a few of my family to retrieve his corpse, late at night and only with coordination of the United Nations. Adding to the horror of the story, my family told me that the army fired at them when they arrived at the tomb to bury my brother.

I 'm very surprised about the number of bullets. Since one bullet can kill a person, why did the soldier kill my brother Asharaf with thirty bullets?

I want all of you, especially Israelis, to remember that Palestinians have tried to forget that Israel has committed massacres against us when we call for peace. Israel replies with more killing of our people, destroying our homes, and imposing a siege through closures. And saying always that we Palestinians are the terrorists and they are the victims. They forget that they are occupiers of our land.

Finally, I am very sad because I lost my brother but at the same time I am very proud because my brother is a martyr, one of thousands of Palestinians who die regularly. Their blood will bring justice and the liberation of Palestine.