What really happened: Young Arab boy died from falling off balcony, not IDF chase

An IDF official said the seven-year-old’s death had nothing to do with the IDF’s activities in the area. 

By TPS

A seven-year-old Arab boy fell from a balcony and was pronounced dead at Beit Jala Hospital in the Palestinian Authority municipality, and there is no connection between a nearby IDF chase after rock-throwers and the boy’s fall, a security source told TPS.

According to Israeli media reports, the IDF is investigating the incident.

The PA’s official WAFA news agency quoted the hospital, which claimed that the child died after falling from a high place while running away from Israeli soldiers who were chasing him in the village of Toqou, in the Bethlehem area.

The hospital claimed that the child, Rayyan Yasser Suleiman, was brought to the hospital after his heart had stopped and efforts to revive him had failed.

Suleiman “ran away in fear from soldiers who chased him and other students after leaving their school, causing him to fall from a high place,” the hospital alleged.

An IDF official said that the boy’s death had nothing to do with the IDF’s activities in the area. The boy apparently died from heart failure, which the hospital also conceded.

IDFIsraeli-Palestinian conflictPalestinian AuthorityPalestinian propagandarock-throwing