Where İs World Sympathy?' Asks Slain Palestinian's Mother

The home of Mohamed Abu Khdeer, the 16-year-old Palestinian who was abducted and killed Wednesday morning in a suspected revenge attack by Jewish settlers, remains in a state of shock.

"My son went to the mosque at 3: 30am for dawn prayers," the slain boy's mother, Suha Abu Khdeer, told Anadolu Agency.

"Half an hour later, my nephew rushed to my house to tell me that somebody had kidnapped him," she added.

"I ran out to look for my boy, calling his name and dialing his number in vain," the 44-year-old mother said tearfully.

In video footage seen by Anadolu Agency, recorded by a security camera installed in a store next to Abu Khdeer's home, two suspected Jewish settlers can be seen abducting the Palestinian teen.

The footage shows Abu Khdeer leaving his home in the Shuafat district when a white car pulls up and two suspected Jewish settlers get out, seemingly to ask their intended victim about directions.

They can later be seen overpowering Abu Khdeer, a high school student, forcing him into their car before speeding off.

Local residents said they had shown the video footage to Israeli police in hopes of identifying and locating the perpetrators.

Israeli police are still trying to determine whether Abu Khdeer's killing was a reprisal for the recent murder of three young Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.

"The international community has shown sympathy for the three Jewish settlers, but they don't show the same sympathy for us," said the mother.

"Israel has destroyed Palestinian homes, killed and arrested people for the three settlers. What will they do for my son?" she asked. "I don't expect them to do anything."

The slain boy's uncle, Walid Abu Khdeer, described him as "such a good boy."

"My nephew was good at folk dancing; he used to dance with his friends at wedding parties and such," he told AA.

"He used to help his father at his electric shop. He had many friends," added the uncle.

At the family home, friends and relatives wept as neighbors streamed in to express their support and condolences.

"He was a very modest young man who was loved by his neighbors," Hassan, who lives nearby, told AA.

"He always observed Ramadan and performed his prayers," he added.

News of the abduction and murder triggered violent clashes with Israeli troops near Mohamed's house, which have left at least 70 Palestinians injured, according to sources at the Shuafat medical center.

Tension has been high since three Israeli settlers – who had gone missing in mid-June – were found dead Monday near the West Bank city of Hebron.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Hamas for their deaths, threatening to retaliate.

In the three weeks following the settlers' disappearance, Israel had rounded up hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank, including lawmakers, former cabinet ministers and senior Hamas members.

No Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for the settlers' disappearance or subsequent death.

By Turgut Alp Boyraz

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www.aa.com.tr/en - Kudüs