Palestinian father names newborn after slain son
The stepmother of 12-year-old Mohammed al Dura, whose televised death turned him into a symbol of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has given birth to a son, whom his father has named Mohammed in memory of the boy who died in his lap.
The grey concrete buildings that line the main streets of Bourrej refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip, are covered in graffiti commemorating Mohammed al Dura who was killed on the second day of fighting, September 30, 2000, when he was caught in crossfire and hit as he cowered with his father behind a barrel.
A cameraman filmed as a hail of bullets pocked the wall above them and Jamal al Dura shouted desperately for help before Mohammed was fatally struck and he himself wounded.
Jamal al Dura’s home is spartan and barely furnished, despite the many donations the family has received following Mohammed’s death. Sitting on a couch, al Dura said his newborn son, born on Friday, was a gift not just to his family but to all Palestinians.
“He came in the blessed month of Ramadan, a gift from God,” al Dura told Associated Press Television News, but added that the newborn Mohammed would never take the place of his slain son.
“Mohammed was the fourth of seven children and I had a special place for him in my heart, he’s alive among us while he is in heaven and buried,” he said.
Both al Dura and his wife, Amal, said they were prepared to send their other children to die fighting Israel.
“There will be no security for them as long as we have occupation, we’re ready to give more of our children,” al Dura said.
Cradling the day-old Mohammed, Amal echoed his words.
“Every Palestinian mother would send her child to jihad, defend the land, for freedom, the nation, this is our land, they took it away from us by force,” she said, her head wrapped in a black headscarf.
Al Dura divorced the original Mohammed’s mother five years before the boy was killed.
Scenes of Mohammed’s death have been replayed endlessly on Arab networks, fuelling propaganda claims by Israel. Often the scenes of Mohammed huddling behind his father are played to nationalistic songs along with pictures of smiling Israeli soldiers.
