Iconic Palestinian resistance activist succumbs to wounds sustained after he was run over by Israeli police truck

A 75-year-old Palestinian man from the village of Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills in the occupied West Bank died on Monday, after succumbing to wounds he sustained when he was run over during an Israeli police raid last week. 

Suleiman al-Hathalin, or ‘Hajj Suleiman’ as he is known by locals, passed away on Monday morning in a hospital in Hebron, where he was in critical condition since he was run over earlier this month. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed his death in a statement. 
 

Hajj Suleiman was a pillar of the community in the Masafer Yatta area of the South Hebron Hills, and an icon of anti-occupation resistance, and was widely known across Palestine, as he was frequently photographed facing off against Israeli soldiers during demonstrations in Umm al-Khair and the surrounding villages. 

He sustained critical injuries when a flatbed tow truck, contracted by Israeli police, ran over him during a police raid on Umm al-Khair on January 5th, during which the police seized a number of unlicensed vehicles in the village. 

At the time, Hajj Suleiman’s family and fellow activists accused Israel of an “assasination attempt” against the popular activist, saying they held Israel fully responsible for the “deliberate attack.”