Palestinians grieve for a father-to-be shot by Israeli troops the day his son was born

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Palestinians grieve for a father-to-be shot by Israeli troops the day his son was born June 26, 202611:45 AM ET By Ruth Sherlock , Nuha Musleh A poster announces the death of Nayef Samaro, 25, after he was killed during an Israeli military raid on Nablus in May. Ruth Sherlock/NPR hide caption toggle caption Ruth Sherlock/NPR NABLUS, West Bank — It was supposed to be the happiest day of Raghed al-Shami's life. She was about to give birth to a baby boy.

But instead of having her husband beside her for the arrival of their first child, Shami found herself kneeling over her husband's lifeless body for a last goodbye before being taken to the maternity ward. Nayef Samaro had been on his way to meet her at the hospital when he was shot dead by an Israeli soldier. Sponsor Message State of the World from NPR In the West Bank, Israeli settlers speed up land grab from Palestinians Samaro, 25, was killed during an Israeli military raid on May 3 on a busy shopping thoroughfare in Nablus.

The Details

He is one of the 1,103 Palestinians, including 241 children, in the occupied West Bank that the United Nations says have been killed by Israeli settlers or security forces since the Hamas-led attack on Israel from Gaza on Oct. It's part of an unprecedented increase in Israeli military operations and attacks in the West Bank for which the perpetrators are almost never prosecuted. "We have seen that impunity is a given," Ajith Sunghay, head of the U.

Human Rights Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told NPR. "There is no accountability for violence by Israeli settlers or by the Israeli military. " Asia It's one of the world's most isolated islands.

Here come the bulldozers Samaro's family says on the day of the Israeli military raid on Nablus' old city, he was working at a restaurant and was shot as he left to go to the hospital where his wife would later give birth to their child. Speaking with NPR from her bed in her mother's home in Nablus, where she was recovering from a cesarean section, Shami says the family is not focused on seeking to prosecute those responsible for Samaro's death through the Israeli courts because, she says, justice feels so out of reach. Sponsor Message "Everyone knows we are living under occupation," Shami, 21, says.

What Experts Say

"I wish that justice could be done. My son is going to grow up without a father. " All over the occupied West Bank, bereaved Palestinian families are being left to bear the consequences of this increased violence, says Fathia al-Shami, the mother of Samaro's grieving widow.

She points to the newborn baby, Yaman, who lies snuggled next to Shami wrapped in a blue blanket — just 10 days old. "What did he do to deserve this? He needs a father's attention.

There are so many like him. " Nayef Samaro, 25, hold his wife Raghad al-Shami, 21. Ruth Sherlock/NPR hide caption toggle caption Ruth Sherlock/NPR Beside Shami's bed stands a large portrait of Samaro and Shami.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.