BICOM

A 15-year-old boy from the southern Bedouin town of Lakia was killed yesterday in a shooting incident on the Egyptian border.

Nimr Bassem Abu Amar was thought to have been helping family members, who are civilian contractors and had been working on behalf of Israel’s Defence Ministry to make repairs to the border fence near Mount Harif.

Although the circumstances remain unclear, it appears that an Egyptian soldier opened fire and killed Abu Amar, who was airlifted by an Israeli Air Force helicopter to a Beer Sheva hospital where he was declared dead.

Both the Israeli and Egyptian armies are investigating the incident. Reports say that Abu Amar and his family were mistaken for drug smugglers. However, routine repair work is usually coordinated between the Israeli and Egyptian militaries in order to avoid misunderstandings.

Abu Amar’s father Bassem spoke to the media outside the hospital and condemned the army, blaming the defence establishment for his son’s death. He said: “There was no security by the IDF for the workers during the work.”

He then criticised soldiers for not returning fire and concluded that “it is very simple. The army abandoned those who were working there”. Reports say that the officer in command quickly deciphered that the gunfire was a mistake and not a terror attack and decided not to exacerbate the situation by opening fire.

Meanwhile, politicians have raised concerns over the presence of a teenager at military work sites. Zionist Union MK Omer Bar-Lev said: “It is shocking that the Defence Ministry employs children.”

He added: “I intend to initiate an urgent discussion in the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee at the beginning of the winter session next week.”

Meretz MK Ilan Gilon said that the Defence Ministry must end contracts with those who employ minors.

In a similar incident in 2014, a 15-year-old boy, who was accompanying his father at work on the border fence with Syria, was killed when a missile was fired at contractors.