Siam Nawara is fighting for justice for his son

A Palestinian father is fighting for justice after his son was murdered by Israeli troops two years ago.

Palestinian Siam Nawara’s 17 year old son Nadeem Nawara, was killed on May 15th 2014, during a Nakba Day protest outside of Israel’s Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

Court days to bring his son’s murderers to justice have constantly been postponed, but proceedings are finally expected to move forward this week.

Siam’s lawyer, Firas Easli, told Al Jazeera: “It has been difficult to get to this point, but we are confident in our case, and we are confident that this court date will finally come to fruition.”

Whilst trying to battle with Israel’s military court system that has so far blocked him at every turn, he has launched his own advocacy campaign to get the case heard.

Israeli soldiers claimed that they had only shot rubber-coated steel bullets during the incident, suggesting that the live rounds that killed Nadeem along with 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Thahr must have come from Palestinian gunmen.

The Abu Thahr family refused an autopsy, leading to the closure of Muhammad’s case, but Siam has been working with several NGOs in the occupied West Bank and Israel to prove that Israeli forces fatally shot his son.
Soon after the incident, CCTV footage of the event was released, and Siam believes he now has enough evidence to challenge the original claim.

Siam told Al Jazeera: “I think the Israeli government wants the case dropped, so they keep coming up with excuses to put it off. It has been two years, and I am no closer to getting justice for my son’s death than I was when he was killed.”

The financial pressures of his advocacy work and court cases has forced Siam to sell two businesses, his car and potentially his home next, however he added that justice for his son was worth it.

Nadeem Nawara

Defense for Children International (DCI) has taken up the case, helping to create a 3D model of the shooting that pinpoints the suspected shooter. It also found that while the gun carried by the suspect had an attachment designed for rubber-coated steel bullets, it could also have shot live rounds.

Siam added: “I know none of this can bring my son back. That is not my goal. My goal is to show these soldiers that they will be held accountable for killing our youth. I want to be sure I did everything in my power to make sure another family is not going through what I am going through.”

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