By Michaela Whitton at theantimedia.org
United Kingdom — A five-year-old Palestinian boy whose entire family was killed in a terrorist attack was able to make a trip to Spain to meet his favourite sporting heroes, Real Madrid. Little Ahmad Dawabsheh was orphaned by a firebomb attack last July in the West Bank village of Duma. His 18-month-old brother Ali was killed in the brutal murder, and his parents, Saeed and Reham Dawabsheh, both succumbed to their wounds shortly afterwards.
The murders were carried out by two masked Israeli settlers who entered the Palestinian village at 2 am on July 31st and hurled a firebomb into Reham and Saaed’s bedroom. “Price tag” graffiti, which often accompanies nationalist crimes by Israeli extremists, was sprayed on the walls of the home.
In January 2016, 21-year-old, extremist Amiram Ben-Uliel was charged with three counts of murder, as well as attempted murder, for trying to set fire to another house. A minor was charged as an accessory and two others were charged with violence against Palestinians.
With second and third degree burns over 80 percent of his body, five-year-old Ahmad spent weeks in intensive care and months in a burn unit before being moved to a rehabilitation unit. There, he had to learn to feed himself and walk again. Palestinians campaigned for months for him to be able to meet his heroes at Real Madrid before he was discharged from hospital.
On March 6, the club sent Jibril Rajoub — the head of the Palestinian Football Association — an invitation for Ahmad to visit on March 17. A video shared by Real Madrid on Thursday shows the visibly scarred boy being greeted by players including Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. After posing for photos and receiving a shirt and football signed by the team, the little boy was treated to a tour of the stadium before watching his heroes train.
Rajoub said the team were restoring hope for Ahmad:
“The invitation is an enormous gesture on the part of Real Madrid and Ronaldo, but we would also like to thank the anonymous soldier who contributed to the visit – Zinedine Zidane. We hope that this humanitarian gesture will help this boy, who has lost his entire family.”
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