The Palestinian boy who wanted to be like Ronaldo, killed by Israel

Halhul, occupied West Bank – Like kids the world over, Naji al-Baba dreamed of becoming an international football player, “just like Ronaldo”.

But – like his name, which means “survivor” – that was not to be the fate of a boy born in the occupied West Bank.

Tall for a 14-year-old, Naji was always smiling and his family remember his kindness, calmness and helpfulness to everyone around him.

He spent hours practicing football at the Halhul sports club, which was close to Hebron.

A typical boy who enjoyed playing football with the neighborhood kids after school.

His mother, Samahar al-Zamara, recalls the moment his daughter realized Naji had grown taller than her and how he never turned down a friend or loved one’s request.

“He grew up before his age,” the 40-year-old says. I felt as though I had lost a part of myself that we will never be able to return after he left. ”

Naji was killed by Israeli soldiers a month ago while playing football with his friends, a sport he loved.

November 3 – the day Naji died – didn’t seem unusual, his father Nidal Abdel Moti al-Baba, 47, tells Al Jazeera.

Naji and I both went to school in Bethlehem the day after I left for work. When I returned from work at 12 noon, I found Naji near his school, leaving for home. He and I both climbed into the truck to take us home. ”

For lunch, Nadi’s sisters had prepared his preferred meal, chicken-based molokhia. Afterwards, he asked his father to let him go out to play with his friends near his grandfather’s grocery store, which is close to their home.

Naji was the fifth of six children, after Sondos, 23; Bashir, 21; Amira, 20; and Mohammed, 16; and ahead of Rataj, 13.

After about 30 minutes, he checked in at home, which was about 3 o’clock, and then started playing.

The family would never see him again until now.

‘The most difficult 40 minutes of my life’

Just moments later, at about 3:30pm, Naji’s cousin ran to the house, shouting: “Uncle Nidal! Uncle Nidal! ”

The family listened in horror. Naji was hit when Israeli soldiers arrived and began shooting at the children in a nearby wooded area, he claimed.

Naji’s father and uncle Samir rushed to the spot where a group of Israeli soldiers were standing, hoping that he was just hurt, as many others have been since the increase in illegal Israeli settlements and Israeli incursions by Israeli settlers and the army across the West Bank since Israel’s war on Gaza began.

“I want my son! I want my son! Before about 10 soldiers turned on him and his brother and violently beat them, Nidal screamed and broke his hand.

As he continued to demand to see his son, he was handcuffed, tied up and left on the ground for more than 40 minutes.

The most difficult 40 minutes of his life, Nidal says now.

To carry the body, an officer reportedly asked the soldiers to stand in two teams, five on the right and one on the left.

“That’s when I started screaming: ‘How can you kill a 14-year-old child? How did he treat you? How did he treat you? ’”

One of the soldiers responded, claiming that Naji had visited a place that only Palestinians could enter.

In this confusion: “For a moment,” Nidal says, “I thought: ‘Maybe this child isn’t my son. ’

I recognized the soldier as Naji as he was being carried on his shoulders toward an army vehicle.

I recognized him from the pair of shoes I had just purchased for him; a pair of unintended black trainers. When I bought him these, all I could think about was how happy he was. ”

The soldiers ordered Nidal and Samir to leave immediately or they would be killed after they found Naji’s body.

After two hours, the family learned that a Palestinian ambulance had arrived, and the deceased man’s body was taken to Halhul’s Abu Mazen Hospital overnight.

The forensic medical report found that  Four bullets struck Naji: one in the foot, the other in the pelvis, the third in the heart, and the fourth in the shoulder.

After being shot, the boy was left for 30 minutes without medical care.

The next morning, Naji’s family were able to visit the hospital to prepare him for his funeral.

Nidal insisted on carrying his son’s body on his shoulder for the funeral, which attracted hundreds of Halhul residents despite his broken hand.

Naji al-Baba’s death was the subject of an al Jazeera request to speak with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, but it never came back.

Remembering Naji

For nearly a month, the family was devastated and unable to contact anyone.

In simpler times, Naji was the one to look after his family, taking his father’s blood pressure medication and monitoring the dosages.

“I have 20 grandchildren, but he was the most loving among them, affectionate, supportive and helpful,” his grandmother Intisar al-Baba, 70, remembers.

She claims that Naji would watch the firewood during the winter and op-out without being asked for it.

He would look after everything like a 30-year-old man, and he would frequently ask for his favorite dishes from the family so we wouldn’t feel alone. ”

She now sobs whenever Naji would have been present.

Nasser Merib, 61, a manager at Halhul Sports Club nicknamed “Captain”, remembers the skilled footballer with “a strong right foot” and a talent for headers.

“He really raised the level of the team in matches,” he says.   He had a vision to become as famous as Ronaldo and was ambitious. ”

A dream ripped away by four bullets, Captain says.

Reda Haniehn, his friend and teammate, recalls fighting with Naji about who would take the free kicks in games.

“He was the tallest… and he laughed a lot,” Reda says.

Source: Aljazeera