Nakba Day Protest. Reuters.

Two Palestinians were shot and killed outside the Ofer Military Prison near Ramallah. There are conflicting reports as to their ages with some reporting as young as 15 and others reporting as old as 22. They were participating in a Nakba Day protest and were allegedly trying to break into the prison. According to the IDF, when the protest turned violent the soldiers responded with rubber bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas. The Palestinian Authority says the soldiers fired live ammunition into the crowd. Either way, this all could have been avoided had the protest not turned violent.

Nakba Day refers to the day Palestinians became refugees after the state of Israel declared independence in 1948. Check out the “Define Refugees” tab for further information. Many Palestinians gather on May 15th every year to peacefully protest the day after Independence Day. This year was no different. Israeli Arabs demonstrated outside of Tel Aviv University and peacefully stated their beliefs. They exercised their freedom of speech and were met with a counter protest. No shooting and no tear gas. If the “protest” outside the Ofer Military Prison had been peaceful, the two Palestinian lives would have never been lost.

Every time people die, their families suffer the most. This case is no different. Situations like these are bad for both Israel, who will be accused as the aggressor, and the Palestinian families who lost loved ones. Israel did not act as an aggressor and Israel advocates must stress that the deaths could have been prevented had the protests not turned violent. However, Israel advocates must also not forget that two young people lost their lives. When advocating for Israel, make sure that people understand why Muhammad Abu Daher and Nadim Siam were killed, but don’t forget that they had families too.

For further reading, check out these articles- http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Palestinian-killed-by-Israeli-security-forces-in-violent-clash-near-Ramallah-352387

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/palestinians-mark-1948-displacement-23726827

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/05/palestinian-israeli-demonstration.html