Israeli forces accused of killing disabled man in Syria raid

Mouaz Salama El-Beir had an intellectual disability. He often wandered the streets of his village of Jumla in southern Syria at night. Until 2 a.m. Thursday, when villagers say they heard Israeli forces yelling at him to stop. Mouaz also had hearing problems. Syrian civil defense say Israeli troops shot and killed him. Local media activist Sleiman Mohamed told us he heard the Israeli vehicles enter the village. He saw snipers take up positions on nearby rooftops, and then he heard a shot. Mouaz was laid to rest by his community. Locals say his body was found dumped several kilometers away by the border fence near a base for UN peacekeepers with his hands bound behind his back. People across southern Syria are growing frustrated that neither their government nor the UN seems able to protect them. The raid on this road in the village of Jumla early on Thursday morning is just one of many, and they are growing in both size and frequency. Syrian monitoring network Sentry documented a 26% increase in Israeli military activity around here in the first two weeks of October compared to September. And locals fear a further escalation ahead of the Israeli elections. Sentry says the Israeli military told UN peacekeepers of their intention to construct a tenth base inside what's supposed to be a demilitarized buffer zone. UN forces did not immediately respond to questions about that or the circumstances under which Muaz's body was found. The killing of Muaz Salama El-Beir is likely to swell turnout for nationwide protests against Israeli raids and arrests which were already scheduled for Friday.