LONDON: The Palestinian foreign ministry on Sunday said that three Palestinian students were attacked by gunman in the US state of Vermont.
The ministry in a statement said that Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ahmed and Kinnan Abdalhamid had sustained severe and moderate injuries.
It said that the students were wearing the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh and speaking in Arabic language when attacked.
The three men are students at Brown University, Harvard University and Yale University. They were shifted to the University of Vermont medical center for treatment soon after the incident.
Police have not yet named any suspects or arrested anyone in this regard. The authorities have asked people to not to go to the area where the attack took place.
According to Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad the shootings occurred at about 6:25 p.m. Saturday near the UVM campus, adding the police are searching for the shooter.
He added the two of the men are in stable condition while the other have serious injuries.
As per reports the three students, all age 20, were visiting the home of one of the victim’s relatives when confronted by a white man with a handgun.
He added that all the three men are of Palestinian descent. He said two are U.S. citizens and one is a legal resident.
Students shot for being Arab
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in a post on X said the three students were shot for being Arab. The committee has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects.
It is pertinent to mention that from early October to early November, the Council on American-Islamic Relations received 1,283 requests for help while reporting bias.
The Palestinian foreign ministry asked the US authorities to put behind the bars those responsible for the shooting.
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According to media reports, on Sunday, the Palestinian Hamas released a third group of 17 captives, marking a total of 58 hostages released since the initiation of the four-day ceasefire on Friday.
This exchange was accompanied by the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. The Israeli army said that 13 of the released hostages have returned to Israel. The releases, part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, have brought the total number of Israelis freed to 39 since the ceasefire began, with a corresponding release of 117 Palestinian prisoners over the past three days.
Israel launched a massive army campaign in Gaza after a cross-border surprise attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. It has since killed more than 15,000 Palestinians, including children and women, according to health authorities in the Strip. Around 1,200 Israelis have also been killed in the conflict between the two sides.
