A Louisiana teen traveled to the West Bank to learn about his roots. He was shot dead.
Tawfic Hafeth Abdel Jabbar, a teen was born and raised in Louisiana, had gone out for a picnic with friends on Friday when he was shot in the West Bank
AL-MAZRA’A AL-SHARQIYA, West Bank — Tawfic Hafeth Abdel Jabbar was born and raised in Louisiana, in the city of Gretna, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans.
It’s a long way from the mountains of the occupied West Bank, but when Tawfic, 17, arrived in May, he was excited to properly explore the landscape of the village where his dad grew up, and to learn more about his roots as a Palestinian American.
“He loved the outdoors,” his father, Hafeth Abdel Jabbar, told NBC News — and Tawfic was eager to spend more time in Al-Mazra’a Al-Sharqiya, about 10 miles northeast of Ramallah, and to enjoy all the reasons Palestinians “love their homeland,” he said.
He never imagined he would end up burying his son on that very same land.
“Tawfic is gone,” said Abdel Jabbar, 40. “He was killed in cold blood.”
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