A famous Middle East Israeli-Arab theatre and film identity has been shot dead in the West Bank.
Juliano Mer-Khamis, a prominent political activist, was gunned down in Jenin.
A masked gunman opened fire on the 52-year-old director’s car as it was driving through a refugee camp.
Mer-Khamis was a well-known figure in the West Bank town of Jenin where he ran a drama school and community theatre.
Palestinian security forces are investigating the crime while Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, has issued a statement condemning the killing of the committed peace activist.
An Israeli citizen, Mer-Khamis was born to a Jewish mother, Arna Mer, and a Palestinian Christian father, Saliba Khamis.
He had lived in a Jenin camp for seven years, and refused to describe himself as an Arab Israeli, but as: “100 per cent Palestinian and 100 percent Jewish.”
Many Palestinians saw his theatre, which was known as Freedom Theatre, as a challenge to long-held notions and traditions.