Jewish-Palestinian director shot dead in West Bank

A well-known Arab-Jewish actor and director was shot dead on Monday by unknown gunmen in Jenin in the northern West Bank, Palestinian police and medics said.

Juliano Mer-Khamis, the 52-year-old director of The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, was killed when gunmen inside the city's refugee camp opened fire on his car, police chief Mohammed Tayim told AFP.

Medics said he died after being hit by five bullets.

According to Israel’s Ynet news, the governor of Jenin, Kadura Musa quickly denounced killing, saying he "strongly condemns the murder of Mer-Khamis, who showed solidarity with the Palestinian people."

He also said that Palestinian security forces still had no leads on who could be behind the shooting but added that a special committee would be set up to investigate the circumstances.

"We have not arrested anyone yet, but we have formed a crisis group from all the Palestinian security forces to investigate this crime and we hope to have some results within the coming hours," Musa stated.

Jewish mother, Palestinian father

An Israeli citizen, Mer-Khamis was born to a Jewish mother, Arna Mer, and a Palestinian Christian father, Saliba Khamis, and was known for both his acting and directing as well as his political activism.

He had lived in Jenin camp for seven years, and refused to describe himself as an Arab Israeli, telling Israel's army radio in 2009: "I am 100 percent Palestinian and 100 percent Jewish."

The theatre was first set up by Mer-Khamis's mother in 1987, when it was known as The Stone Theatre.

A committed peace activist, Arna Mer had wanted to create a space where the children of Jenin could escape the violence of the first intifada which had begun several months earlier.
Fifteen years later, the theatre was destroyed during the second intifada when Israeli troops launched a massive operation to root out gunmen from the refugee camp -- then a major militant stronghold.

It was rebuilt in 2004 by her actor son with the help of Zakaria Zubeidi, one of the most powerful militants in the city, who himself was part of the theatre project.

The story about his mother's work with the children was documented by Mer-Khamis's 2004 film "Arna's Children" which won first prize at the Canadian International Documentary Festival the same year.

The Freedom Theatre doubles as a cultural centre inside the refugee camp which is home to some 16,000 Palestinian refugees, more than half of them minors.