While the motive for the attack is unknown, it came amid rising anti-Palestinian sentiment in the United States.

Three young Palestinian men were shot dead near a university campus in Vermont, USA, according to media reports.

The incident reportedly occurred Saturday evening near the University of Vermont campus in the city of Burlington.

The three were identified as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed. You study at three different universities in the USA.

According to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), two of the victims are in intensive care while one was due to be discharged on Sunday.

“[We] “We are deeply disturbed by the recent incident involving three of our graduates,” said a statement on Facebook from the Ramallah Friends School in the occupied West Bank, where the three studied.

“While we are relieved to know they are alive, we remain uncertain about their condition. We extend our thoughts and prayers to them and their families for a full recovery, especially given the severity of the injuries – Hisham was shot in the back, Tahseen in the chest and Kinnan with minor injuries.”

Three young Palestinian men, Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali and Kenan Abdulhamid, students at Brown University and other US universities, were shot dead on their way to a family dinner in Burlington, USA, last night. Your crime? Wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh. You will be critically injured. And… pic.twitter.com/OwafFkHwg4

— Husam Zomlot (@hzomlot) November 26, 2023

The motive behind the attack is unknown. When contacted by Al Jazeera, Burlington police did not immediately respond to a request for further information.

“Hate is a motivating factor”

The ADC said it had already been contacted about the shooting on Sunday and had “reason to believe.” [it] was motivated by the fact that the three victims were Arabs.”

“According to the information, the three victims wore keffiyeh and spoke Arabic. “A man shouted and harassed the victims and then shot them,” the group said in a statement opinion.

This morning ADC was contacted about the shooting. After reviewing the information, we have reason to believe that the shooting was due to the fact that the three victims were Arabs.

The three victims wore a kuffiyeh and spoke Arabic. A man shouted and harassed the victims, pic.twitter.com/b8yoDvK8Nv

– ADC National (@adc) November 26, 2023

“Given the information collected and provided, it is clear that hatred was a motivating factor in this shooting,” said ADC Director Abed Ayoub.

“We call on law enforcement to investigate the case as such. The rise in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiment we are witnessing is unprecedented, and this is another example of this hatred turning into violence.”

The incident occurred in the midst of a Rise in anti-Palestinian sentiment in the US, with both Republican and Democratic politicians supporting Israel War in Gaza despite the rising Palestinian death toll and growing allegations of war crimes.

The Israeli ground and air attack on the besieged Gaza Strip has so far killed more than 15,000 Palestinians and left large parts of the strip in ruins.