Ramallah, December 3, 2023—Israeli forces killed two Palestinian boys in the northern occupied West Bank yesterday.
Yazan Majdi Munir Akoub, 14, was shot and killed by Israeli forces around 1:45 p.m. on December 2 near the Israeli military checkpoint of Al-Muraba, south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Yazan sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his back and pelvis from a distance of about five meters (16 feet). A Palestinian ambulance arrived to provide aid to Yazan but Israeli soldiers aimed their weapons at the ambulance and did not allow paramedics to proceed. About 15 minutes later, an Israeli ambulance arrived and transported Yazan to an unknown location. Around 4:30 p.m., the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs informed the Ministry of Health that Yazan was killed. The Israeli military alleges Yazan had a knife and attempted to carry out a stabbing attack against soldiers. Israeli forces withheld Yazan’s body and transferred custody to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which brought his body to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus around 12:10 p.m. on December 3.
Sharif Ahmad Abdulrahim Shaer, 16, was shot in the back by an Israeli soldier inside a heavily armored Israeli military vehicle around 12:30 p.m. on November 9 during an Israeli military incursion into Jenin, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces shot Sharif from a distance of 100 to 150 meters (328 to 492 feet) away. An ambulance brought him to Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, where he underwent surgery and was admitted to the intensive care unit. He received two additional surgeries and was pronounced dead around 10 a.m. on December 2.
“Israeli forces have killed three times as many Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank this year compared to last year, and there’s still a month to go,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Israeli forces are increasingly targeting Palestinian children with live ammunition despite the overwhelming majority of Palestinian children posing no threat to Israeli forces when they were killed.”
The bullet that struck Sharif hit the back of his pelvis and entered from the front, according to information collected by DCIP.
Sharif was shot at the same time and location as 13-year-old Mohammad Yousef Azzam Zayed, who was standing near the taxi station close to the cinema roundabout in Jenin trying to get home during the Israeli military incursion. Israeli forces killed five Palestinian children, including Sharif and Mohammad, and ten Palestinian adults, during the military incursion on November 9.
Israeli military forces were accompanied by bulldozers and military aircrafts, including drones. Bulldozers destroyed many streets in Jenin and Jenin refugee camp. During the military incursion, Israeli forces cut electricity and water supply to Jenin refugee camp and nearby neighborhoods. At least three UNRWA schools were besieged during the incursion and around 4,000 students were trapped in their schools until they were evacuated to nearby hospitals.
In addition, Israeli forces in armored Israeli military vehicles blocked the entrance to Jenin Governmental Hospital, and several ambulances were directly targeted by Israeli forces. Israeli forces shot one Palestinian paramedic, who suffered moderate injuries.
66 Palestinian children have been killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7, according to documentation collected by DCIP, when the Israeli military began a full-scale military offensive on the Gaza Strip dubbed Operation Iron Swords.
So far this year, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 106 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces and settlers shot and killed 92 Palestinian children with live ammunition, nine Palestinian children were killed in drone strikes, four Palestinian children were killed by missiles fired from a U.S.-sourced Apache attack helicopter, and one child was killed in an Israeli warplane airstrike.
At least 243 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank since October 7, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Under international law, intentional lethal force is only justified in circumstances where a direct threat to life or of serious injury is present. However, investigations and evidence collected by DCIP regularly suggest that Israeli forces use lethal force against Palestinian children in circumstances that may amount to extrajudicial or wilful killings.
