Ramallah, March 31, 2024—Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in the northern occupied West Bank yesterday.
Motasembellah Nabil Subhi Hamamdi, 14, was shot in the chest by Israeli forces around 1 a.m. on March 30 in the Palestinian town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Palestinian residents confronted Israeli forces which entered Qabatiya just after midnight, and Motasembellah allegedly threw stones and Molotov cocktails toward a heavily armored Israeli military vehicle. An Israeli soldier inside the military vehicle shot Motasembellah in the chest from a distance of about 60 to 80 meters (197 to 262 feet). Israeli forces obstructed the movement of ambulances, so Motasembellah was transported by a private vehicle to Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, where he was pronounced dead around 1:30 a.m.
“Israeli forces routinely shoot Palestinian children then prevent paramedics from reaching them,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. "Palestinian children like Motasembellah grow up in a hyper-militarized environment where Israeli forces enter their communities day and night to injure, arrest, and even kill Palestinians, including children."
Israeli forces entered Qabatiya around 12:15 a.m., when they shot and injured several young Palestinians and prevented ambulances from reaching them, while besieging one of the houses in the town. Israeli forces withdrew around 2:30 a.m.
Two other Palestinians were seriously injured during the Israeli military into Qabatiya, according to information collected by DCIP.
114 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.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed 33 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2024, including two United States citizens, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
In 2023, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 121 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces and settlers shot and killed 103 Palestinian children with live ammunition, 13 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.
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 willful killings.
