Ramallah, November 25, 2025—Israeli forces killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank last week.
Sami Ibrahim Sami Mashayekh, 15, was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper on November 20 around 11:30 p.m. in the Palestinian town of Kafr Aqab, north of Jerusalem in the central occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Sami was playing with his friends in the neighborhood when Israeli forces raided the area. An Israeli sniper took up a position on the roof of the Al-Rajih Medical Center and opened fire toward a group of children and youths in the vicinity.
Sami was struck by a bullet in the back that exited through his chest near his heart, causing a severe penetrating wound and significant bleeding. He was shot from a distance of about 50 meters (164 feet) and left bleeding on the ground for 10 minutes, as a sniper targeted anyone who attempted to reach him.
Following the raid, Sami was taken to Al-Shifa Hospital in Kafr Aqab and then transferred to the Ramallah Medical Complex, where he was pronounced dead around 1 a.m.
“After more than two decades of collecting documentation of Palestinian children killed by Israeli soldiers, it is clear that soldiers kill these children simply because they want to,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “They know that they will face no consequences from their superior officers, government officials, or anyone in the international community for killing a Palestinian child.”
Sami usually went out in the evenings to play with his friends, as he owned an electric scooter that he used daily. On the evening of the 20th, he went out with his friends as usual, but they heard that a military operation was present in their neighborhood. Sami returned home to put his scooter away, then went back out of curiosity to see what was happening. As soon as he reached the area, he was immediately shot, according to his relative.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed 51 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Investigations and evidence collected by DCIP regularly suggest that Israeli forces use lethal force against Palestinian children in circumstances that amount to extrajudicial or wilful killings.
