November 21, 2022—Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian boy on his way to school today in the northern occupied West Bank.
Mahmoud Abdujaleel Huda al-Sadi, 17, was shot by Israeli forces around 8:30 a.m. on November 21 in the Al-Hadaf neighborhood in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Mahmoud was on his way to school in Wadi Burqin, adjacent to Al-Hadaf neighborhood, but he was blocked by clashes due to an Israeli military incursion into Jenin refugee camp earlier that morning. Mahmoud turned around to go home, and an Israeli soldier in an Israeli military vehicle around 140 meters (459 feet) away shot him in the abdomen with live ammunition. Mahmoud’s classmates transferred him to Ibn Sina hospital in a private car where he was pronounced dead around 9 a.m.
“Israeli forces routinely harass, intimidate, detain, and even kill Palestinian children trying to pursue their education. The Israeli incursion into Jenin today not only prevented Palestinian children from going to school, but cost Mahmoud his life,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP.
Mahmoud was not participating in confrontations with Israeli forces when he was shot, according to information collected by DCIP. After being shot, Mahmoud walked about five meters (16 feet) then sat on the ground before his friends and classmates helped him into a car to go to Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin.
Israeli forces have intensified arrest operations and incursions into Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank in recent months, leading to an increase in the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Israeli military launched its Operation “Break the Wave” on March 31, 2022.
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.
50 Palestinian children have been killed in 2022, according to documentation collected by DCIP, including 33 Palestinian children shot and killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the occupied West Bank. DCIP documented the killing of 17 Palestinian children between August 5–7 after Israeli forces launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip. DCIP continues to investigate several incidents.
2021 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children since 2014. Israeli forces and armed civilians killed 78 Palestinian children, according to evidence collected by DCIP.
