Ramallah, May 22, 2022—Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in the northern occupied West Bank yesterday.
Amjad Walid Hussein Fayed, 16, was shot with live ammunition in the chest by Israeli forces around 2:30 a.m. on May 21 in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, according to information collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Amjad and another Palestinian youth approached Israeli forces deployed in military vehicles on Haifa Street and threw Molotov cocktails at the vehicles, according to an eyewitness statement. Israeli forces opened fire and Amjad sustained multiple gunshot wounds; he was transferred to the Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin where he was pronounced dead, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
“Israeli forces routinely unlawfully kill Palestinian children with impunity, using excessive force and unjustified intentional lethal force,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “If a child is suspected of committing a criminal act, they should be apprehended in accordance with international standards and afforded due process of law.”
Israeli forces in around seven military vehicles were deployed on a dirt road opposite Al-Anbar roundabout, located on Haifa Street. Amjad and another Palestinian youth approached and threw a Molotov cocktail at the first vehicle, which was about 20 meters (65 feet) away, according to an eyewitness statement. Israeli soldiers outside the vehicles then fired on Amjad, injuring him. He managed to walk about 5 meters (16 feet) before collapsing to the ground. He was then transported by ambulance to the nearby Ibn Sina Hospital and was pronounced dead soon after arrival.
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.
Amjad is the 11th Palestinian child shot and killed by Israeli forces in 2022, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
In May, Israeli forces shot and killed Thaer Khalil Mohammad Maslat, 16, with live ammunition on May 11 in the occupied West Bank city of Al-Bireh shortly after he left school. On May 8, Israeli forces shot and killed 17-year-old Motasem Mohammad Taleb Atallah inside the Jewish-only Tekoa settlement located near Bethlehem after he entered the settlement possessing a knife.
Shawkat Kamal Shawkat Abed, 17, succumbed to his injuries on April 15 after Israeli forces shot him in the abdomen near Jenin. Israeli forces shot and killed Qusai Fuad Mohammad Hamamra, 16, in Husan, near Bethlehem on April 13. Mohammad Hussein Mohammad Qassim succumbed to his wounds on April 11, a day after Israeli forces shot him in Jenin. Israeli forces shot and killed Sanad Mohammad Khalil Abu Atiya on March 31 in Jenin as he approached a wounded man in an attempt to render aid. Nader Haitham Fathi Rayyan, 16, was killed by Israeli forces outside the entrance of Balata refugee camp located southeast of Nablus on March 15.
Israeli forces shot and killed Yamen Nafez Mahmoud Khanafseh in Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem on March 6. Israeli forces shot and killed 13-year-old Mohammad Rezq Shehadeh Salah on February 22 in Al-Khader, southwest of Bethlehem. An Israeli sniper shot and killed 16-year-old Mohammad Akram Ali Taher Abu Salah with live ammunition on February 13 while Israeli forces deployed in the village of Silat Al-Harithiya near Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
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.
