Ramallah, July 11, 2024—Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian child in the northern occupied West Bank today.
Around 5 p.m. today 14-year-old Ali Hasan Ali Rabaya was shot under the armpit by an Israeli soldier inside a heavily armored military vehicle from a distance of 20 to 40 meters (65 to 131 feet) near the western entrance of the Palestinian village of Maithaloun, south of Jenin in the northern occupied West bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. After Israeli forces shot him, Ali ran about three meters (10 feet) before collapsing to the ground. Israeli forces continued firing in Ali’s direction, striking at least five other Palestinian children, including a 13-year-old boy who was seriously injured in the chest and legs. Continued Israeli military fire prevented Palestinian residents from reaching Ali for about five minutes. When the Israeli military vehicles withdrew, a private car brought Ali to the Turkish Governmental Hospital in Tubas, where he was pronounced dead around 5:35 p.m.
“Without a second thought, Israeli forces killed 14-year-old Ali and injured at least five other Palestinian children when they opened fire in Maithaloun,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Decades of systemic impunity have emboldened Israeli forces to shoot to kill without consequence, demonstrating contempt for Palestinian children’s lives. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court must issue arrest warrants for Israeli authorities now and force accountability.”
Israeli special forces carried out an incursion into the Palestinian town of Al-Jadida, south of Jenin, around 4 p.m. today and arrested two young Palestinian men. Israeli military reinforcements arrived in Al-Jadida and the nearby town of Siris shortly after. As Israeli forces withdrew, they passed the Palestinian village of Maithaloun, where Palestinian residents confronted passing Israeli military vehicles. Ali was allegedly throwing stones toward the Israeli military vehicles at the time he was shot.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed 57 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2024, including two United States citizens, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
138 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.
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 wilful killings.
