Ramallah, August 16, 2023—Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank early yesterday morning.
Qusai Omar Mohammad Suleiman, 16, was shot with live ammunition around 4:00 a.m. on August 15 by Israeli forces as they made incursions into Aqbat Jabr Refugee Camp near Jericho, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Qusai was on his motorbike about 50 meters (165 feet) away from where Israeli forces were deployed when Israeli forces fired live ammunition toward him and other Palestinians nearby. Qusai sustained a gunshot wound to his chest and bled for approximately 15 minutes before he could be evacuated. He was transferred to Jericho Governmental Hospital in a private car and soon after was pronounced dead.
“Israeli forces routinely use lethal force in situations not justified by international law,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Increasing Israeli military incursions into Palestinian cities and refugee camps combined with systemic impunity results in Israeli forces seemingly resorting to live ammunition and excessive use of force for crowd control purposes with complete disregard for the deadly consequences.”
Qusai was staying at a relative’s home in the Aqbat Jabr Refugee Camp when Israeli forces entered the camp. As confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces ensued, he rode his motorbike toward the area where Israeli forces were deployed, according to information collected by DCIP.
Qusai arrived just after Israeli forces had shot dead Mohammad Najm, 25, and other Palestinian youth attempted to drag his body away from the scene. Qusai was about 20 meters (65 feet) away from Mohammed’s body when Israeli forces directed heavy gunfire toward the group. Then, Qusai’s motorbike headlamp exposed the Israeli forces position and Qusai was targeted with live fire, according to information collected by DCIP.
41 Palestinian children have been killed in 2023, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces and settlers have shot and killed at least 33 Palestinian children and killed one Palestinian child with a targeted drone strike in the occupied West Bank. Six Palestinian children in Gaza were killed in the May 2023 Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip, and a 10-year-old Palestinian child in Gaza succumbed to head wounds he sustained during the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip in August 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.
53 Palestinian children were killed in 2022, according to documentation collected by DCIP, including 36 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.
