Ramallah, June 11, 2024—Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in Al-Far’a refugee camp yesterday.
Mahmoud Ibrahim Mohammad Nabrisi, 16, was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper around 6:30 a.m. on Monday, June 10 in Al-Far’a refugee camp, east of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Mahomud was leaving one of the alleys that led to the main square of the camp when he spotted a group of Israeli soldiers stationed on the third floor of a three-story building that served as a rehabilitation center for the disabled. Mahmoud started yelling and informing people about the presence of Israeli forces. An Israeli sniper, positioned behind a small hole created by soldiers in the building's wall, fired several bullets at the child from a distance of 120 to 150 meters (393 to 492 feet) away.
“Mahmoud grew up in a hyper militarized environment where Israeli soldiers regularly enter Palestinian communities to kill and arrest Palestinians, including children,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Israeli forces routinely shoot to kill in situations not justified by international law.”
Mahmoud was struck with three bullets: one near his left eye, another behind his left ear, and a third in his left leg, according to information collected by DCIP. Mahmoud was transferred by Palestinian youths and handed over to a Palestinian ambulance, which in turn transferred him to the Turkish Tubas Governmental Hospital in Tubas city, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Around 11 p.m. on Sunday, June 9, Israeli military forces, accompanied by two bulldozers, stormed the Al-Far'a refugee camp and several neighborhoods in Tubas. Israeli forces, having departed from the Hamra military checkpoint and the 'Atuf military camp, engaged in clashes and confrontations with Palesinians in the refugee camp.
The operation involved the destruction and bulldozing of the camp's main square and road, severely damaging the sewage network and cutting off water and electricity to several neighborhoods. The Israeli forces raided dozens of homes, using some as sniper and observation points, while the bulldozers caused partial damage to some residences.
Around 5:30 a.m. the next morning, June 10, 2024, the military vehicles and bulldozers had withdrawn, prompting the camp residents to emerge and assess the extensive damage inflicted by the Israeli forces.
Military reinforcements with bulldozers arrived again at Al-Far’a refugee camp after being discovered by Mahmoud. Around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, June 10, the Israeli forces withdrew completely from the camp.
During the military incursion, Israeli forces killed Mahmoud and injured at least six Palestinian adults.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed 50 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2024, including two United States citizens, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
131 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.
