Ramallah, November 1, 2023—Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in the southern occupied West Bank last night.
Abdulrahman Mohammad Hassan Jawabra, 16, was shot in the chest by Israeli forces around 7:30 p.m. on October 31 in Beit Ummar, a Palestinian town near Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. An Israeli soldier fired live ammunition at Abdulrahman from a distance of about 100 meters (328 feet) during confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces near the entrance of Beit Ummar. Abdulrahman was first taken to a medical center in Beit Ummar before being transferred to Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron, where he was pronounced dead on arrival around 8:30 p.m.
“Undoubtedly Palestinian children are targets as the situation in the occupied West Bank continues to deteriorate with Israeli forces and settlers empowered to use intentional lethal force against anyone they deem a threat, whether justified or not,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “International complicity in grave violations of human rights and war crimes have never been so clear as Palestinian children are killed with little protest from any world leaders.”
Israeli forces have escalated military operations throughout the occupied West Bank in recent weeks, carrying out increasing numbers of search and arrest operations.
39 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 bombardment on the Gaza Strip dubbed Operation Iron Swords.
So far this year, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 79 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces and settlers shot and killed 69 Palestinian children with live ammunition, six Palestinian children were killed in drone strikes, and four Palestinian children were killed by missiles fired from a U.S.-sourced Apache attack helicopter.
At least 123 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank since October 7, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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.
