Ramallah, August 10, 2022—Israeli forces shot and killed two 16-year-old Palestinian boys yesterday in separate incidents in two Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank.
Hussein Jamal Hussein Taha, 16, was shot in the lower abdomen with live ammunition by Israeli forces around 8:30 a.m. on August 9 as the Israeli military stormed the old city in Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Hussein was on his way to shop for groceries with his father and 13-year-old brother when an Israeli soldier shot him in the abdomen near confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces. Hussein was transferred to Rafidia Hospital and underwent surgery for about an hour and 15 minutes before doctors pronounced him dead.
Momen Yasin Mohammad Joude Jaber, 16, was shot in the chest with live ammunition by Israeli forces around 3 p.m. on August 9 in the Bab Al-Zawiya area of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. He was first transferred to Aley Hospital, then resuscitated and transferred to Al-Ahly Hospital in Hebron, where he underwent surgery to treat his wounds. Momen was pronounced dead around 5 p.m.
A large number of Israeli soldiers were deployed across Hebron, including snipers positioned on building rooftops, as Palestinians demonstrated in protest of an Israeli military incursion into Nablus earlier that day. Momen was shot with a single bullet in the chest, injuring his heart and lungs, which led to cardiac arrest, according to information gathered by DCIP.
“Despite a so-called ceasefire that Israeli forces agreed to on Sunday, Israeli soldiers are still killing Palestinian children with impunity,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Israeli soldiers seemingly shoot to kill with complete disregard for international norms, perpetrating war crimes, as the international community stands silent.”
36 Palestinian children have been killed in 2022, according to documentation collected by DCIP, including 20 Palestinian children shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
Between August 5-7, the Israeli military launched an offensive on the Gaza Strip which resulted in the killing of 16 Palestinian children, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
Under international law, intentional lethal force is only justified in circumstances where a direct threat to life or 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.
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.
