Israeli Forces Shoot Dead 12-Year-Old Palestinian Boy Near Jenin
Mahmoud lived in the northern West Bank, where Palestinians, including children, have been ruthlessly targeted by Israeli forces again and again.
From Defense for Children International - Palestine:
Ramallah, April 23, 2025—Israeli forces shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in the northern occupied West Bank today.
Mahmoud Methqal Ali Abu Al-Haija, 12, was shot in the abdomen by Israeli forces who opened fire indiscriminately around 2:40 p.m. on April 23 in the Al-Thahra cemetery in the southern part of the Palestinian town of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Mahmoud was struck in the abdomen when Israeli forces opened fire indiscriminately from about 80 meters (262 feet) away. Mahmoud was carried to a private vehicle which brought him to Al-Hadaf Medical Center in Al-Yamoun, after which he was transferred in an ambulance to Jenin Governmental Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
“Mahmoud lived in the northern West Bank, where Palestinians, including children, have been ruthlessly targeted by Israeli forces again and again,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “No Palestinian child is safe from Israel’s illegal settlement expansion campaign. The international community must force accountability in order to save Palestinian children’s lives.”
Mahmoud, alongside other boys and young men, were allegedly throwing stones toward Israeli soldiers deployed around the cemetery while other soldiers raided a residential building nearby, according to information collected by DCIP. The Israeli military has been carrying out an ongoing military operation throughout the Jenin governorate since January 21.
A second child was injured when Israeli forces opened fire, sustaining shrapnel injuries to the chest and face.
Israeli forces have killed 23 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
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 willful killings.
In 2024, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 93 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces and settlers shot and killed 71 Palestinian children with live ammunition, 17 Palestinian children were killed in drone strikes, three Palestinian children were killed in an Israeli warplane airstrike, one child was killed by Israeli-fired ground shell, and one child was killed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind by Israeli forces.
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