Ref: 112/2021

Date: 24 August 2021

Time: 11:00 GMT

A Palestinian child died today at dawn after being shot in the head by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) while videoing via his cellphone IOF’s raid into a nearby house in Balata refugee camp in Nablus, north of the West Bank.

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), there was no imminent threat or danger to the soldiers’ lives at the time the child was targeted.  He was only holding his cellphone to take a video other than IOF’s claims that he attempted to throw a solid object at the soldiers.  This crime again proves that there is a military and political decision at the upper echelons that allows snipers to shoot to kill Palestinian civilians, including children.  Since the beginning of the year, number of child deaths amounted to 75; 12 in the West Bank in similar circumstances, and 63 in the Gaza Strip in the latest May offensive.

According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 03:30 on Tuesday, 24 August 2021, IOF moved into Balata refugee camp in eastern Nablus and surrounded a house belonging to the family of Sa’d Nemer As’ad al-Ka’by (26) in Hashash Family neighborhood, east of the camp.  They then raided the house and stayed there for around half an hour; uring which, al-Ka’abi was arrested and taken away.  When the soldiers were on their way out of the house, one of the soldiers stationed on the street opened fire at 15-year-old ‘Emad Khaled Hashash (15), who was on his 4-storey house roof taking a video via his cellphone for the soldiers. As a result, he was shot in the head and taken with a civilian car to Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus, where the medical staff pronounced his death.

Mahmoud Hashash, an eyewitness, stated to PCHR fieldworker, “From the rooftop of my house, I saw 40-50 Israeli soldiers with police canines stationing on the street opposite al-Ka’by family house – few meters from our house. There were sounds of gunshots coming from the camp. I noticed Imad Khaled Hashash standing on the rooftop of his house (4-storey building), located 20 meters on the opposite side of the al-Ka’by family house. Imad was filming the soldiers as they withdrew from al-Ka’by’s house; I heard one gunshot go off and then I no longer could see Imad. Few moments later, I heard women screaming, and I learnt that Emad had sustained a live bullet in the head fired by IOF. I rushed to his house as IOF fired tear gas canisters in the area to cover their withdrawal from the area. We took Emad to hospital where he was deemed dead upon arrival with a bullet to the head.”

Later, IOF alleged that violent riots took place that included throwing stones and other objects at Israeli forces from nearby houses; the claimed that the identified a suspect holding a suspicious large object that he tried to throw at a soldier standing below. IOF alleged that a soldier acted by shooting the suspect.

PCHR investigations refute the Israeli claim, as supported by an eyewitness statement who confirmed that the child was holding a phone to record the IOF raid, and he was standing in a position that allows soldiers, who have the equipment that provides visual details, to see him clearly and verify that he did not pose any threat or danger to the soldiers.

PCHR points here that IOF murder crimes against Palestinian civilians, particularly children, have been on the rise, including the use of snipers and direct shooting to kill, harm, and cause severe injuries. Additionally, PCHR investigations ascertain that these crimes are done without justification in violation of shooting standards, as there was no threat whatsoever to the lives of the soldiers.

PCHR reiterates its call upon the international community to urgently move to end Israeli occupation’s crimes, and its call upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfil their obligations as per Common Article 1 of the Convention, “undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances.” PCHR also calls upon the High Contracting Parties to uphold their commitment to Article 146 of the same Conventions, i.e. to hold accountable persons accused of committing grave breaches of the Convention, and to ensure protection for Palestinian civilians in the occupied territory.