Ref: 16/2023

Date: 13 February 2023

Time: 08:30 GMT

Yesterday evening, a Palestinian child was shot dead by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) during their incursion into al-Jabriat neighborhood in Jenin. This is the eighth child killed by IOF since the beginning of the year, reflecting IOF’s excessive use of force and lenient shooting standards against the Palestinian civilians upon a decision from the highest political and military echelons.

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and eyewitnesses’ testimonies, at approximately 13:00 on Sunday, 12 February 2023, an Israeli Special Force sneaked into al-Jabriat neighborhood, southwest of Jenin, directly overlooking Jenin Refugee Camp, southwest of the city. The Special Force cordoned off the family house of Jabreel Mohammed ‘Abed al-Rahman al-Zubaidi (37), from al-Jabriat neighborhood, and an Israeli Intelligence officer phoned his wife, ordering her to tell Jebreel to surrender and informing her that their house is under a cordon. Al-Zubaidi obeyed IOF’s orders, quietly stepped out and turned himself in to the soldiers. Afterwards, large reinforcements from IOF and Special Forces arrived at the neighborhood from all its entrances, and the soldiers topped the roofs of high buildings in the area. Meanwhile, a number of young men and children gathered about 200 meters away from where the military vehicles were stationed and threw stones and Molotov Cocktails at them. The soldiers on one the roofs opened fire at them, wounding Qusai Redwan Yousef Waked (14) with a live bullet in his abdomen. As a result, Waked was taken via a Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance to Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin, where doctors attempted to save his life, but in vain, as he was pronounced dead at 16:18 on the same day. Also, two members of the Palestinian armed groups were seriously injured in clashes with IOF during the latter’s withdrawal from the village at around 14:20.

PCHR condemns the willful and systematic killing of the Palestinians and reiterates its call upon the international community to take immediate action to end the Israeli occupation’s crimes and protect the Palestinian civilians. PCHR also urges the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to activate his role and the role of the International Commission of Inquiry to prosecute those responsible for such crimes.