Reposted from Defense of Children International Palestine, June 25, 2025
Israeli forces shot and killed a 13-year-old Palestinian boy in the central occupied West Bank on Monday.
Ammar Motaz Mostafa Hamayel, 13, was shot in the back by Israeli forces around 4 p.m. on June 23 while out on a walk with a friend near the bypass road adjacent to the Palestinian village of Kufr Malek, northeast of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine.
Israeli forces, stationed in a concealed position behind pine trees, opened fire on Ammar and his friend from a distance of between 500 and 1,000 meters (1,640 to 3,281 feet) away. One bullet struck Ammar in his back and exited from his neck. His friend ran away, and Israeli soldiers approached and detained Ammar for about two hours, preventing anyone from reaching him. Around 6 p.m., Israeli forces handed over Ammar to a Palestinian ambulance, which brought him to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, where he was pronounced dead.
“Ammar was walking with his friend when Israeli forces opened fire on him suddenly and without warning, striking him in the back, indicating he was turned away from the soldiers and posing no threat to them,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “He is the 29th Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank this year as Israel continues its campaign of genocide in Gaza with complete impunity.”
While Israeli forces detained Ammar after shooting him, they physically assaulted multiple family members and neighbors who attempted to reach him and provide aid. Israeli forces also prevented a Palestinian ambulance from providing aid to Ammar.
Israeli forces have killed 29 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
Israel’s routine use of lethal force against Palestinian children reflects a wider policy of violence and impunity that violates international law. Under international human rights law, lethal force may only be used when strictly unavoidable to protect life, yet Israeli forces continue to target children with deliberate, unlawful killings.
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