Israeli forces kill another Palestinian teen, 4th Palestinian killed in 48 hours

Israeli forces kill another Palestinian teen, 4th Palestinian killed in 48 hours

Odeh Mohammad Odeh was killed in the village of al-Midya, west of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israeli soldiers shot Odeh Mohammad Odeh in the chest as he played with a group of friends. Odeh is the 16th Palestinian teenager to be killed by Israeli fire this year. So far, approximately 60 Palestinians and 17 Israelis have been killed in 2022.

Below are two reports on the killing of Odeh Mohammad Odeh (some reports use the spelling Odeh Mohammed Odeh, or the name Odeh Mohammad Odeh Sadaqa). As the incident is very recent and information is still unfolding, details in the two reports vary slightly.

Reposted from Defense for Children International-Palestine, June 2, 2022

Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in the central occupied West Bank today.

Odeh Mohammad Odeh Sadaqa was shot with live ammunition in the back by Israeli forces around 4 p.m. on June 2 in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Midya, west of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine.

Odeh was walking with two friends about 100 meters (330 feet) from his home when Israeli forces deployed in the area opened fire on them. As they attempted to flee, Odeh was struck in the back with a single bullet that struck his heart and exited through his chest, according to information collected by DCIP. He was transferred to Ramallah Hospital in a private car where he was pronounced dead soon after arrival.

“Israeli forces’ impunity is on full display as Palestinian children continue to be targets and the international community has nothing to offer other than empty words,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Palestinian children will continue to be targeted. They will continue to be unlawfully killed with impunity without actual justice and accountability.”

Odeh was walking to an area known as Waar Al-Bata, located about 100 meters away from his home where he and friends would sit. Palestinians in the area heard the gunshots and went to the area to help Odeh, but Israeli forces fired on them, according to information collected by DCIP. After about 20 minutes, they were able to reach Odeh and transport him to a medical center in the nearby village of Ni’lin.

There was no ambulance or doctor on duty at the medical center so they headed toward Ramallah Hospital.

About halfway to Ramallah, they met an ambulance that then rushed him to hospital. Odeh lost consciousness while in the car and doctors failed to resuscitate him upon arrival at Ramallah Hospital.

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 wilful killings.

Odeh is the 14th Palestinian child shot and killed by Israeli forces in 2022, according to documentation collected by DCIP.

In May, Israeli forces shot and killed 14-year-old Zaid Mohammad Said Ghunaim on May 27 in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Khader, located southwest of Bethlehem. Israeli forces shot and killed 16-year-old Ghaith Mohammad Rafiq Ziad Yamin around 1:30 a.m. on May 25 near Qabr Yusuf (Jacob’s Tomb) east of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. Amjad Walid Hussein Fayed, 16, was shot with live ammunition in the chest by Israeli forces around 2:30 a.m. on May 21 in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Israeli forces shot and killed Thaer Khalil Mohammad Maslat, 16, with live ammunition on May 11 in the occupied West Bank city of Al-Bireh shortly after he left school. On May 8, Israeli forces shot and killed 17-year-old Motasem Mohammad Taleb Atallah inside the Jewish-only Tekoa settlement located near Bethlehem after he entered the settlement possessing a knife.

Shawkat Kamal Shawkat Abed, 17, succumbed to his injuries on April 15 after Israeli forces shot him in the abdomen near Jenin. Israeli forces shot and killed Qusai Fuad Mohammad Hamamra, 16, in Husan, near Bethlehem on April 13. Mohammad Hussein Mohammad Qassim succumbed to his wounds on April 11, a day after Israeli forces shot him in Jenin. Israeli forces shot and killed Sanad Mohammad Khalil Abu Atiya on March 31 in Jenin as he approached a wounded man in an attempt to render aid. Nader Haitham Fathi Rayyan, 16, was killed by Israeli forces outside the entrance of Balata refugee camp located southeast of Nablus on March 15.

Israeli forces shot and killed Yamen Nafez Mahmoud Khanafseh in Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem on March 6. Israeli forces shot and killed 13-year-old Mohammad Rezq Shehadeh Salah on February 22 in Al-Khader, southwest of Bethlehem. An Israeli sniper shot and killed 16-year-old Mohammad Akram Ali Taher Abu Salah with live ammunition on February 13 while Israeli forces deployed in the village of Silat Al-Harithiya near Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP.

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.


reposted from Middle East Eye, June 2, 2022

Israeli forces fatally shot a 17-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, making him the fourth Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in 48 hours.

Odeh Mohammad Odeh was hit in the chest in the village of al-Midya, west of Ramallah, the Palestinian ministry of health said.

He arrived at the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah in critical condition, where he succumbed to his wounds.

Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing local sources, said Odeh was playing with a group of friends near the separation wall when they came under fire.

Translation: Emotional video of the farewell of the boy Odeh Mohammad Odeh, who was shot this evening by the occupation’s bullets in the village of Al-Midya, west of Ramallah.

Ragheb Sadaqa, head of Midya village council, said Odeh posed no danger to the soldiers who shot him and there were no confrontations at the time of his killing.

The 700-kilometre separation wall, built by Israel in 2002 for “security reasons”, is deemed unlawful by the UN’s legal body, the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli troops killed Ayman Mahmoud Muhaisen, 29, during a raid on a refugee camp in Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank.

On Wednesday, two Palestinians were shot and killed in separate incidents.

Bilal Awad Tawfiq Kabha, 24, was killed in a raid on Jenin city, in the north of the West Bank, late in the evening. In the morning, journalist Ghufran Warasneh, 31, was killed by Israeli soldiers on her way to a new job with local media.

Odeh is the 16th Palestinian teenager to be killed by Israeli fire this year. Overall, 65 Palestinians, including four who are citizens of Israel, have been killed in 2022. [17 Israelis have been killed this year, two of them 19; both were soldiers.]


IMEMC reports: “The Palestinians in the village confirmed that the fatal shooting of the child had no reason, especially since there were no protests in the area, adding that the soldier who shot him was apparently in one of the heavily fortified monitoring rooms of the illegal Annexation Wall.”

“His uncle Mofeed Sadaqa said his nephew tended to the family flock on their lands in an area not far from the Annexation Wall, adding that Odah was also playing with other children near the Wall when a soldier shot him in the back.”

For a complete list of Palestinians and Israelis killed since 2000, please visit Israel-Palestine Timeline


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