Palestinian Boy Nearly Loses Eye After Israel Border Police Rubber Bullet Hits Him in East Jerusalem

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Palestinian Boy Nearly Loses Eye After Israel Border Police Rubber Bullet Hits Him in East Jerusalem
Amir Hadad in hospital after being hit with a rubber bullet, last week. (Credit: Nir Hasson)

The rubber bullet hit the 12-year-old in the head and fractured his skull, despite police regulations that prohibit firing rubber bullets at a person’s upper body or at a minor; ‘He went to get bird food,’ his father said.

By Nir Hasson, Reposted from Haaretz, April 14, 2025

A 12-year-old child was badly wounded by a rubber bullet fired by an Israeli Border Police during police activity in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem.

On Thursday, Israeli police officers arrived at a barbershop in the refugee camp and arrested its owners while 12-year-old Amir Hadad was riding his bicycle near the shop.

“He went with his friend to get bird food and was on his way back,” his father, Rami, said. “He did not even see the policemen, he heard a sound, turned to look – and was hit.”

The police claimed that the forces had to use riot control equipment after they were confronted by hundreds of Palestinians who threw Molotov cocktails and stones at them, though locals claim there had been no clashes there.

The police claimed its forces “noticed no hit,” though a video recorded after the shooting shows several Border Police standing down the road from where the wounded Hadad was evacuated. The video shows no locals throwing Molotov cocktails or stones.

The rubber bullet hit Hadad in the head and fractured his skull, despite the fact that police regulations prohibit firing rubber bullets at a person’s upper body or at a minor.

Hadad was hit over his left eye, but doctors were able to save it in surgery last Friday at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital.

Doctors believe the child’s eyesight will be restored, and he is expected to be released from the hospital on Monday.

Hadad himself does not remember the events, his father said. “All he remembers is he went to get bird food,” Hadad’s father, who himself lost consciousness when he saw his son’s wounds before he was evacuated to the hospital, said.

Last month, police intensified activity in East Jerusalem neighborhoods. Locals claim this activity often includes unnecessary use of weapons and riot control gear.

About one month ago, a policeman fired a live bullet at the leg of a 13-year-old girl in the Issawiya neighborhood. Nearly a week ago, police sprayed skunk water at yards and houses in the neighborhood

Rubber bullets are among the main non-lethal equipment used by police in East Jerusalem. In recent years, hundreds of Palestinian residents in the area have been hit by police rubber bullets, with dozens losing their eyesight and suffering other serious wounds.

In one case, a boy had been killed by a rubber bullet. These serious wounds have multiplied after the police in 2014 replaced the blue, relatively softer rubber bullets with harder ones.

Despite the many incidents of rubber bullets causing serious wounds, hardly any charges have been filed against officers.

In an unusual development, a police officer was convicted several weeks ago for shooting a 16-year-old girl in the back at the entrance to her Sheikh Jarrah home, severely wounding her. The policeman was convicted in a plea bargain for negligence and careless use of a firearm.

Nir Hasson is a journalist for Haaretz.

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