January 25, 2023: Mohammad Ali, 17, was killed by Israeli Border Police officers in the Dahiat Al-Salam area, between Anata and Shu’fat refugee camp, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank.
The Health Ministry said the youth was shot after the army invaded the refugee camp to demolish the home of a slain Palestinian, Odai Kamal Tamimi, 22, who the soldiers killed last year.
The Health Ministry added that Palestinian medics rushed to the scene, but the Israeli soldiers initially did not allow them to approach the seriously wounded child.
Israeli media said Mohammad aimed a toy gun at the soldiers and border police officers and added that they shot and killed him “because they didn’t know it was fake.”
The Israeli “Border Police” claimed there was no way to know the gun was fake because it “looked real,” but could not negate the facts, captured on police video, clearly showing the child being shot while running away after already dropping the “gun,” which also voids the allegation of the perceived ” imminent threat.”
Israeli daily, Jerusalem Post, said the police later discovered that the gun was a dummy, adding that although the officers did not know the gun was just a toy, it remains “unclear whether firing the fatal shot was justified, given that at the moment he was hit, Mohammad was not carrying the [Fake] “weapon” and was running away.
The child was not facing the soldiers anymore, was not throwing or trying to throw anything at them, and was only trying to leave the area when they opened fire.
The Jerusalem Post stated that a response from the police failed to address the issue of the slain child being shot after dropping the toy gun and fleeing, but only alleged: “Mohammad showed clear signs of presenting a threat.”
The Israeli army refused to comment on the fatal shooting and only stated that even though the soldiers were there, the “incident is managed by the border police, not the military because it took place in East Jerusalem, not other parts of the West Bank.
The child was officially pronounced dead after he was taken to Hadassah Israeli medical center in occupied Jerusalem. His family tried to take his body for burial, but their request was denied.
Furthermore, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the soldiers also shot a young man with a live round in the shoulder and caused dozens to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.
On the same day, the soldiers killed Aref Abdul-Nasser Lahlouh, 20, after an alleged ‘stabbing attack’ near the illegal Kedumim colony, built on stolen Palestinian lands near Kufur Qaddoum town, east of Qalqilia, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.
Mohammad was from the Shu’fat refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC