The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR): Yesterday evening, a Palestinian child was killed by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) fire in al-Arroub refugee camp in Hebron, south of the West Bank.
This crime proves again IOF’s loose shooting standards that fall under series of top-level military orders to “shoot to kill” despite no imminent danger or threat posed to IOF’s lives.
Recent events in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, indicate an increase in IOF’s violations that amount to war crimes according to the international law and international humanitarian law. It is worth noting that this is the fourth child killed by the IOF within one week in addition to the death of a fifth child after succumbing to previous wounds.
According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 10:00 on Wednesday, 12 October 2022, Palestinian young men gathered in central al-‘Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, amid a strike announced in protest to the IOF siege on Shu’fat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem.
The young Palestinians headed to al-‘Arroub refugee camp’s entrance, where IOF deploy along the road connecting with the Bypass Road (60), and threw stones at IOF military vehicles. Meanwhile, IOF heavily fired teargas canisters at the stone-throwers and nearby residential houses.
As a result, many residents and stone-throwers suffocated, and clashes sporadically continued until 16:30, as the Israeli soldiers deployed at the camp’s entrance and in the surrounding lands. A number of young Palestinians stepped towards the northwestern entrance to the camp and threw stones at the Israeli soldiers stationed around 100 meters away from the entrance.
Meanwhile, IOF fired live bullets at the protestors, wounding Osama Mahmoud ‘Adawi (17) with a live bullet in the abdomen.
Young men took Osama to a nearby building and then he was transported to a medical center in Beit Fajjar village in southern Bethlehem to be then referred to the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (BASR) Hospital, where doctors declared that he succumbed to his serious wounds.
It turned out that the live bullet penetrated his abdomen and caused gastrointestinal laceration and severe bleeding.
”So far in 2022, IOF attacks killed 139 Palestinians, including 99 civilians: 31 children, 8 women, 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers and the rest were activists; 15 of them were assassinated. Moreover, hundreds of others sustained wounds in IOF attacks, including women and children, across the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
PCHR reiterates its call upon the international community to take immediate action to end Israeli occupation’s crimes and double standards when it comes to international law and urges the Public Prosecution of the ICC to act seriously with regard to the situation in Palestine.
PCHR also demands the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention fulfil their obligations as per Common Article 1 of the Convention, “undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances,” and their obligations under Article 146 of the same Conventions, i.e., to hold accountable persons accused of committing grave breaches of the Convention noting that these violations are considered war crimes in accordance with Article 147 of the Convention and in accordance with the Additional Protocol I of the Convention to guarantee the right of protection for Palestinian civilians in the occupied territory.
