Middle East Eye / August 2, 2023
Mohammad Farid al-Za’areer, 15, was killed at a bus station after Israeli forces found him to be suspicious.
A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday evening.
The Palestinian health ministry named the victim as Mohammad Farid al-Za’areer who was killed near the illegal Israeli settlement of Shim’a close to Hebron.
According to local Palestinian sources Za’areer was one of the top students in his class and had just finished the 9th grade.
The Israeli military claimed that Za’areer looked suspicious as they passed a bus station and decided to approach him for interrogation. Za’areer than allegedly pulled out a knife and the Israeli soldiers shot and killed him.
Hours earlier another Palestinian man was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied East Jerusalem.
Muhannad al-Mazra’a, 20, carried out a shooting near the Israeli settlement Ma’ale Adumim injuring six Israelis before being shot by Israeli forces.
Deadliest year for Palestinians
A report in 2022 by the Israeli rights group Yesh Din found that less than one percent of soldiers accused of harming Palestinians between 2017-2021 were ever charged with crimes.
The military law enforcement authorities “systematically avoid investigating and prosecuting soldiers who harm Palestinians”, the group said.
At least 204 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year, including 36 children – a rate of nearly one fatality per day.
A total of 167 people have died in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, making 2023 one of the bloodiest years in the occupied Palestinian territories. Another 36 people were killed in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Palestinians have killed 25 Israelis in the same period, including six children.
