Palestinian teen succumbs to Israeli gunshot wounds

Zena al-Tahhan

Al-Jazeera  /  February 21, 2023

Muntaser al-Shawwa, 16, was severely wounded two weeks ago, with his family accusing the Israeli army of ‘shooting to kill’.

Ramallah, occupied West Bank A Palestinian teenager has succumbed to Israeli army gunshot wounds he sustained two weeks ago during a raid in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health on Monday evening announced the death of Muntaser al-Shawwa, 16, adding that he was severely wounded when a “bullet pierced through his head from behind his ear”.

Al-Shawwa was shot during an overnight Israeli army raid on the Balata refugee camp in Nablus city in the northern occupied West Bank on February 8.

The army had raided Nablus that day to secure a visit by Israeli settlers to the flashpoint site of Joseph’s Shrine inside the city, during which confrontations with Palestinian youth broke out in the area.

Al-Shawwa’s family told Al-Jazeera that the 16-year-old was standing on the side of the road watching the raid when he was shot, and remained unconscious in the intensive care unit (ICU) for the past 13 days, before passing away on Monday.

“They come to our land and kill our children. Please tell me how a 16-year-old – a small child – both by age and size – can represent a ‘threat’ to Israel?” Al-Shawwa’s uncle, Ibrahim Mashharawi, told Al-Jazeera.

“In the camp when there are confrontations, all the youth go out to watch, because we are living in these conditions. It’s known that they are children, and the army can always shoot at the legs or lower limbs, but they shoot in order to kill,” Mashharawi said.

“The bullet entered from behind his ear and broke his entire jaw. Shortly after he got to the hospital, his brain failed and became fully paralyzed. Only his heart was beating, while his brains were dead,” said Mashharawi.

Al-Shawwa is the 51st Palestinian to be killed by the Israeli army and settlers in as many days.

The teenager, who is also the 12th minor to be killed, was one of eight siblings. “He was very bright and very kind to his family, to his parents. They would depend on him a lot,” said Mashharawi.

Israel stepped up its military raids, arrests and killings in Palestinian cities and villages in the occupied West Bank from June 2021, following a popular Palestinian uprising known as the “May outburst” that swept Israel and the Palestinian territories it has illegally occupied since 1967.

In March 2022, following a series of individual Palestinian attacks inside Israel, the Israeli army launched a military campaign that led to 2022 being marked by the United Nations as the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2006.

Some 171 Palestinians, including more than 30 children, were killed by the Israeli army in the West Bank last year.

Civilians confronting the Israeli army during raids and uninvolved bystanders have also been killed, as well as Palestinian fighters in targeted assassinations and during armed clashes.

More than 50 other Palestinians, including 17 children, were also killed during a three-day Israeli assault on the besieged Gaza Strip last August.

Local and international NGOs and rights groups have long condemned systematic Israeli “open-fire” and “shoot-to-kill” policies in the occupied territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has previously noted that Israeli forces “often use firearms against Palestinians on mere suspicion or as a precautionary measure, in violation of international standards”.

Zena al-Tahhan is Al-Jazeera English’s digital correspondent in Jerusalem

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Palestinian teen shot by Israeli forces dies from wounds

MEE Staff

Middle East Eye  /  February 21, 2023

Montaser Mohammad Shawa, 16, was hit in the head by Israeli fire earlier this month.

Palestinian teenager succumbed to his wounds on Monday after being shot by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank earlier in the month.

Montaser Mohammad Shawa, 16, was shot in the head on 8 February near Balata refugee camp in Nablus, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Doctors at Rafidia Hospital, where Shawa was being treated, were able to resuscitate the teenager when he arrived after being shot. According to doctors at the hospital, Shawa had sustained significant injuries to his mouth and lower lip, and his lower teeth had been destroyed.

In a statement, the Israeli army said that “on the evening of 8 February… armed gunmen fired at soldiers” who were guarding Joseph’s Tomb as Israeli settlers visited the site. The tomb is important to Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

Israeli forces “responded with live fire” and a person was hit, said the Israeli army without elaborating on the circumstances. 

There is no suggestion that Shawa fired at Israeli soldiers. 

Spike in Israeli violence

 The West Bank has seen a spike in violence since Israel intensified raids last year. At least 50 Palestinians have been killed so far this year. 

Last year, Israeli forces killed at least 167 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the highest death toll in the region in a single year since the Second Intifada

In December, UN experts condemned Israel for the record levels of violence and warned that 2023 could witness an even higher number of casualties. 

“Unless Israeli forces abandon this dominant settler mindset and rightfully treat Palestinians in the occupied territory as protected persons, Israel’s deplorable record in the occupied West Bank will likely deteriorate further in 2023,” they said. 

Earlier this week, residents of the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem accused the Israeli army of employing a policy of “collective punishment” after a marked increase in punitive measures against them in recent days.

The camp witnessed a day of protests and civil disobedience on Sunday in response to a crackdown on residents that was initiated last week by Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right National Security minister.

Shurahbeil Alqam, an anti-occupation activist from the camp, said the action was a result of the “racist” decisions Ben-Gvir recently made.

“Israel doesn’t want us to stay in Jerusalem. It uses all means to expedite our displacement outside the city, even though the camp is the beating heart of Jerusalem,” Alqam told Middle East Eye.