October 16, 2014
Israeli forces raided the West Bank village of Beit Laqiya on Thursday night and shot Bahaa Samir Badir, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy, 3 times in the chest. Badir died 2 hours later at the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. Ma’an reports the boy was shot at "close range" and suffered from "severe bleeding". Haaretz reported the unit’s commander "open fired" killing the boy.
The Israeli military alleges one of their units entered Beit Laqiya "after stones were thrown in the area" according to Haaretz. Which begs the question, who were the targets of the stone throwing before the military unit raided the village? Who reported the alleged stone throwing? According to an Israeli military spokesperson Israeli forces "encountered an illegal riot in Beit Laqiya," which implies there was a riot or a protest occurring in the village before Israeli military forces arrived.
According to the Israeli army, a unit entered the village after stones were thrown in the area. As the unit left the village, soldiers stepped off their vehicle to repair an unspecified malfunction when Palestinians started hurling firebombs at them, from a distance of about 20 meters, the army said. The unit commander opened fire at the Palestinians, killing the teen.
According to Ma’an "Clashes broke out in the village of Beit Laqiya after news of Badir’s death spread."
"while they were exiting the village, rioters hurled Molotov cocktails at the forces."
"They responded to the threat with live fire," she said, adding: "Reports of a dead Palestinian are being reviewed. There will be military police investigation."
She added that the Molotov cocktails had posed a "direct threat" to the lives of the soldiers.
The Israeli military police will be investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing of the boy by the Israeli military. These investigations almost never result in any disciplinary action– let alone criminal charges.
The death of Bahaa brings the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank so far this year to 42, in addition to the nearly 2,200 Palestinians slain during Israel’s summer offensive across Gaza.
More than 4,300 Palestinians have also been injured by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank since the beginning of 2014, as well as more than 11,000 during the nearly two-month assault on Gaza.
The West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
Maybe the Israeli military should stop raiding Palestinian villages. This is what occupation looks like.
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