Union for Justice foundation: Israeli occupation forces killed a 16-year-old Palestinian child in the southern occupied West Bank last week.
24/12/2025 – Union for Justice Foundation
According to documentation collected by the Union for Justice, the child Ammar Yasser Mohammad Ta‘amrah (16 years old) was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces at approximately 4:30 p.m. on 15 December in the town of Tuqu‘, southeast of Bethlehem. Ammar was struck by a bullet to the chest while heading to the bakery in the center of the town, where his father works and where Ammar regularly went to help him.
The Union for Justice stated that “this killing reflects the reality faced by Palestinian children, where military force is routinely and lethally used without regard for civilian lives or accountability. As long as Israeli soldiers remain shielded from consequences, Palestinian children will continue to be treated as legitimate targets rather than as persons protected under international law.”
Israeli occupation forces had raided the town of Tuqu‘ on 15 December, entering from its western entrance and advancing toward the town center, where they fired tear gas canisters and live ammunition at residents. It was during this raid that Ammar was shot.
Ammar was transported in a private vehicle to the town’s clinic and was then transferred to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital in Bethlehem, where his death was announced. According to the family, the Palestinian Liaison Office requested clarification from its Israeli counterpart regarding the incident, and the Israeli Liaison Office claimed that the shooting occurred after a Palestinian allegedly threw a “large stone” at the soldiers.
Following Ammar’s funeral and burial, clashes erupted near the town’s northeastern entrance, resulting in the killing of another Palestinian youth.
It is noteworthy that Israeli occupation forces and settlers have killed 55 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of 2025, according to the organization’s documentation. The investigations and evidence consistently gathered indicate that occupation forces use lethal force against Palestinian children in circumstances amounting to extrajudicial killings or deliberate homicide.
This incident constitutes a stark example of the occupying power’s violations of its international obligations under conventions designed to protect civilians—particularly children—during times of conflict and occupation. A rigorous legal commentary can be formulated on the basis of the following international principles:
First: Violation of the Right to Life and Rules on the Use of Force
The killing of Ammar Ta‘amrah represents a direct violation of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which affirms that “every human being has the inherent right to life, and this right shall be protected by law.” Legally, the use of live ammunition cannot be justified merely by the alleged throwing of a stone—assuming the Israeli narrative were accurate—since the principles of necessity and proportionality under international human rights law prohibit the use of lethal force except where there is an imminent and real threat to life. Such conditions clearly do not apply to a child on his way to work.
Second: Special Protection of Children under International Humanitarian Law
Under the Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 27) and Additional Protocol I, occupying powers are required to afford special protection to children. The killing of 55 children since the start of 2025 indicates a systematic pattern, rather than isolated incidents, potentially elevating these acts to the level of war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, particularly “willful killing” and “intentionally directing attacks against civilians.”
Third: Impunity and Individual Criminal Responsibility
This case further demonstrates Israel’s breach of its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which it is a party, which requires states to ensure the protection and development of children. The absence of transparent and independent investigations entrenches a policy of impunity, while international law guarantees victims and their families the right to effective judicial remedy. Claims that the shooting was a response to stone-throwing lack legal basis under international law, which clearly distinguishes between law-enforcement operations and hostilities, and prohibits treating unarmed civilians as military targets.
Targeting Ammar in the chest, in a civilian setting at the center of the town, underscores that Israeli forces operate under rules of engagement that permit lethal force without graduated use of means. This necessitates urgent action by international bodies—foremost among them the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child—to hold the occupying power accountable for its persistent violations of treaties that establish the protection of children’s lives as an inviolable red line that cannot be breached under any alleged security pretext.
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