Egregious shootings receive official backing once again: Israeli Border Police kill 15-year-old and wound another Palestinian as they tried to cross Separation Barrier
At about 7:30 A.M. on the morning of the last Friday of Ramadan, 31 May 2019, seven members of the extended Gheith family set out from by car Hebron to Jerusalem to attend prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque. Luai Gheith – 45, a married father of nine who owns a factory in Hebron ¬– was behind the wheel. With him in the car were his son ‘Abdallah (15), his three daughters – Shaimaa (16), Tartil (14) and Daniyah (12) – his niece Sirin (14) and his nephew ‘A. (18)
During Ramadan, Israel allowed more Palestinians into Jerusalem for prayers than usual, but young men between the ages of 16 and 30 were still barred entry. Therefore, Gheith’s nephew, ‘A., would not be allowed through the checkpoint. Gheith drove towards the Mazmuriyeh/a-Nu’man checkpoint northeast of the Palestinian town of Beit Sahur, to drop off ‘A. and ‘Abdallah near the Separation Barrier, at a spot about 700 meters from the checkpoint. The plan was that they would climb over the barrier and meet the rest of the family on the other side, as many Palestinians do. The Separation Barrier in that area is made up of concertina wire at ground level and a chain link and barbed wire fence that is several meters high. The concertina is separated from the main fence by a path several meters wide.
B’Tselem’s investigation found that at around 8:00 A.M., Luai dropped off his son and nephew next to the barrier. Ten or so young men were already there, waiting for a chance to climb over. ‘Abdallah and ‘A. did not see any security forces nearby and decided to make the attempt. They climbed over the concertina wire onto the buffer path. At that point, ‘A. spotted a Border Police officer standing on the other side of the main fence. He jumped back over the concertina wire and shouted to ‘Abdallah to flee. At that point, Border Police officers fired two 0.22-caliber bullets at ‘Abdallah, one of which hit him in the chest. ‘Abdallah managed to leap back over the concertina and run several meters away before collapsing.
Luai Gheith, who was still there, drove them to al-Hussein Hospital in Beit Jala. The medical team tried to save ‘Abdallah, but in vain. In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Musa Abu Hashhash on 1 June 2019, Gheith described the pain of losing his son:
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Luai Gheith. Photo by Musa Abu Hashhash, 1 June 2019
I raised my son for fifteen years, and I still can’t believe that he was martyred in the blink of an eye. He didn’t do anything wrong. He just wanted to get to al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan. He was daring and I think that’s what got him killed. He was in a rush to get to al-Aqsa and didn’t wait like the other young men.
‘Abdallah was a good boy. He was cheerful and everyone loved him. He used to help me at work after school. He loved his family and was always joking around with his sisters. I can still see him cracking jokes with them and with my niece in the car that morning. He was so excited to be going to pray at al-Aqsa on the last Friday of Ramadan. The Israeli police officer who shot him doesn’t know any of that. Nor does he know anything of the shock and heartache he caused me and my wife and my daughters, or that we will never find comfort again.
About half an hour to an hour earlier, at the same spot, Border Police shot and injured M.T., a 20-year-old Palestinian from the village of Hadab al-Fawar, south of Hebron. M.T., who works at a book and stationery store, had gotten there at around 5:30 A.M., also planning to cross the Separation Barrier so he could go to al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers. In a testimony he gave B’Tselem, he said he waited until after 7:00 and then tried to cross. After climbing over the concertina wire, he heard what sounded like gunshots fired with a silencer. He jumped back across the wire and gained some distance before realizing he had been hit in the stomach. M.T. was taken by private car to Beit Sahur and from there by ambulance to al-Hussein Hospital in Beit Jala, where he underwent surgery. He was discharged a week later.
In both cases, Border Police fired at the upper body of individuals merely for trying to cross the Separation Barrier to get to prayers in East Jerusalem: 15-year-old ‘Abdallah Gheith was killed and M.T., was hit in the abdomen. There can be no justification for this type of gunfire, with its predictably fatal consequences. It shows just how little the lives of Palestinians count in the eyes of both the officers in the field and the entire chain of command that allows such actions to take place.
Israeli media quoted Border Police officials as saying that Gheith and M.T. were shot with crowd control measures. Yet 0.22-caliber bullets are live ammunition for all intents and purposes and, therefore, cannot be considered crowd control measures. In theory, the military acknowledges this fact: A full decade ago, the MAG stated in a letter to B’Tselem that 0.22 bullets would be used only in instances that justified live fire, i.e., only in cases of mortal danger to security personnel or others. In practice, lethal use of 0.22-caliber bullets continues, and they are still perceived as a means of crowd control.
Based on past experience, no one – neither the officers who killed ‘Abdallah Gheith and injured M.T., nor persons higher up the chain of command, including those responsible for formulating the orders and regulations – will be held accountable. Moreover, Israel will not have to pay damages to the families, having passed legislation conveniently barring Palestinians from any viable option of suing the state for damages.
Was the shooting of 15-year-old ‘Abdallah and 20-year-old M.T. criminal? Absolutely. It was entirely unjustifiable. Neither ‘Abdallah nor M.T. posed any danger. Nor could they have posed any danger as they were: in broad daylight, caught between concertina wire on one side and a high barbed wire fence on the other, facing Border Police officers who were armed and ready and in protective gear. This is not a case of mortal danger, or in fact of any danger at all. Under such circumstances, the use of weapons capable of causing serious injury and even death – as has been done before and as the officers did here – cannot be justified on any moral or legal grounds. The fact that the predictable and deadly outcome of this egregious conduct is met by public indifference and that the conduct receives the full backing of all official bodies demonstrates just how little worth is accorded Palestinian lives.
The report surveys the broad spectrum of issues regarding the Israeli authorities' human rights record in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the past year, the 44th year of the Israeli occupation. An interactive version of the report is available online and distributed through social media. The report documents a sharp increase in the number of uninvolved Palestinians killed by the Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip in 2011. There was also an increase in the number of Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians, compared to 2010.
In the space of one week, between 22 February and 1 March 2022, Israeli soldiers killed two youths Palestinians in Bethlehem District – Muhammad Salah (13) and ‘Ammar Abu ‘Afifah (18). Muhammad Salah was shot from behind by soldiers who were waiting in ambush in an area where teens and young men often throw Molotov cocktails. Salah, who was at the scene with a friend, threw a Molotov cocktail at the Separation Wall and it landed near the soldiers’ hiding place. They immediately fired at him without warning. He died of his wounds a short while later. Abu ‘Afifah was shot while he was taking a stroll with a friend in a wooded area near the town of Beit Fajjar. The two suddenly came across soldiers, panicked and fled. The soldiers then shot and killed Abu ‘Afifah. Although 13-year-old Muhammad Salah and 18-year-old ‘Ammar Abu ‘Afifah were killed in two separate incidents and under different circumstances, they are both victims of the same wanton open-fire policy that Israel employs in the West Bank. According to this policy, Palestinians are always “suspicious” and “dangerous,” meaning soldiers will often default to using lethal live fire even when they are not actually in danger, or when the danger can be averted by other, non-lethal means. Given all this, and despite the illegality and immorality of using live fire in these circumstances, it is clear that no one will be held to account for the killing of Palestinians. The following testimonies were collected by B’Tselem field researcher Musa Abu Hashhash. The killing of ‘Ammar Abu ‘Afifah (18) near Beit Fajjar, 1 March 2022: On Tuesday, 1 March 2022, at around 4:00 P.M., a 18-year-old and a 17-year-old from al-'Arrub Refugee Camp, south of Bethlehem, went for a walk outside the camp. Within about 15 minutes, the two young men, ‘Ammar Abu ‘Afifah and Muhammad S., reached a hill located about a kilometer north of the camp and several hundred meters from the settlement of Migdal Oz. Many residents of the refugee camp take walks on this hill and use it for recreation. Muhammad S. and Abu ‘Afifah visited the hill the day before, too, and spelled their names out with stones there. About 10 minutes after they reached the hill, a soldier suddenly appeared several meters away from them and called out to them to halt. The two panicked and tried to flee. Other soldiers arrived, and at least one of them fired at the two. Abu ‘Afifah fell as he was running, and when he managed to get up, the soldiers shot him. According to the autopsy, he was hit above the left eyebrow and in the shin. His friend managed to escape to the nearby town of Beit Fajjar and from there back to the refugee camp. Abu ‘Afifah was evacuated in an Israeli ambulance and pronounced dead soon after. In a testimony he gave on 4 March 2022, M.T., a resident of Beit Fajjar who works near the site of the incident, said: On Tuesday afternoon, while I was at work, I saw two young men walk past me and head towards the woods. They passed close by me and weren’t holding anything in their hands. I know the soldiers who are sometimes in those woods aren’t patient and can be violent towards young guys strolling there. The soldiers let families with women and children hang out there. About 10 minutes later, I heard a volley of shots in the woods. I didn’t know what happened until I saw one of the young guys running in my direction and on toward the first houses at the edge of Beit Fajjar. I saw four soldiers chasing him from two different directions. I kept watching him until he disappeared among the houses at the entrance to Beit Fajjar. He seemed to be one of the two young men who had passed by me 10 minutes earlier on their way to the hill. In a testimony he gave the day after the incident, Muhammad S., Abu ‘Afifah’s friend, said: At 4:00 P.M., I went with my friend ‘Ammar Abu ‘Afifah to a wooded area northeast of the camp. The walk took us a little under half an hour. A few minutes after we reached the hill, a soldier suddenly showed up from southwest, a few meters away from us. I heard him yell in Hebrew and then ‘Ammar and I started running away. I was running in front of ‘Ammar and then I heard massive shooting. I think more than one soldier was shooting there. ‘Ammar tripped and fell, and then he got up. I called out to him to run, but the shooting continued. I kept running, and I couldn’t see ‘Ammar behind me anymore. I had a feeling he’d been hit or arrested. I ran through some farm fields towards Beit Fajjar and got near to a car repair shop. Four soldiers were chasing me. I kept running between the buildings in Beit Fajjar until I got to the camp (al-'Arrub R.C.) at around 5:00 P.M. When I got there, I heard from people they’d read on social media that ‘Ammar had been killed. I was shocked and cried from the bottom of my heart. I couldn’t believe it. He was my best friend, and there was no reason to kill him. All we did was take a stroll in nature. The killing of Muhammad Salah (13) in al-Khader, 22 February 2022: On Tuesday, 22 February 2022, at around 7:00 P.M., soldiers who were waiting in ambush fired at Muhammad Salah, a 13-year-old from al-Khader, after he threw a Molotov cocktail at a tall section of the Separation Barrier near Road 60. Salah was shot from behind, after he threw the Molotov cocktail and turned around. His friend dragged him a few dozen meters down the hill they had been standing on, and then fled. Three soldiers ran over to the wounded Salah and gave him first aid. Several minutes later, they took him on a stretcher to an Israeli ambulance that was waiting on Road 60. He was pronounced dead shortly after. Ahmad J. lives in a building on the slope of the hill, across from the spot where the soldiers gave Salah first aid. In a testimony he gave on 24 February 2022, he recounted what happened that evening: I live in al-Khader, not far from the fence that separates the community from Road 60. Sometimes, usually in the evening, kids and young guys come and throw stones and Molotov cocktails at the road. There are almost always soldiers there, guarding the place and ambushing the kids. They throw stun grenades and fire tear gas, “rubber” and live shots to drive them away and stop them from getting close to the fence. On 22 February 2022, at around 7:00 P.M., I was at home on the top floor of our family house. I heard gunshots and immediately went to the balcony overlooking the road to see what was going on. I saw a teen dragging someone from the top of the hill. The person he was dragging looked like a minor and I assumed he was injured. Then I saw the teen leave the wounded person on the ground across from my house and run away. I saw a soldier running up to the wounded person. He saw me on the balcony and yelled at me in Hebrew to go inside. Two more soldiers came running. One of them was holding a first aid kit. He tried to give the wounded person CPR but I guess he didn’t respond, because the soldier took his clothes off and wrapped him in an aluminum blanket. A few minutes later, some more soldiers came and took the wounded person in a stretcher towards the gate in the fence. In a testimony he gave on 24 February 2022, Muhammad’s father, Rizeq Salah (48), a married father of six, recounted: On 22 February 2022, at around 6:00 P.M., Muhammad got back from the car repair shop where he’s apprenticing and wanted to go out. His mother and I tried to convince him to stay home and warned him he could get hurt, because there had been clashes with soldiers in that area in recent days. Muhammad tried to reassure his mother and said that if clashes started, he’d come home as soon as he heard the soldiers’ first shot. At around 7:30 P.M., my brother Muhammad called me and said a friend of my son’s had called them and told them my son Muhammad was injured. I drove right away to the neighborhood near the fence. Muhammad wasn’t there. Some residents told me a boy had been hurt and soldiers had taken him on a stretcher to Road 60. I drove over there, and saw some military vehicles and two Israeli ambulances by the side of the road. I tried to go up to the ambulances because I thought my son was in one of them, but the soldiers blocked my way. One of them yelled at me to get back and threatened to shoot me if I tried to approach. Then some relatives came and said that according to social media and the news, Muhammad had been martyred. When I got home, there were dozens of people at the front entrance. The Palestinian DCO told me Israel would give us the body at night, but it didn’t happen, and we had to wait until the next day at 2:00 P.M. We buried him that evening at the local cemetery. Muhammad was daring. He wasn’t afraid of anything. He had tons of friends, and I know they sometimes went to the area near the Separation Barrier to throw stones at the road. I warned him more than once not to do it because I was worried about him and because some young guys had been hurt there before.
Thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank enter Israel every day for work without a permit. The state is fully aware of this reality that serves its interests by guaranteeing cheap, disempowered labor. Despite this, soldiers lying in wait in front of gaps in the Separation Barrier or patrolling in military jeeps along the barrier’s security road open live fire at Palestinian workers crossing through these openings. As B’Tselem has previously reported, these planned shootings are not an independent initiative by a soldier or commander but policy implementation. It is clear that this policy is not — and cannot be — legal. After all, the workers do not endanger anyone, and all they ask for, as the military knows full well, is to provide for their families. Yet as far as Israel is concerned, this is policy. And due to this, no one will be held accountable for these acts — neither the soldiers who fired the shots, nor the commanders who planned the ambushes, nor the legal advisors who signed off on the policy, nor senior military officials. Since October 2019, B’Tselem has documented 36 cases of workers injured by live fire while attempting to enter or return from Israel through gaps in the Separation Barrier. Many of these incidents took place in Far’on, while others took place in other parts of Tulkarm District or in Jenin District. 11 January 2021, the injuring of nine workers at the Separation Barrier, Far’on: On Monday, 11 January 2021, soldiers lay in wait in front of gaps in the Separation Barrier near the village of Far’on, where Palestinians who do not have a permit try to enter Israel for work. Throughout the day, soldiers fired 0.22-inch caliber bullets (two-twos) without warning from a distance of 10 to 15 meters, injuring at least nine Palestinians in the legs. All nine were taken to hospitals in Tulkarm, and five suffered leg fractures. Below are testimonies collected by B’Tselem field researcher Abdulkarim Sadi from some of the victims: M.F. (25), a resident of Beit Imrin north of Nablus, set out from his home at around 3:30 A.M. He reached the fence about an hour later, crossed it, and was shot in the leg after he advanced several steps. In his testimony, he recounted: When I reached the gap in the fence, it was still dark. Some workers had already started coming to the area on their way to work. I crossed through the gap, and after a few steps, several shots were fired at me. I was hit in the left leg and fell down on the road. Because I was shocked and afraid, I got up and ran towards the cars parked in Far’on, east of the fence, about 200 meters away. I found a car that took me to a hospital in Tulkarm. I didn’t see the soldiers who shot at me. I only heard them chasing after me and calling me to stop. I was examined and x-rayed at the hospital, and it turned out that the bullet had caused a bone fracture. The doctors put my left leg in a cast. I’m still in hospital, receiving treatment, and undergoing more tests. B.A. (25), a resident of the village of Kafr ‘Abush, south of Tulkarm, works as an autobody mechanic in an auto repair shop inside Israel. He came to the gap in the fence around 6:30 A.M., as he does every day. After crossing and advancing several meters, he was shot in the leg. In his testimony, he recalled what happened that morning: On Monday morning, at around 6:30, I came to the area of the gap in the fence. There were dozens of workers there who had come from different parts of the northern West Bank. Everyone was going to their jobs in Israel through one of these gaps. I crossed the fence and advanced several steps. There were more workers in front of me. Then three shots were fired, and one hit my right leg. I fell down on the security road, and three soldiers came out of a nearby olive grove. They surrounded me and started treating me to stop the bleeding. About 15 minutes later, a military ambulance arrived. The paramedics gave me a pain relief shot because I couldn’t stand on my feet. The ambulance then took me to the Jbarah Checkpoint, where a waiting Palestinian ambulance rushed me to the hospital in Tulkarm. I was examined and x-rayed in the ER, and it turned out I have a fracture below my right knee. The doctors gave me a full leg cast. I’m supposed to stay in the hospital for a few days for further treatment. Living in poverty has pushed me into the risky venture of crossing the fence. If I had found work in Tulkarm or its vicinity, I wouldn’t have endangered myself like that. After all, I’m not going to Israel for travel or a change of scenery. I’m going there to work so I can support my family. I don’t know how long I’ll be confined and unable to work. It will take time for the bone to heal. B.’A. (29), a resident of Bal’a, east of Tulkarm, works as a plasterer in Israel. He arrived at the Separation Barrier at around 8:30 A.M. After he saw no soldiers in the area, he crossed the gap in the barrier and was shot in the leg. In his testimony, he recounted: When I came to the fence area at around 8:30 A.M., I kept watching the security road to see if any soldiers or military jeeps were there. When I saw there weren’t any, I advanced with several other workers that I didn’t know towards the gap where I usually cross over. After five or six workers went through, my turn came, and I crossed, too. After a few steps, I heard several shots. I didn’t know where they were fired from. It felt like I’d been electrocuted in my right leg. Out of fright, I started running back through the gap towards Far’on. Five or six soldiers stepped out from the olive trees in front of the gap and called me to stop. They chased after me, but I kept running. After about 400 meters, I lost them and reached a parked car. I got in, and the driver took me to the Far’on junction near the Palestinian National Security checkpoint. The Palestinian force called an ambulance that took me to the hospital in Tulkarm. I was examined and x-rayed in the ER. Luckily, it turned out that the two bullets had entered and exited my right leg without causing any bone fractures, but some fragments stayed inside. I’m still hospitalized and receiving anti-inflammatory treatments. N.’A. (20), a resident of Jinsafut southwest of Nablus, arrived at the Separation Barrier in the early morning hours. After hearing that several laborers had been shot by soldiers that day, he decided to return home, try to cross again in the evening, and stay overnight in Israel. At around 5:00 P.M., N.’A. came to the gap, crossed it, and was then shot. In his testimony, he recalled: Towards the evening, at around 5:00 P.M., I came back to the fence area west of Far’on. I didn’t know that soldiers were ambushing the workers. Several meters past the gap, I was shot in the right leg. I immediately started running towards Far’on because I was scared that the soldiers would grab me. Despite the intense pain and bleeding, I kept running away limping. After 300 meters, I found a parked taxi that drove me to the hospital in Tulkarm. I was x-rayed, and it turned out that two bullets had hit me. I was in a lot of pain, but luckily, the bullets didn’t hit a bone. I’m supposed to be discharged during the week, and the doctors say the wounds will heal soon. 1 February 2021, the injuring of two workers at the Separation Barrier, Barta’ah a-Sharqiyah: On Monday, 1 February 2021, at around 6:30 A.M., two workers from the Jenin area came to a gap in the Separation Barrier east of the Barta’ah a-Sharqiyah enclave. After they crossed, the two noticed a military jeep advancing towards them from about a hundred meters away. They began to flee, but the soldiers fired a live bullet at them, hitting one worker, ‘Araba resident Yazid Daoud (23), in the legs. In a testimony he gave on 7 February 2021, Daoud spoke about what happened that morning: On Monday morning, I went to a gap in the Separation Barrier with my friend, who also works in Israel. I passed through the gap, and suddenly, a military jeep arrived. We had just started running, and one soldier fired a bullet at me from about 100 meters away. The bullet hit my legs. At first, I didn’t feel I’d been hit because of the shock and panic. I ran with my friend for about 100 meters and then started feeling pain and bleeding heavily. Then my friend and some other guys who were there helped me get back through the gap and took me in a private car to a clinic in my village, ‘Araba. Sadly, the clinic was closed, so we called an ambulance that took me to the hospital in Jenin. At the ER, I was treated and x-rayed. I was discharged a few hours later, and the doctors ordered me to rest until I fully recover and scheduled a follow-up visit. Later that day, at around 3:30 P.M., Silat al-Harithiya resident Wasim al-Kheir (25) came back from his work in Israel with other workers. When he tried to pass through the gap in the barrier, soldiers lying in ambush fired at his leg from about 150 meters to the west. In a testimony he gave on 7 February 2021, he described what happened: On Monday, at around 3:30 P.M., I was coming home with a group of other workers working in Israel. I reached the gap in the barrier and didn’t see any soldiers around. As soon as I tried to pass through the gap, I heard four or five shots. It turned out that a group of soldiers, I don’t know how many exactly, ambushed us about 150 meters away from the gap where we’d passed and fired at us without warning. One bullet hit my left foot. I fell down immediately and workers who were near me picked me up and carried me through the gap. They brought me to a private car that was parked there and drove me to the government hospital in Jenin. At the hospital, they x-rayed me and took a bullet fragment out of my foot. There’s another fragment that the doctors preferred not to remove because they feared it would damage the foot. They put my leg in a cast and discharged me the same day to rest and recover. After the injury, I suffered from pain, and a doctor came to my house to monitor my condition. 10 February 2021 – the injuring of a 16-year-old at the Separation Barrier, Barta’ah a-Sharqiyah: On Wednesday, 10 February 2021, at around 4:30 P.M., two cousins from Ya’bad came to the gap in the Separation Barrier east of the enclave. The two, S.’A. (16) and A.’A. (17) saw a group of workers returning from Israel through the gap and decided to cross as well. Immediately after S.’A. crossed the opening, security forces shot him in the leg from a vehicle that was about 100 meters away from the teens. In a testimony he gave on 11 February 2021, S.’A. described what happened: I advanced towards the opening in the barrier, and my cousin was behind me. As soon as I crossed through, a bullet hit me in the left leg. I ran a few meters back, and then noticed I was bleeding heavily. I couldn’t run anymore and fell to the ground. Several soldiers got out of the vehicle and ran towards me, but luckily, some workers and drivers who were there picked me up right away and took me by private car to a clinic in Ya’bad. From there, I was taken by ambulance to the government hospital in Jenin. I was x-rayed at the hospital, and it turned out that the bullet had entered and exited through my left leg below the knee. My parents and family members came to the hospital. I stayed there for a few hours to receive treatment, and then I was discharged. The doctors didn’t want me to stay at the hospital, so I wouldn’t risk being infected with coronavirus.
