On Tuesday, November 11 of this year, at around 11:30 AM, an Israeli soldier fired a single shot at the chest of 19-year-old Palestinian Muhammad Jawabreh as he stood by the window in his West Bank home in the al-‘Arrub Refugee Camp. Jawabreh was fatally wounded by the shot and was rushed to al-Mezan Hospital in Hebron, where he was pronounced dead.
The window through which Muhammad Jawabreh looked out when fatally shot, and the rooftop where the soldiers stood. (Photo: B’Tselem)
B’Tselem’s investigation determined that Jawabreh had taken part earlier that morning in clashes between camp residents and Israeli security forces near the intersection at the entrance to the camp, on Route 60. At around 9:00 AM, Jawabreh was struck in the leg by a rubber-coated metal bullet, after which he left the scene and went home with a friend. After arriving at Jawabreh’s home, some 250 meters northwest of the intersection, the two went up to the second floor, which is under construction, drank tea and watched the clashes from the window. Soldiers standing on the roof of a house some 55 meters away, shouted at them to move away from the window. One of the soldiers then fired a teargas canister at them, which did not penetrate the window. The two Palestinian youths then went down to the ground floor of the building.
Some two hours later, Jawabreh’s cousin ‘Issam Jawabreh came over and the three young men went up to the second floor to watch the clashes. Approximately fifteen minutes later, while Muhammad Jawabreh was standing by the window holding a teapot, he was shot with no prior warning.
‘Issam Jawabreh, a physician, gave his cousin first aid, called for an ambulance, and began driving him to hospital. He met the ambulance on the way and Jawabreh was transferred to that vehicle, which reached al-Mezan Hospital in Hebron at approximately 12:00 noon. Some fifteen minutes later, Muhammad Jawabreh was pronounced dead. After he was taken to hospital, soldiers came to the home and searched it. They told the family that they were searching for a gun they had seen in Jawabreh’s hand. They searched the second floor and the yard, and left after about half an hour without finding anything.
Since the beginning of 2014, Israeli security forces have killed 44 Palestinians in the West Bank. Of these, 43 were killed with live fire, although very few of the cases justified use of lethal force. The fact that Israeli soldiers do not see live fire as a last resort to be used only when their lives are in immediate danger demonstrates that Israel’s open-fire regulations in the OPT are either leniently worded or are too leniently interpreted by commanders. The security forces in general, and specifically high-ranking commanders, are very rarely held accountable for killing Palestinians. Policy makers in the government and the army of occupation bear direct responsibility for allowing this gross disregard for Palestinian lives to continue.
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Soldier shoots and kills Muhammad Jawabreh at home, from afar, although he posed no risk
