The father of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was shot dead by an Israeli sniper in the occupied West bank says he cannot do anything to bring the killer to justice.
He says his son never pointed a firework he held at Israeli forces. The Israeli army has now put conditions on the release of his son’s body.
Rami Hamdan was shot dead by an Israeli sniper in the Shu’fat refugee camp in East al-Quds on Tuesday, as he was holding a firework.
The regime has allowed its forces to shoot at those who fire fireworks at officers. But, according to his father, Ali, who witnessed the incident, his son never pointed the stick toward the Israeli police.
According to a report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the officer fired a single shot at Hamdan, apparently from a relatively long distance, while he was in a significantly elevated position compared to the teenager.
Family members of Rami, including his father, insist that there is no chance he had endangered the Israeli police officer who shot him.
However, officials in Israel’s so-called ministry of justice say there is low likelihood that the Israeli officer who killed Rami is brought before a court over the killing, partly due to a precedent where officers who fired during protest rallies were acquitted by previous court rulings.
The Shu’fat refugee camp, located on the outskirts of East al-Quds, is overcrowded, with some 70,000 inhabitants.
“He ate and went to the mosque. He finished the prayer and came out. That’s what it’s like in Ramadan, he came out like all the children, they play, talk. There were maybe five or six children there. It was quiet, no stones or anything,” Rami’s father said.
“I looked at him and suddenly I see my son falling to the ground. I came to him, turned him over and saw he had a bullet in his chest. He couldn’t utter a word,” he added.
According to Haaretz, Rami ran and waved the lighted firecracker in the air, but before his firecracker was fired, a shot was heard and he fell to the ground.
More than 400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023.
The Israeli campaign in Gaza since that October day has killed at least 31,180 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The regime has imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
