“The killing of Ali Ayman Abu Aliya by the Israeli Defense Forces – in circumstances where there was no threat of death or serious injury to the Israeli Security Forces – is a grave violation of international law,” special rapporteurs Michael Lynk and Agnès Callamard said in a statement.
“Intentional lethal force is justified only when the security personnel are facing an immediate threat of deadly force or serious harm,” they added.
The boy was the sixth Palestinian child killed in 2020 by Israeli forces using live ammunition, said the experts. On 4 December, he was shot in the abdomen by an Israeli soldier, during protests by Palestinian youths against the construction of a nearby illegal Israeli settlement outpost. He died later that day in a hospital.
Some 1,048 Palestinian children have been injured by Israeli security forces across the Occupied Palestinian Territory between 1 November 2019 and 31 October 2020, added the experts, citing information received.
“Children enjoy special protected rights under international law … each of these killings raises deep concerns about Israel’s adherence to its solemn human rights and humanitarian law obligations as the occupying power,” they said.
The Israeli Security Forces announced that they would conduct an investigation into Abu Aliya’s killing. The human rights experts noted, however, that investigations by the Israeli Defense Forces of fatal shootings of Palestinians by its soldiers rarely result in appropriate accountability.
Civil society organizations have documented the deaths of 155 Palestinian children by Israeli Security Forces using live ammunition or crowd-control weapons since 2013, the experts added. Only three indictments on criminal charges have been issued for offences directly tied to those killings.
In one case, the charges were dropped; the responsible soldier reached a plea deal and was sentenced to nine months jail for death by negligence; and in the third, a soldier was convicted of not obeying orders and sentenced to one month in military prison.
They called on Israel to either conduct an independent, impartial, prompt and transparent civilian investigation according to international standards, or to allow an international impartial and independent human rights review to be conducted.
“Such an investigation – domestic or international – must be directed towards ensuring that children living under occupation no longer face death or injury when exercising their legitimate right to protest, and that the culture of impunity for military misconduct is ended.”