This article has been updated to include a further statement by the Freedom Theater.
Jerusalem24 – A Palestinian teenager was shot and killed by the Israeli army during a military invasion of Jenin refugee camp this morning.
17-year-old Mahmoud Al-Saadi was walking to the Farhat Hashad School for Boys where he was a student when he was shot in the abdomen with live ammunition, according to sources on the ground.
He was transported to Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin in critical condition. The Ministry of Health announced his death shortly after 10 AM.
Mahmoud is the thirty-sixth child to have been shot and killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers or following Israeli military intervention in the West Bank this year. 2022 has been the deadliest year for children in the West Bank since 2003 at the height of the Second Intifada, when 56 children were killed by Israeli fire.
“A promising future”
The Freedom Theater in Jenin issued several statements mourning Mahmoud, who was a youth trainer at the theater.
According to the theater, Mahmoud was still deciding whether to study at university after the end of the school year or to return to the theater school and complete the drama education program he had started when he was younger.
“A skilled and passionate trainer for our Child and Youth Program, he brought his unique character to this work, bringing hope and a new way of seeing the world to young people,” the statement said. “Mahmoud had a promising future ahead of him, and we were excited to see where his work in theatre would lead him.”
Another statement read: “You are a man with a big heart and a child full of caring. You are a sweet, naughty, innocent, quiet, hard-working, strong and respectful friend. May God be with you Mahmoud.”
Daytime raids, house sieges, and anti-tank missiles: The new normal
During the daytime invasion which began shortly before 8 AM, the Israeli military deployed snipers to rooftops and empty buildings and laid siege to a house, calling on resident Ratib Al-Bali to surrender before firing anti-tank Energa missiles at the house.
Al-Bali reportedly surrendered as his family was inside the house when the firing began, according to sources on the ground.
Confrontations between the military and armed Palestinian fighters subsequently broke out leading to five injuries from live ammunition, including Mahmoud’s, according to the Ministry of Health.
Since May of this year, and as part of the so-called “Operation Break the Wave”, the Israeli military has been engaging in protracted house sieges as opposed to sting arrest operations, with at least two instances of the target’s family including children being present in the house at the time of the siege.
A total of 134 Palestinians have now been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank including East Jerusalem in 2022.
