Ben Gvir says sniper who killed 12-year-old boy 'deserves award'
Undercover units of Israel's Border Police regularly kill Palestinian children without any accountability
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has praised the sniper who shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy shooting fireworks amid clashes with Israeli police, Haaretz reported on 13 March.
On Tuesday, a sniper in an undercover combat unit of the Border Police opened fire on the young boy, Rami Hamdan al-Halhouli, after he shot a firework high in the air during confrontations in the narrow streets of the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem.
Ben Gvir saluted the officer who killed the boy. “This is exactly how you should act against terrorists – with determination and precision,” he said.
In a statement, Israeli Border Police claimed violent riots broke out in the camp and that during the unrest, a single shot was fired by an officer towards a suspect “who endangered the forces while firing aerial fireworks in their direction.”
However, the video of the moment Halhouli shot the fireworks gives no indication that Israeli forces were in any danger.
“The suspect was apprehended, arrested, and transferred for medical treatment,” the statement added. The boy died from the gunshot wound at Hadassah Hospital.
Following the incident, the sniper was summoned for questioning at the Police Investigations Department (PID).
Ben Gvir, who oversees the Border Police as National Security Minister, responded to the news of the summons by saying the sniper “should receive a reward – not an investigation by the Israel Defense Forces.”
Undercover Border Police units, who dress in civilian clothes and speak Arabic, regularly kill Palestinian children during raids into the occupied West Bank.
Last year, Human Rights Watch issued a statement saying the “Israeli military and border police forces are killing Palestinian children with virtually no recourse for accountability.”
The rights group reported that Israeli forces had killed at least 34 Palestinian children in the West Bank during 2023 as of 22 August.
Since the start of the war in Gaza on 7 October last year, Israeli forces have killed 427 Palestinians in the West Bank.