16-year-old Ammar Yasser Mohammad Ta’amrah was shot and killed by Israeli forces. Photo courtesy of the Ta’amrah family.
Ramallah, December 20, 2025—Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in the southern occupied West Bank last week.
Ammar Yasser Mohammad Ta’amrah, 16, was shot and killed by Israeli forces around 4:30 p.m. on December 15 in the Palestinian town of Tuqu’, southeast of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine. Ammar was shot in the chest while heading to the bakery in the town center, where his father works and where he often goes to help him.
“Ammar was a child walking through his own town when he was shot and killed by Israeli forces,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “This killing reflects the reality Palestinian children live under, where military force is used routinely and lethally, with no regard for civilian life and no accountability. As long as Israeli soldiers are shielded from consequences, Palestinian children will continue to be treated as legitimate targets rather than protected persons under international law.”
Israeli forces entered the town of Tuqu’ on December 15 from its western entrance, proceeding to the town center, where they fired tear gas and live ammunition at residents when Ammar was shot.
Ammar was transported by car to the town’s clinic and then transferred to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital in Bethlehem, where he was pronounced dead. According to the family, the Palestinian liaison office requested clarification from the Israeli liaison office about the incident. The liaison office claimed that the shooting occurred after a Palestinian person allegedly threw a large stone at soldiers.
Following the funeral and burial of Ammar, clashes erupted near the northeastern entrance to the town, resulting in yet another killing of a Palestinian youth.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed 55 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Investigations and evidence collected by DCIP regularly demonstrate that Israeli forces use lethal force against Palestinian children in circumstances that amount to extrajudicial or wilful killings.