{"id":317903,"date":"2026-07-06T12:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=317903"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:18:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:18:52","slug":"israel-killing-west-bank-children-at-highest-rate-in-decades-with-virtually-no-accountability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2026\/07\/israel-killing-west-bank-children-at-highest-rate-in-decades-with-virtually-no-accountability\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Killing West Bank Children at Highest Rate in Decades \u2018with Virtually No Accountability\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Palestinian boy stands in an alleyway as armed Israeli soldiers stand guard in the occupied West Bank on 13 Jun 2026.\u00a0 (Photo by Mosab Shawer \/ Middle East Images \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe system does not merely back those who pull the trigger\u2014it effectively grants them a license to kill,\u201d said the Israeli human rights group B\u2019Tselem.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

29 Jun 2026\u00a0<\/em>–\u00a0Between October 2023 and June 2026, Israel\u2019s military killed Palestinian children<\/a> in the occupied West Bank<\/a> at the highest rate since 1967, according to a report published Monday by the Israeli human rights<\/a> organization B\u2019Tselem.<\/p>\n

The report, titled Unshielded Childhood<\/em><\/a>, argues that \u201cthe unprecedented scale of killing of Palestinian children and teenagers by Israeli forces is the result of a reckless open-fire policy, expanded to be even more permissive than in the past, that is currently being implemented in the West Bank.\u201d Between October 7, 2023 and June 28, 2026, Israeli forces killed more than 240 children and teenagers, with 54 killed in 2025 alone.<\/p>\n

The report, which tells the story of each <\/a>child<\/a> killed by Israeli forces last year, quotes Israel\u2019s top West Bank commander, Avi Bluth, who recently boasted<\/a> that Israeli forces are \u201ckilling like we haven\u2019t killed since 1967\u201d\u2014a reference to the Six-Day War in which Israel seized the West Bank. Among those killed between the start of 2025 and June 7, 2026 were two brothers<\/a>\u2014one 5 years old, the other 6\u2014and a seven-month-old baby<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yuli Novak, executive director of B\u2019Tselem, said in a statement that \u201cthe widespread, unprecedented killing of Palestinian children and teenagers in the West Bank is the result of a broader Israeli policy that enables the killing of Palestinians<\/a> with virtually no accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the military commander of the area boasts that Israel is killing Palestinians \u2018like we haven\u2019t killed since 1967,\u2019 he is confirming exactly that: The system does not merely back those who pull the trigger\u2014it effectively grants them a license to kill,\u201d Novak added.<\/p>\n

Citing fellow Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din, B\u2019Tselem noted that \u201cno indictments are known to have been filed in cases involving killings in the West Bank\u201d since October 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet the immunity guaranteed in advance and the absence of any real demand for accountability after these crimes are committed are not confined to the legal sphere,\u201d the report states. \u201cThey are also reflected in \u2018public impunity\u2019 that stems from the Israeli public\u2019s indifference to the killing of Palestinian children.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u05d1\u05e9\u05e0\u05ea 2025 \u05d4\u05e8\u05d2\u05d4 \u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc \u05d4\u05e8\u05d2\u05d4 54 \u05d9\u05dc\u05d3\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05e0\u05d5\u05e2\u05e8 \u05e4\u05dc\u05e1\u05d8\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05d2\u05d3\u05d4 \u05d4\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea.<\/p>\n

\u05d4\u05d3\u05d5\u05f4\u05d7 \u05d4\u05d7\u05d3\u05e9 \u05e9\u05dc\u05e0\u05d5 \u05de\u05e1\u05e4\u05e8 \u05d0\u05ea \u05e1\u05d9\u05e4\u05d5\u05e8\u05dd \u05e9\u05dc \u05db\u05dc \u05d0\u05d7\u05d3 \u05d5\u05d0\u05d7\u05ea \u05de\u05d4\u05dd.<\/p>\n

\u05de\u05d0\u05d6 \u05d0\u05d5\u05e7\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1\u05e8 2023 \u05e0\u05d4\u05e8\u05d2\u05d5 \u05d1\u05d9\u05d3\u05d9 \u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc \u05d1\u05d2\u05d3\u05d4 \u05d4\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea 1,086 \u05e4\u05dc\u05e1\u05d8\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd, \u05d1\u05d4\u05dd 241 \u05d9\u05dc\u05d3\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05e0\u05d5\u05e2\u05e8 \u2013 \u05d5\u05d1\u05d4\u05dd \u05d2\u05dd \u05e1\u05d0\u05dd \u05d0\u05d1\u05d5 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05db\u05dc, \u05ea\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05e7 \u05d1\u05df \u05e9\u05d1\u05e2\u05d4 \u05d7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9\u05d9\u05dd. \u05d0\u05dc\u05d4 \u05d0\u05d9\u05e0\u05dd \u05de\u05e7\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d7\u05e8\u05d9\u05d2\u05d9\u05dd,\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/j96gyE3dAQ<\/a>
\n\u2014 B’Tselem \u05d1\u05e6\u05dc\u05dd \u0628\u062a\u0633\u064a\u0644\u0645 (@btselem) June 29, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

B\u2019Tselem linked the spike in Israeli forces\u2019 killing of Palestinian children in the West Bank to \u201cthe military\u2019s declared easing of open-fire regulations<\/a> at the end of 2021, reportedly permitting soldiers to use lethal fire against stone throwers in a departure from previous rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new regulations permitted use of lethal fire even at individuals fleeing after suspectedly throwing stones, who no longer posed a danger\u2014in violation of international law<\/a>,\u201d the group noted. \u201cAfter 7 October 2023, the rules of engagement were further expanded, leading to another sharp rise in fatalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

B\u2019Tselem\u2019s investigation found that just two of the 54 Palestinian children and teenagers killed in the West Bank last year were armed with guns at the time they were killed by Israeli forces.<\/p>\n

The group continued:<\/p>\n

Thirteen were shot while throwing stones at roads or at armored Israeli forces, with no injuries reported from the stone-throwing. By contrast, at least 21 were not involved in any clashes, even when clashes were taking place nearby that included stone-throwing, hurling explosives or live fire. Regarding 12 minors, the military claimed they had tried to injure forces by throwing Molotov cocktails, IEDs ,or stones; B\u2019Tselem\u2019s investigation could neither verify nor refute this claim. Another teen was the object of a targeted killing. Forty-seven of the children and teenagers were killed by gunfire, and the remaining seven in airstrikes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

B\u2019Tselem emphasized that the West Bank killings \u201ccannot be separated from Israel\u2019s killing of more than 21,000 Palestinian children in the Gaza<\/a> Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy allowing Israel to kill on such a scale in Gaza<\/a> without consequences, the international community has effectively given it a green light to pursue the same lethal policy in the West Bank,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cAs long as Israel continues to enjoy near-total impunity in the world, the lives of Palestinians\u2014including children\u2014will remain unprotected and exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Jake Johnson is a staff writer for<\/i> Common Dreams.<\/p>\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original – commondreams.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

29 Jun 2026\u00a0–\u00a0\u201cThe system does not merely back those who pull the trigger\u2014it effectively grants them a license to kill,\u201d said the Israeli human rights group B\u2019Tselem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":317905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[3287,1559,532,405,1854,101,100,1199,865,88,2416,427,3534,2897,880,99,70,965,1025],"class_list":["post-317903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-palestine-israel-gaza-genocide","tag-anti-zionism","tag-collective-punishment","tag-colonialism","tag-colonization","tag-crimes-against-humanity","tag-cultural-violence","tag-direct-violence","tag-ethnic-cleansing","tag-genocide","tag-israel","tag-israeli-occupation","tag-palestine","tag-palestinian-holocaust","tag-sociocide","tag-state-terrorism","tag-structural-violence","tag-usa","tag-war-crimes","tag-west-bank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317903"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":317906,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317903\/revisions\/317906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}