• Israel’s minister of national security praises the killing of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy near occupied east Jerusalem in the Shuafat refugee camp
• A killing that follows a string of Israeli murders in the occupied West Bank in the holiest month of the year for Muslims
Israel’s Ben Gvir, national security minister, has praised the killing of a 12 year old Palestinian boy. He said, “I support the border guard fighters who are operating at this time and are risking their lives now against dozens of Arab rioters in Shu’fat.” He later added, “I support the soldier who killed the terrorist who tried to shoot fireworks at him and the troops – this is exactly how you should act against terrorists – with determination and precision,”. There are multiple absurd claims he has made in this one telegram post alone. Firstly, he said that he supports the soldier who killed a ‘terrorist’. A 12-year-old boy who shot a firework in any humane country would not be named a terrorist right away, as it was here. Not just that, but he insinuated that the 12-year-old Palestinian child was a rioter. Video evidence from the scene specifically shows that the boy who shot the firework aimed it in the air and not at police targets. But even if he were to have done so, to be shot as a result is a disproportionate response that would not be accepted in any Western country. If a 12-year-old boy were to have shot a firework at a police officer in the UK, regardless of the reasoning, a death sentence as a response would be met by fury amongst government politicians, and any politician left defending the killing would be removed immediately, even if he were a prime minister. Israel’s allies have a far better internal moral framework than Israel itself, but they feel reluctant to fix or even question the genocidal framework continuously perpetuated in Israel by Israeli politicians and Israelis alike.
Rami al-Halhouli is the name of the 12-year-old boy killed by Israel. In the footage capturing the Palestinian boy, it can be clearly seen that the firework had been aimed in the air, away from any civilian or occupational force. After Halhouli had been shot, family members and other Palestinians could be seen gathering around his body, with a woman seen to be screaming his name. He was taken to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital’s trauma unit, a hospital in Jerusalem, but was pronounced dead shortly after. Local media reported that residents had said the firework was not directed at soldiers and did not pose any threat or danger to Israelis. Israel’s Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) had questioned the police responsible for the killing, but Ben Gvir was not pleased. He said, “It is outrageous to me that the Department of Internal Police Investigations even dared to invite the fighter here for questioning, it is shameful and disgraceful,” he said, accompanied by the officer’s lawyers. He also added that he had reinstated police officers who were previously suspended by the DIPI and that he would give his support to the questioned officer.
12 year old Rami al-Halhouli was shot dead by an Israeli soldier after firing a firework in the air.
A string of attacks against Palestinians on the same day
On the same day that Al-Halhouli was killed, a man and a child near the town of al-Jib were also killed. The man was identified as 23 years old, and the boy was a mere 16. In the occupied west bank of the city of Jenin, two others were also killed and four injured after Israeli forces opened fire near the entrance of the Jenin Governmental Hospital.
Continuous attacks on Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank risk escalation
After more than 300 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7, including more than 64 children and thousands of Palestinians injured, it becomes evident that Israel is fastening its ethnic cleansing campaign against Palestinians outside of Gaza too. On top of the violence against worshippers trying to access the third-holiest mosque in the most holy month of the year for Muslims, it becomes evident that Israel has no fear of escalating the situation and bringing about the complete destruction of the Palestinian people. In November, almost a month after Israel launched its genocide campaign in Gaza, Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said a nuclear bomb on Gaza was an option. Eliyahu is still the Heritage Minister and has not been forced to resign by the ruling Israeli political party. This is more evidence that Israel is a pro-genocidal nation whose leaders are unwavering in their genocidal ambitions.
In November Israeli heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu said dropping a nuke on Gaza ‘is an option’ further highlighting the state led genocidal tendencies amongst the Israeli elite.
A nation of ISIS would be met with bombs, and a person supporting ISIS would be locked away or also faced by bombs. During the Kosovo War, NATO bombed Serbia, killing civilians and attacking media outlets. NATO had killed 16 media workers in the bombing of the RTS media network in Serbia. In NATO’s defence, they labelled the media outlets as well as the people who worked there as complicit because of the very fact that they supported and worked for a genocidal regime and military. If this is the case, why is it justified to allow Israeli politicians or Israeli media who have been propagating this genocide in Gaza against Palestinians, as well as the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in the West Bank, to continue to rule? Unfortunately, NATO and the nation states within them have failed to call out Israel for what it is, a terror state.
The 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia targeted news stations and workers who were deemed complicit in genocide, same does not apply to Israel, whose majority wants the genocide in Gaza to continue
