Shot, framed, aid blocked: Inside Palestinian teen's final 45 minutes

A Palestinian family in the occupied West Bank has spent months waiting for answers and for the return of their teenage son’s body after he was shot by Israeli soldiers and left bleeding in a narrow alley of his refugee camp. According to video cited by the BBC, 14-year-old Jad Jadallah lay wounded on the ground and soldiers stood nearby after shooting him.

The shooting occurred in November last year in al-Far’a camp, north of Nablus, an area that frequently sees Israeli military raids. Israel said such operations target armed groups in the camps. But in this case, video and witness accounts have cast doubt on those claims.

CCTV footage captured the moment Jad Jadallah encountered Israeli troops. The images show three boys peering around a corner after hearing that military vehicles were leaving the camp. Unknown to them, four soldiers were still positioned just metres away, concealed behind a wall.

TEEN BOY SHOT AND LEFT BLEEDING IN ALLEY

His friends spotted the soldiers and ran. But Jad Jadallah did not react in time. A soldier stepped forward from close range and fired. The boy turned and tried to run up the alley. The footage shows many shots being fired from behind before he collapsed out of view after only a few steps.

Moments later showed Jad Jadallah lying wounded. He tried to get the soldiers’ attention by waving his arms and tossing his hat towards them. The soldiers appeared to ignore him and kicked the hat back. According to the BBC’s reconstruction of the timeline, he remained there for at least 45 minutes.

Two Palestinian ambulances reached the area within minutes but were blocked by Israeli troops, paramedics told the BBC. They said they could see the injured boy but were not allowed to approach.

Emergency call records shared with showed an ambulance arrived about eight minutes after the shooting. Lead paramedic Hassan Fouqha said his crew was held at gunpoint roughly 100 yards away while the boy lay bleeding. They watched helplessly for more than half an hour.

A second ambulance that tried to reach the scene from another direction was also stopped. Israeli soldiers eventually placed Jad Jadallah into a military vehicle, but by then he had died.

The Israeli military told the BBC that troops had given "initial medical treatment" after checking that the boy was not carrying explosives.

CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS OF THE SHOOTING

The Israeli military said the boy had thrown a rock at soldiers, which is an act that can allow lethal force under its rules of engagement. But footage showed a soldier later placing an object beside the boy and photographing it. It looked like an attempt to portray him as a threat after the shooting.

Jad Jadallah grew up in al-Far’a, a crowded refugee camp of about 10,000 people. Israeli raids there are frequent. The United Nations says dozens of Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in the past year alone, and hundreds since the October 2023 Hamas attacks.

Months later, his body has still not been returned.

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