Twelve-year-old Rami al-Halhouli was fatally shot while playing with fireworks in a Jerusalem refugee camp
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has commended a border guard who killed a young Palestinian boy playing in occupied East Jerusalem, describing the 12-year-old child as a “terrorist.”
In posts to his Telegram channel on Tuesday, Ben-Gvir claimed the border officer “shot a terrorist” who had tried to “use firecrackers” against Israeli forces the night prior, arguing the guard did “exactly what was expected of him” in executing the unarmed preteen.
“I salute 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,” he added in another post.
The minister was referring to the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old Palestinian, later identified as Rami al-Halhouli, who was killed as he and other youths played with fireworks in East Jerusalem’s Shufat refugee camp earlier this week.
Footage of the slaying has circulated online, showing the boy preparing to set off a firework before a gunshot rings out. He is briefly seen falling to the ground before the video ends, and was later brought to a local trauma unit in critical condition, according to hospital staff cited by CNN. He was pronounced dead soon after.
While Israeli officials acknowledged the incident and said officers in the area had been attacked with fireworks and molotov cocktails in recent days, it is unclear how the small, Roman candle-like firework would pose a threat to the heavily armed border troops.
Palestinian journalist Jalal Abukhater later noted that local children often set off fireworks as a “Ramadan tradition,” saying al-Halhouli was “murdered” by a “vengeful Israeli soldier.” Residents of the Shufat camp similarly told local media that the fireworks “were never directed at the police officers and did not pose any danger to them.”
As Israel’s national security chief, Ben-Gvir has been a vocal champion of the Gaza war – which so far has left more than 31,000 Palestinians dead and devastated much of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure. He has repeatedly cheered the deaths of non-combatants in both Gaza and the West Bank, explicitly justifying the targeting of women and children.
“We cannot have women and children getting close to the border… anyone who gets near must get a bullet [in the head],” the far-right minister said during a debate with officials last month, where he called to further loosen the military’s rules of engagement.