US calls on Israel to stop use of ‘deadly force’ against Palestinians

The US has urged Israel to re-evaluate its deadly violence and the practices it imposes during military raids against Palestinians following the murder of two-year-old Mohammed Al-Tamimi from the village of Nabi Saleh.

“We express our condolences to the family of Mohammed Al-Tamimi. We urge Israel to evaluate all use of deadly force that involves civilian casualties, and we call on Israeli and Palestinian leadership to take responsible actions to end the conflict,” the US Office of Palestinian Affairs said in a statement yesterday.

We express our condolences to the family of Muhammad Tamimi. We urge Israel to evaluate all use of deadly force that involves civilian casualties and we call on Israeli and Palestinian leadership to take responsible actions to end the conflict.

— U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (@USPalAffairs) June 6, 2023

On Monday, Mohammad, who was months shy of his third birthday, succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head, inflicted after he and his father came under Israeli gunfire near their home while driving to visit relatives.

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His father, Haitham, was shot in the shoulder.

Following Mohammed’s death, the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement condemning “Israel’s responsibility for the killing of 28 Palestinian children since the beginning of the year.”

The statement also called for an international investigation, and for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to take steps against Israel.

Tension has been escalating across the occupied West Bank for months, amid Israeli raids on Palestinian towns. The Israeli military acknowledged the incident, expressing regret that “non-combatants” had been harmed and that “the incident will be investigated.”

In response, the PA office called the Israeli investigation “irrelevant, as its only goal is to whitewash, lie and protect the political and military ranks in the occupation state.”

According to the Palestinian office of Defence for Children International, Al-Tamimi was one of 27 Palestinian minors killed as a result of Israeli military and settler activity in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza since January.

READ: Mother of slain Palestinian child calls for justice