Israeli Border Police shoot live fire at Palestinian youths endangering no one in a-Ram, killing one

On Thursday, 26 January 2023, at around 1:30 P.M., Palestinian youths gathered by the northern entrance to the town of a-Ram, north of Jerusalem, to protest the killing of nine Palestinians in Jenin Refugee Camp that morning (another died of his wounds on 29 January) and the wounding of 20 others by Israeli forces. The young men threw stones at a military camp nearby. Dozens of Border Police officers drove out of the camp in several jeeps, stopped at a roundabout about 50 meters away from the youths and fired tear gas canisters at them. At intervals, they also hurled stun grenades and fired rubber-coated metal bullets and live shots at the youths.

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At around 3:00 P.M., some of the officers entered the town and took up positions at a roundabout. The young men fled in several directions and threw stones at the officers from a distance. A group of about 20 ran into an alley and dragged a large dumpster to the middle of the road. Sheltering behind it, they threw stones at several officers who were standing at the beginning of the alley, about 80 meters from them. The officers, two of whom sheltered behind a car parked along the side of the alley, fired tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets at them and hurled stun grenades.

At around 3:30, some of the youths hurled firecrackers at the officers. A video captured live by a journalist clearly shows the firecrackers in no way endangered the officers. Nevertheless, they started shooting live fire at the young men, injuring three, including Yusef Muheisen (22), who was hit in the arm. The youths started fleeing while the officers continued to shoot, and Muheisen was hit in the backside while trying to escape. The injured persons were taken to a medical clinic in the town and from there, Muheisen was taken to hospital in Ramallah by an ambulance that was 40 minutes late due to traffic jams created by Qalandia Checkpoint. Muheisen was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

The police issued a statement claiming that “many dozens of rioters” hurled firecrackers, Molotov cocktails and stones at the forces, and that “Border Police combatants sought contact to arrest several rioters, a terrorist hurled firecrackers at our forces from short range, and the company commander carried out precise fire at the terrorist, neutralizing him.” B'Tselem’s investigation and the footage captured by the journalist show this description is divorced from reality. There were not “many dozens of rioters,” and there was no “seeking contact,” “short range” or “precise fire.” Instead, two heavily shielded officers shot a young man in the backside from afar as he was fleeing them, endangering no one.

One of the youths who took part in the incident described what happened to B'Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri:

The clashes started around 1:30 P.M. Yusef Muheisen joined in around 3:00 P.M. At first, he didn’t take part but stood with me and some other young guys by the gas station. We were watching the guys throw stones at Border Police forces who were about 50 meters away from them, near the northern entrance to a-Ram. The occupation forces firetd “rubber bullets” and tear gas canisters and hurled stun grenades directly at the guys. They also fired live shots now and then. There were several jeeps and dozens of police officers there. At about 3:15, the forces started heading towards the guys, who ran away in two different directions. Some of them ran into alleys in the town, and the others ran in the opposite direction.

Yusef and I also ran towards an alley. The guys put a dumpster in the middle of the road and the occupation forces took up positions near Zuheir Idris’ grocery store, opposite the gas station. Stones were thrown at them from two different directions – from where I was with Yusef, and from inside the town. There were about 15 to 20 of us throwing stones, including Yusef. I didn't see exactly, but I think there were four police officers by the grocery store. They walked around a car parked there and stood behind it. They fired “rubber bullets” and tear gas canisters at us, and hurled stun grenades. We hid behind the dumpster.

Someone from our group hurled firecrackers at the occupation forces. The shrapnel barely reached them, because we were far away. They responded with live fire. Yusef was hit in the arm, and then two others were hit. All three of them ran away, and I followed them with the others. The officers fired again, I think three bullets, and Yusef was hit in the back by his right hip. I was behind him. I saw him wobble but keep running a bit and then fall down.

A passing car took Yusef and the other two wounded guys to a medical center in a-Ram. I got there after them and Yusef was still alive. He was breathing and reciting the Shahadatain. The other two were in stable condition. After about 40 minutes, an ambulance arrived. It was delayed a long time by the regular Thursday traffic jam in Kafr ‘Aqab. I rode in the ambulance with Yusef, and he died on the way. The crew asked me not to tell anyone that Yusef was dead and leave it to the relevant authorities to announce. So I didn't say anything until the doctors at the hospital in Ramallah announced Yusef was martyred.

Seif a-Din al-Qawasmi (21), a photojournalist with AlQastal News, also told B'Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri about what happened that day:

On Thursday, 26 January 2023, at around 3:00 P.M., I went to the northern intersection at a-Ram to document clashes going on between young guys and Border Police. The police officers were still outside the town and firing tear gas canisters from a military jeep. I stood next to Zuheir Idris' grocery store and filmed what was happening. I was more than 100 meters away from the officers. At that point, they started slowly making their way into the town. Dozens of young guys were throwing stones at them from far away, but were beginning to disperse because there was so much tear gas.

There were more than 20 Border Police officers there. I saw at least two military jeeps drive up from the military camp, and tear gas canisters fired from one of them. When they got close to the gas station, the guys split into two groups. One group ran to the town center and the other to an alley on the right. I started livestreaming on AlQastal’s Facebook page, and also filming with a regular camera. After the guys ran away, most of the clashes took place in the area closer to the entrance to a-Ram, near the a-Riyad event hall. The officers ordered me to get out, and I moved away quickly to avoid their fire. I stood at the entrance to the gas station, filming. I saw a group of about 20 guys drag a lage dumpster to the middle of the street. They threw stones at officers standing far away from them.

Two Border Police officers, one of them a commander, were standing by a black car next to Zuheir Idris’s grocery store. There were two other officers a few meters behind them. The officers by the car shot live rounds. After about 10 minutes, the guys started hurling firecrackers at the officers, but none of them hit them.

One of the officers shot live rounds at the guys, and then the clashes stopped and the police left. A few minutes later, I was informed some people injured by the shots were at the a-Ram medical center. I headed there to see them but before I got there, an ambulance took them to hospital in Ramallah. At the center, I was told one of the wounded men was Yusef Muheisen. I went to the hospital in Ramallah to see how he was, and when I got there he was dead.