Report: Israeli forces confiscate body of teenager killed in West Bank

Child rights group Defense for Children International–Palestine (DCIP) has shared details of the killing of a 17-year-old Palestinian by Israeli forces over the weekend, saying that the army confiscated his body.

Israeli forces allege that Ahmad Khalil Rajabi attempted to run over a soldier on Sunday, but his father refuted the accusation, saying that Ahmad was driving the family car to visit a friend at Alia Governmental Hospital in the city centre.

DCIP said in a statement that the soldiers yelled at Ahmad to stop when he was beside them in the second lane. The vehicle moved past the soldiers for several metres before Ahmad halted and backed up no more than five metres, when the soldiers immediately began shooting at the car.

“There is no rule of law for Palestinian children,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability programme director at DCIP.

“Palestinian families are left to piece together how their child was killed, and in many cases are denied even the basic dignity of burying them, as Israel continues to withhold children's bodies in violation of international law.”

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 53 Palestinian children so far this year, according to DCIP. The seizure of Ahmad’s body brings to 55 the number of Palestinian children whose remains Israel has withheld from their families since 2016.

Israeli forces killed 17-year-old Ahmad Khalil Ahmad Rajabi in Hebron and then confiscated his body. Ahmad was driving to visit a friend when soldiers opened fire on his car. Israel has killed 53 Palestinian children in the West Bank this year. Read more: https://t.co/Dv3AaPwpPk pic.twitter.com/eczI0XUtnO

— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) December 10, 2025