INTERVIEW – Palestinian American teen killed by Israeli forces in West Bank as US keeps silent

RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL

Israeli forces fatally shot Omar Mohammed Rabea, a Palestinian American teen, in the occupied West Bank this week, with his family accusing the US of turning a blind eye to his death.

"The US is silent about the Israeli narrative regarding the death of my son," his father Mohammed Rabea told Anadolu.

The 14-year-old boy was killed by Israeli army forces in the town of Turmus Ayya in the central West Bank on Monday.

Israeli authorities claimed that Omar and two other boys threw stones at Israeli vehicles on Route 60 near the town. His family denied the claim, saying Omar was in a field with friends eating fresh almonds.

Two other Palestinian children were also injured, including one seriously, in the same Israeli attack.

"We heard that three boys from the town were wounded. Two were taken to the hospital, but the fate of my son Omar remained unknown,” Mohammed said as he held up his son's US passport.

“I contacted the US Embassy, and an hour later, we received news of his martyrdom – his body had been held by the Israeli army,” the father recounted.

"We received the body late at night."

There was no immediate comment from the US Embassy in Jerusalem regarding the teen’s death.

Deliberate killing

The Palestinian father accused the Israeli army of deliberately killing his son.

“Omar was shot seven times – two bullets to the chest and heart, one to the head, and others to his limbs,” he said.

"The occupation could have wounded or arrested him, but they chose to execute him deliberately. A 14-year-old child certainly posed no threat – he was in a field eating almonds,” he continued.

"The Israeli army released a video showing three youths, allegedly from the town, throwing stones – but nothing in the footage confirms their claim."

The Palestinian father denounced US silence to the death of his son by Israeli fire.

"The passport says that the US will mobilize its naval fleet if necessary to protect American citizens. Where is that fleet? My son, an American citizen, has been killed."

“There are video and audio recordings documenting settler attacks that the US turns a blind eye to. This is clear discrimination and a policy of double standards.”

Mohammed stressed that his entire family holds US citizenship and that some members live already in the US.

"There is clear discrimination between Israeli and Palestinian American citizens. The US is unable – or unwilling – to stop Israeli arrogance and killings.”

"You must act to stop the killing of children and put an end to Israeli violence. Today, Palestinians are being killed with US support,” the grieving father said, in a message to US President Donald Trump.

Cold-blooded murder

Lafi Adeeb, the mayor of Turmus Ayya town, said the Israeli army intentionally targeted Palestinian children while in an almond field.

“The Israeli army intentionally killed and harmed them," he told Anadolu. "Even if the army’s claim that they threw stones is true, they could have been arrested.”

Adeeb accused the Israeli army of "cold-blooded murder," saying that they "executed Rabea at the scene after preventing him from receiving medical aid and keeping him there until he died."

He noted that the town is repeatedly subjected to Israeli attacks and that settlers have burned Palestinian vehicles and homes with army protection.

The mayor pointed to the nearby Shiloh settlement, located just meters from Rabea’s home: “This settlement was built on land stolen from Turmus Ayya and nearby Palestinian villages. They come to us, steal, and attack – all under army protection."

- Pattern of killings

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Omar’s death was part of extrajudicial killings committed by the Israeli army.

"Israel, as an illegitimate occupying power, continues to enjoy impunity, which encourages it to commit more crimes and violations,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The Palestinian people remain victims of the ongoing occupation and of the international community’s failure to fulfill its legal responsibilities toward the historic injustice inflicted upon them,” it added.

The ministry called for immediate measures “to stop the genocide, forced displacement, and crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces and settler militias against our people, and to ensure international protection – especially for Palestinian children."

According to Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Director of the Accountability Program at Defense for Children International – Palestine, nearly 200 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 2023.

At least 945 Palestinians have since been killed and over 7,000 others injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.