In a new escalation reflecting the intensifying violence of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank, two Palestinian youths were killed within less than an hour.
Mohammed Raslan Mahmoud Asmar, aged 18, from Beit Rima, succumbed to critical gunshot wounds sustained near the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah. Witnesses reported that Israeli occupation forces shot him, then prevented Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics from approaching to administer first aid, leaving him to bleed to death. His body was subsequently seized and taken to an unknown location.
Earlier in the morning, 17-year-old Muhannad Tariq Mohammed Al-Zaghir was also shot and killed by Israeli occupation forces near the Abu Daajan area in Hebron. His body too was confiscated by the military.
These incidents raise the number of Palestinian bodies held by the Israeli occupation authorities to 761, including 74 children, 89 prisoners, and 10 women, a policy widely condemned for perpetuating punishment even after death, denying families the right to grieve and bury their loved ones in accordance with cultural and religious rites.
These acts constitute gross violations of international humanitarian law. They include the unlawful use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians and obstruction of emergency medical services, both of which are explicitly prohibited under the Geneva Conventions, which obligate occupying forces to ensure care for the wounded and access for medical teams.
Moreover, the seizure of bodies is another flagrant breach, considered a form of cruel and degrading treatment. It deprives families of dignity and closure, and turns deceased individuals into tools of political blackmail, an approach at odds with fundamental moral and legal norms.
Shooting teenagers aged 17 and 18 exemplifies the excessive use of force against minors and highlights a blatant disregard for their right to life. The repeated pattern of killing young people, blocking medical assistance, and withholding their bodies reflects a systemic policy, largely unaccountable and unrestrained by legal or ethical oversight.
The rising number of seized corpses shows that Israeli occupation treats the dead much as it treats the living, with systemic punishment, intimidation, and humiliation, in direct violation of Palestinians’ right to life, dignity, and justice.
