Rashid Mohammad Abu Ara
Rashid was killed by Israeli gunfire—shot twice, in the chest and neck—during a military raid on Tubas on May 12, 2021.
On May 12, 2021, Israeli forces stormed Tubas in the northern West Bank, sparking confrontations with Palestinian youths. In the clashes, Israeli soldiers opened live fire at demonstrators. Rashid Mohammad Abu Ara, 16, was struck by two bullets: one in the chest and one in the neck. Medical sources confirmed that he was fatally wounded and died soon afterward. Another young Palestinian was simultaneously injured when he was run over by an Israeli military jeep, though his condition was reported stable. Rashid’s killing was not an isolated incident but part of a broader campaign of escalating violence that month, including raids in the West Bank and large-scale aerial bombardments of Gaza, which collectively resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties.
Biography
Rashid Mohammad Abu Ara, 16, was a Palestinian teenager from Aqaba village in the district of Tubas, northern West Bank. On May 12, 2021, he was killed by Israeli soldiers during an invasion of the area. Rashid was shot with two live bullets, one striking his neck and another his chest, while Israeli forces confronted Palestinian youths resisting the incursion. His death occurred amid escalating Israeli military assaults across the West Bank and Gaza during the May 2021 escalation, which claimed the lives of hundreds of Palestinians, including dozens of children.
Rashid Mohammad Abu Ara, born and raised in the small village of Aqaba, Tubas district, was only 16 years old when his life was cut short. Like many Palestinian teenagers, Rashid lived under the daily pressures of occupation, restrictions, and recurring violence in the West Bank. On May 12, 2021, Israeli forces carried out a raid at the northern entrance of Tubas. As is common during such incursions, heavily armed soldiers met with resistance from Palestinian youths, many of whom attempted to repel them by throwing stones. Amid this clash, Rashid was shot twice—once in the chest and once in the neck—by live ammunition fired directly by Israeli soldiers. He succumbed to his wounds shortly after.
At the same time, another young man in Tubas was run over by an Israeli military jeep, sustaining fractures and bruises. Rashid’s killing took place during a wave of intensified Israeli violence that coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and escalated into an 11-day assault on Gaza, which left 247 Palestinians dead, including 66 children and 39 women. His death, like many others, highlighted the vulnerability of Palestinian children caught in military operations and underscored calls by human rights groups for accountability under international law.
Pleas of Surviving Relatives and Family if any
Rashid’s grieving family in Aqaba, Tubas, spoke of their profound loss, describing him as a bright, tender-hearted boy who had his whole life ahead of him. His parents said they never imagined that sending their son out on an ordinary day would be the last time they saw him alive. “He was just a child,” they lamented, “but the soldiers treated him as if he were an enemy.” Relatives pleaded for justice, calling on the international community to protect Palestinian children from becoming constant targets of Israeli bullets. His family appealed for accountability and an end to the repeated incursions into their village, which have left countless families mourning. “We do not want more mothers to bury their sons,” his mother reportedly cried, echoing the pleas of many Palestinian families who have lost children to the violence.
Additional Information
Sources & References
Rashid Mohammad Abu Ara, 16, was killed by Israeli bullets in the village of Aqaba, in the district of Tubas. Medical sources reported that the 16-year-old Rashid Mohammad Abu Ara, 16, was killed by two bullets – one in the neck and one in the chest – fired by Israeli forces invading the northern entrance of the city of Tubas, near Bethlehem. Invading Israeli forces were met by Palestinian youth, many of whom threw stones to try to repel the heavily-armed invading soldiers, to keep the soldiers from invading their village. in addition to the shooting of Rashid, another young man was injured after he was run over by a military jeep car in Tubas. Medical sources report that his general health condition is stable, but he suffers from several fractures and bruises. The killing of Rashid comes in the midst of a rapid, onging escalation of Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which began on April 12th, the beginning of the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan, with increasingly frequent and violent Israeli settler and soldier attacks on Palestinian worshipers.1 israelpalestinetimeline.org Open source