Mohammad Ibrahim Shaham
He was killed by undercover Israeli soldiers
Mohammad Ibrahim Shaham died from a gunshot wound to the head at point-blank range, inflicted by an undercover Israeli soldier. The fatal shot was fired the moment Mohammad opened the door during a pre-dawn raid. His death is considered by the family and witnesses as an extrajudicial assassination, with no provocation or resistance on Mohammad’s part. The soldiers did not request IDs, issue warnings, or conduct any standard arrest procedures. Instead, they entered with lethal intent, executed him, and then seized his body.
Biography
Mohammad Ibrahim Shaham was a 21-year-old Palestinian young man from the Kafr Aqab neighborhood, located north of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank. He was originally born in the nearby Qalandia refugee camp. Like many Palestinian youths, Mohammad grew up under the strain of military occupation and systemic violence. His family had already suffered a devastating loss just five months earlier when his cousin, Ala’ Mohammad Shaham, was also killed by Israeli forces in Qalandia. Mohammad’s life was cut short in the early hours of August 15, 2022, when he became a victim of what his father described as an "assassination in cold blood" by Israeli soldiers.
On August 15, 2022, shortly around 3:30 a.m., undercover Israeli soldiers invaded the home of Mohammad Ibrahim Shaham in Kafr Aqab. According to his father, the young man had barely opened the door when a soldier immediately shot him at point-blank range in the forehead, killing him instantly. Mohammad, who had no chance to defend himself or even understand what was happening, was left bleeding for nearly 40 minutes before the soldiers removed his body and withdrew.
The soldiers not only shot him but also fired multiple live rounds throughout the home, ransacking the property and causing severe destruction. The family firmly rejected the Israeli military’s later claims that Mohammad had attempted to stab a soldier, labeling it a false pretext meant to justify his unlawful killing. The event came just months after Mohammad’s cousin, Ala’ Shaham, was also fatally shot in the head by Israeli soldiers during a raid in the Qalandia refugee camp.
Following Mohammad’s killing, the town saw a wave of protests. Isra
Pleas of Surviving Relatives and Family if any
Mohammad Ibrahim Shaham’s father delivered a heartbreaking and powerful testimony following the killing of his son, denouncing the incident as a deliberate execution. He recounted in detail how soldiers stormed their home at dawn, never asking for identification or issuing any warnings. According to him, a soldier immediately placed a pistol to Mohammad’s forehead and fired, without provocation.
“This is an assassination in cold blood, just like they did in Jenin and what they are doing across occupied Palestine,” his father stated. The grief was intensified by the memory of another family tragedy: just five months prior, on March 15, Israeli forces killed Mohammad’s cousin, Ala’ Mohammad Shaham, also with a bullet to the head.
The father vehemently denied the Israeli army's claims that Mohammad had attempted to stab soldiers. “These are lies they spread to justify what they did,” he said, insisting that his son posed no threat whatsoever.
The family also expressed deep outrage and sorrow over the military’s refusal to provide medical assistance after shooting Mohammad. They said the soldiers let him bleed on the floor for about 40 minutes before finally taking his body and disappearing into the night.
Sources & References
On August 15, 2022, 21-year-old Mohammad Ibrahim Shaham was shot and killed by undercover Israeli soldiers inside his home in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood, located north of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank. According to his father, the soldiers stormed the house around 3:30 a.m. Without warning or identification, one of them placed a pistol against Mohammad’s forehead and shot him at point-blank range the moment he opened the door. Mohammad, who was born in the nearby Qalandia refugee camp, was left bleeding on the floor for approximately 40 minutes before the soldiers took his body and withdrew. The invading forces also fired numerous live rounds throughout the home, causing significant destruction as they ransacked the property. The family reported that the soldiers neither identified themselves nor gave any instructions before carrying out the killing. More than six weeks later, on the night of September 29, 2022, the Israeli military finally returned Mohammad’s body to his family.1 israelpalestinetimeline.org Open source