Mohammad Adel Abu Shqeir

Their life

Mohammad Adel Abu Shqeir, 20, was a young Palestinian from the al-Qasab neighborhood in Jericho. On May 14, 2021, he was shot and killed by Israeli forces during protests at the entrance of Jericho, which erupted in response to the Israeli military escalation in Gaza and ongoing violations across the West Bank. His killing came on one of the bloodiest days of that period, when nine Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and more than five hundred were injured as people demonstrated in solidarity with Gaza. Mohammad’s life was cut short at the age of 20, adding to the long list of young Palestinians who were killed while protesting against occupation and violence.

Mohammad Adel Abu Shqeir was a 20-year-old Palestinian resident of the al-Qasab neighborhood in Jericho, in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank. Like many of his peers, Mohammad lived under the daily pressures of military occupation, checkpoints, and restricted freedoms. On May 14, 2021, a day marked by widespread protests across Palestine, Mohammad joined demonstrations at the entrance to Jericho, where large numbers of Palestinians had gathered to protest against the intensifying Israeli assault on Gaza and the ongoing military raids in the West Bank.

The Israeli army responded to the protests with live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets, and tear gas. Amid this violent crackdown, Mohammad was shot with live fire, fatally wounded, and later pronounced dead. He was one of nine Palestinians killed across the West Bank that day, which also saw hundreds injured. His killing occurred against the backdrop of immense violence: while protests raged in the West Bank, Gaza was enduring one of the deadliest nights of Israeli airstrikes, which claimed dozens of lives, including entire families.

Mohammad’s death, like those of many others, underscored the vulnerability of young Palestinians who take to the streets to demand freedom, justice, and solidarity with their people in Gaza and Jerusalem. His short life and tragic killing remain part of the collective grief borne by Jericho and the Palestinian people at large.

How they died

He was Shot and killed by Israeli forces during protests.

On May 14, 2021, during protests at the entrance of Jericho, Israeli soldiers opened fire on demonstrators. Mohammad was struck with live ammunition, sustaining fatal injuries. Despite efforts by medics and fellow protesters, his wounds were too severe, and he succumbed to them soon after. His killing was part of a broader crackdown by Israeli forces on protests across the West Bank that day, in which nine Palestinians were killed and more than 500 were injured. The protests were triggered by Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza, which had killed 39 people in a single day, and by ongoing violations in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Mohammad Adel Abu Shqeir, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources