Fourteen-year-old Palestinian child loses eye after Israeli soldier 'aims and shoots' at him

Izz al-Din Nadal Batasha was standing inside a shop with his 13-year-old cousin when he was hit by the bullet, video footage shows.

He was taken to a hospital in Hebron for immediate treatment before being transferred to St. John of Jerusalem Eye hospital for surgery.

Izz al-Din Nadal's father confirmed his son lost his eye.

Abdul Karim al-Batash was in a shop in Andalusia Market with his cousin when they saw a group of uniformed Israeli soldiers clashing with young men reportedly throwing stones.

"We didn't get involved, we were in the store and suddenly one of the soldiers shot at us," the cousin told Haaretz.

"It was clear that he aimed at us and Izz al-Din was hit in the eye."

The Israeli military accused the boy of being "in the area of a violent riot" when they responded with sponge-tipped bullets.

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Palestinian children are frequently victims of Israeli gunfire and arrests.

In December 2020 a 14-year-old Palestinian boy, Ali Abu Alia, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in the village of Mughayir, northeast of Ramallah.

Palestinian children targeted by Israeli forces

Israeli forces have arrested 230 Palestinian children since January, the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said in a report last week.

The rights group released the report a day before the marking of Palestinian Children's Day - an annual commemoration of the plight of Palestine's youth on 5 April.

"The imprisoned children are subjected to various forms of abuse, including being denied food or drink for long hours, verbal abuse and being detained under harsh conditions," the PPS said in its report.

The majority of arrests of Palestinian children by Israel since the beginning of 2021 were in Jerusalem.

The prisoner welfare monitor said that those arrested are often placed under house arrest or released on bail.

Palestinian children are often detained during the almost daily raids that occur across the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for "wanted" Palestinians.

According to the Palestinian branch of Defense for Children International (DCI), 85 percent of Palestinian children arrested by Israel last year were "subjected to physical violence".