DUBAI: Israeli forces killed 54 Palestinian children in the West Bank in 2025, according to a report by Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, which linked the deaths to an increasingly permissive open-fire policy and military conduct in the occupied territory.
The report also pointed to what it described as a broader dehumanization of Palestinians and a climate of “public impunity” surrounding the killings, calling 2025 one of the deadliest years for Palestinian minors in the West Bank over the past two decades.
“The widespread killings are not the result of isolated mistakes but of policy,” B’Tselem spokesperson Yair Dvir told Arab News. “This includes the authorization to shoot at Palestinians suspected of throwing stones even when they pose no danger to soldiers.
“Israel routinely invokes security arguments, labeling those who are killed as terrorists. But we are talking about 54 children killed in a single year, including infants and very young children. Many of these children were killed in their own homes, in their family’s car, on a football pitch, or while on their way to visit a family member. This is not about security.”
According to B’Tselem, only two of the 54 children and teenagers killed were armed with firearms when they were shot. The organization said that at least 21 were not involved in clashes, while seven were killed in airstrikes.
