On Thursday, 2 November 2023, at around 6:00 A.M., dozens of soldiers, some of them masked, entered the town of al-Birah and went into a building. About three hours later, at around 9:00 A.M., they emerged with three detainees blindfolded and handcuffed. They led the three men on foot towards the settlement of Beit El, through residential neighborhoods and the al-Birah industrial zone.
At 9:15 A.M., when the soldiers and detainees were approaching a school, four Palestinian teens threw stones at them from about 100 meters away. The soldiers fired live shots at the teens, but no one was hurt. Then one of the boys, Ayham Shaf’i, 12, tried to cross the road to join his friends who were standing on the other side, at which point the soldiers fired another shot, hitting him. Shaf’i took a few more steps and collapsed. The soldiers continued on their way, while local residents took Shaf’i to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A few minutes later, the soldiers approached the a-Shani supermarket, and young men threw stones at them from a nearby alley. The soldiers immediately responded with live fire, wounding two of the men, one severely and one moderately, and then continued on their way. Local residents took the wounded men to the hospital.
After a few more minutes, about 500 meters from there, the soldiers passed by the al-Birah licensing office. About five young men threw stones at them. Again, the soldiers immediately responded by firing live shots at them, from about 30 meters away. They fired at least two shots, one of which hit Yazan Shiha, 24, a bystander who was watching without taking part in the clashes. After firing the shots, the soldiers continued on their way to Beit El as in the previous incidents. Shiha was taken to the hospital by local residents, where he was pronounced dead.
Soldiers entered the town, arrested three residents and chose to lead them a long way through the streets, on foot. Predictably, residents threw stones at them and the soldiers fired live rounds again and again, killing a boy and a young man and injuring two other residents.
The IDF Spokesperson stated laconically that, “during arrests made in al-Birah, a riot developed that included stone-throwing. The force responded with fire. Hits were detected.” This statement indicates that the military considers live fire a legitimate response to stone-throwing, even when the result is fatal. However, shooting to kill is permitted only when soldiers face mortal danger and have no other way to avert it – a principle found both in criminal law and in the military’s own open-fire regulations. The IDF Spokesperson’s assertion that the soldiers acted properly contradicts this restriction, and gives blanket permission to shoot people posing no danger to anyone.
B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad collected testimonies from eyewitnesses to the killings of Shaf’i and Shiha.
‘I.R. spoke about Ayham Shaf’i’s killing in a testimony he gave on 8 November 2023:
I’m a photojournalist. On Thursday, at around 9:00 A.M., I was at home in al-Birah when a friend called to tell me there was a military raid around Nablus Street. I left immediately and got there in five minutes. There were dozens of soldiers spread out on the main street the near a-Sarafandi bakery.
I stood in a corner relatively far away from them, about 40 to 50 meters away, and then I started getting closer to them. Suddenly, one of the soldiers pointed his rifle at me, even though I was wearing a press vest, so I went back. I saw the soldiers lead two or three detainees with blindfolds, who had their hands tied behind their backs, towards the industrial zone along a side road that runs behind the bakery. No one was throwing stones at them at the time.
I followed the soldiers. They reached the road that leads to the industrial zone. I hid behind one of the buildings at the intersection and peeked out at them every now and then, carefully. The second time I stuck my head out and looked, a soldier pointed his rifle at me again. Just then, I saw four or five kids standing behind a school. They were throwing stones at the soldiers. The kids scattered around the intersection, hiding, coming out, getting closer and then hiding again. Then I saw one of the kids – later I learned he was Ayham Shaf’i – hiding behind a dumpster. A masked soldier took up a position behind the corner of a building, and then I heard one shot fired towards the kids, but it didn’t hit any of them. Then I saw Ayham start to cross the street to join his friends, who were on the other side, hiding in a spot that was out of the soldiers’ firing range. While he was crossing the street, I heard another shot. He was hit but took a few more steps until he reached his friends, and then he fell down.
The minute the boy was hit, his friends started shouting: “Ambulance, ambulance!” Then I saw them dragging him backwards. A car arrived immediately and took him away. In the meantime, the soldiers kept advancing into the industrial zone. I was afraid to keep trying to document the incident, because I felt they might shoot me.
A.R. spoke about Yazan Shiha’s killing on 2 November 2023:
I work in the insurance department at the vehicle licensing office. While I was at work, a crowd of people and lots of vehicles gathered in the yard outside. I heard people saying the army was there, so I went out to look. I stood on the steps and saw there was a commotion outside, so I stopped other people from going out. I saw about 50 soldiers coming from the industrial zone. They had two or three detainees with them, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind them. One of them was in his undershirt. The soldiers were walking in groups, one after the other.
After the soldiers passed our yard going north, some young men started throwing stones at them. Meanwhile, one of the traffic department workers, Yazan Shiha, 23, went out the back door of the office and headed towards the yard with the parking lot, probably to watch what was going on. He stopped at the corner of the yard, leaned against one of the cars and watched what was happening.
Suddenly, I heard one shot from the direction of the soldiers. I couldn’t see who fired, but I saw Yazan was hurt. He said “Aah” and fell down, and then we realized he was injured. Some young guys went up to him to give him first aid. They put him in a car and drove him to the hospital in Ramallah. I found out later Yazan was killed.
Another witness said on 2 November 2023:
On Thursday, 2 November 2023, at around 9:00 A.M., while I was at work, I heard gunfire from the direction of Nablus Street. I saw on social media that the army force that was in our area was retreating. At around 9:30 A.M., I was at the al-Qarazun store opposite our office when I saw soldiers walking along our street. I estimate there were about 40 or 50 of them. They were walking along the street where the traffic department is, leading two detainees. One of the detainees was in a white undershirt and the other was in a black shirt.
I started filming on my phone. After the soldiers went past me and were about 10 to 20 away from me, I came out of the store and crossed the street. When I reached the sidewalk by the licensing office, I hid. I saw some young men hiding behind a fence in the corner of the licensing office yard. They started throwing stones at the soldiers from a distance of 20 or 30 meters.
I mustered up my courage, crossed the road, went towards the soldiers and started throwing stones, too. The young men were throwing stones from behind me, hiding behind a roughly seven-meter-tall fence.
A soldier who was standing near the Nice factory fired several shots. I heard the young men shouting: “Someone’s hit, someone’s hit.” For a moment, I thought maybe I was hurt and started checking my body. But the bullet hit a licensing office worker named Yazan Shiha, who was standing off to the side and wasn’t taking part in that stone-throwing. I went over to the injured man and saw he was bleeding and his eyes were rolled back. He was swallowing his tongue and gasping for breath.
The soldiers continued towards Beit El. Some people took the wounded man to the hospital in Ramallah in a car. Later, I read on social media that he was killed.
