Amir Abu Khadijeh

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Amir Imad Amin Abu Khadijeh (January 13, 1999 – March 23, 2023) was a Palestinian militant and former leader of the Tulkarm Brigade from the city of Tulkarm. He was involved in shootings against civilians and security forces at the Tanim checkpoint. Based on Shin Bet intelligence, Israeli forces located him in a village near Tulkarm and carried out an operation to arrest him. As troops surrounded the house, Abu Khadijeh fired at undercover Border Police officers from a window, was wounded, and was killed when forces entered the apartment. An accomplice who was with him surrendered and was arrested. An M16 rifle and other equipment were seized, and his vehicle was taken. There were no Israeli casualties.

Amir Abu Khadijeh was born in Gaza and moved to eastern Tulkarm as a child, where he studied at Abdul Majeed Tayeh School for Boys and later attended the Palestine Technical University Khadouri for sports. His father, Imad Abu Khadijeh, worked as a government employee and later as director of computer and information systems at the Palestinian Ministry of Social Development. Abu Khadijeh joined the Palestinian Authority’s Presidential Guard but was dismissed in 2019 after a military court found involvement in an act of resistance. He then worked as a construction worker and private driver in Tulkarm and was detained by Israel for about a year.

Before his death, he founded the Rapid Response Group, intended to be the “special forces” of the Tulkarm Battalion, expanding its reach to include fighters from Fatah, PIJ, PFLP, Hamas and other groups. He read the battalion’s first statement at a press conference in Gamal Abdel Nasser Square in Tulkarm on February 22, 2023.

Israel accused him of directing shootings against IDF forces, checkpoints, and settlements. In early March 2023, the Palestinian Authority moved to arrest him, sparking days of protests and clashes in Tulkarm. After a long pursuit, Israeli special forces killed him on March 23, 2023, the first day of Ramadan, in a siege in southern Tulkarm. He shot at the troops as they fired more than 40 bullets at him; he was taken to a hospital and died from gunshot injuries. The killing came after a pledge by Palestinian and Israeli leaders to reduce Ramadan tensions.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said he died from head and leg wounds. His death led to widespread anger in the Palestinian territories; Fatah declared a mass strike, and thousands attended his funeral in Tulkarm, which began at Thabet Government Hospital, continued through the city, and ended with burial in the western cemetery.