Palestinian baby shot dead by Israeli troops in occupied West Bank | West Bank
Israeli soldiers killed a seven-month-old Palestinian baby and injured one of the child’s parents in the occupied West Bank on Friday after opening fire on the family’s car despite obeying orders to stop.
Soldiers opened fire on the vehicle carrying the baby and his family in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron. Seven-month-old Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was seriously injured and was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where he later died. His parents were also injured.
The Israeli army said that soldiers opened fire on a vehicle they thought was heading towards them, but the initial investigation revealed that those injured were civilians who were not involved in the incident.
In an interview with the Israeli newspaper HaaretzThe father, Fahd Abu Haikal, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, said that “a bullet passed through his hand and hit his son Sam, who was being held by his mother in the backseat.” Abu Haikal said the family, including the couple’s 11-year-old son and Abu Haikal’s mother, was passing through Hebron on Friday evening when soldiers signaled the vehicle to stop.
He said it was still daylight and the soldier who opened fire could clearly see that the people inside were a family.
“The soldier signaled me to stop. I stopped the car completely and put my hands on the steering wheel. Immediately afterwards, they opened fire on the vehicle,” he told Haaretz.
Israel Defense Forces said his troops “he detected a vehicle accelerating towards them” and one of the soldiers “retaliated by firing a single shot towards the vehicle”.
“As a result, three Palestinians were injured and evacuated for medical treatment,” the IDF said, adding that “the incident is under investigation” and expressing “deep regret for any harm caused to persons not involved.”
Abu Haikal rejected the army’s statement.
“The soldier was about 10 meters away from me. He saw me, my wife and my children,” he told Haaretz. ”The windows were not tinted, there was daylight and everything was open. You can’t say you don’t see that he’s family.
“I stopped as I was told and then they shot at the car,” he added. “There was no clear checkpoint, just soldiers standing on the street. I stopped when asked to do so, and then the shooting opened,” he said.
Calling for an investigation, Abu Haikal said that the responsible soldier should be held accountable. “If there is conscience, if there is law, if there is morality, I demand and expect the soldier who opened fire to be held accountable for his actions. This case should not be closed without investigation or accountability. At least I have no intention of giving up.”
In a similar incident, Israeli troops operating in Tamoun in northern Jordan opened fire on a vehicle passing through the village on March 15, killing a Palestinian couple and their two children. The victims were identified as 38-year-old Ali Bani Odeh, his wife Waad Bani Odeh, 36, and their sons 6-year-old Othman and 5-year-old Mohammed.
According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, soldiers removed two children from the vehicle, 11-year-old Khaled and 8-year-old Mustafa, who were slightly injured by shrapnel. The organization said soldiers then subjected Khalid to a violent interrogation at the scene.
B’Tselem said the military initially prevented ambulances from reaching the area and allowed medical teams to enter only after a delay. The organization added that soldiers later seized the family’s vehicle, which was riddled with bullet holes.
The UN said last month: More than 1,000 Palestinians killed in the West Bank Since the beginning of the war in East Jerusalem, at least 240 people, including children, have lost their lives, and 49 people have died this year.
